info@aylettnurseries.co.uk

Poinsettias

Brighten up your festive home with our Home Grown Poinsettias! We have a spectacular display of Poinsettias in our Houseplant Department for you to enjoy, with 20+ varieties grown in shades of pink, white and red, we are sure to have the perfect Poinsettia for you!

No other plant says ‘Christmas’ quite like the Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, they are in fact so popular during the festive season they are commonly known as the ‘Christmas Flower’.

Although the coloured top of the Poinsettia is referred to as the ‘flower’ they are not really flowers at all, they are modified leaves called bracts. The bright bracts are designed to attract insects to the tiny yellow flowers in their centres, but we’re sure you’d have to agree that it is not just insects that are attracted their beautiful colour, Poinsettias are by far our most popular flowering plant at Christmas!

Our Poinsettias are home grown on our nursery, just behind the garden centre, and we have grown just over 4,000 this year. Since July our nursery team have been nurturing our crop; once potted the plants grow on in our greenhouses where they are fed, watered, pinched back and spaced to make sure that they form a well-shaped rounded plant. As the nights begin to draw in at the end of September the leaves slowly begin to change colour until the greenhouse is a mass of pinks, reds and white. The plants then make their short journey by Danish trolley to our Houseplant Department.

Download the Poinsettias leaflet

Secrets for Success…

– Good light position but no midday sun.
– Select a warm room with no draughts.
– Feed once a fortnight with a high potash feed.
– Water moderately; allow compost top to dry before re watering.

For more information please see our Festive Houseplants information leaflet.

The Legend of the Poinsettia

Legend has it that a poor child in Mexico having nothing to give the Infant Jesus on his birthday gathered some weeds into lovely bouquets, the only gift he had to offer. When he brought his gift to the manger, the simple weed was transformed into a brilliant red bloom – a Poinsettia! Now known as the beautiful “Flower of the Holy Night”.

National Poinsettia Day ~ 12th December

History of National Poinsettia Day

The first National Poinsettia Day was celebrated in 2002 after the passing of Paul Ecke Jr., a pioneering horticulturist regarded as the father of the poinsettia industry, whose innovations caused the Poinsettia trade to flourish. The day, 12th of December, is chosen for this celebration as it was the death anniversary of Joel Roberts Poinsett, an American botanist, physician and Minister to Mexico, who in 1828 discovered Poinsettia flowers growing on a hillside in Southern Mexico. After his discovery Poinsett sent cuttings of the plant to his home in Charleston, South Carolina and began distributing the flowers once it had grown well in his greenhouse.

Click here for more information on Poinsettia Day.

Purchase yours today…

Poinsettias are available to purchase in store from our Houseplant Department, by e-mail or over the telephone.

Available in a selection of 10 sizes and varying colours of Red, Pink and White, plants range in price from £5.99 (for a plant measuring approximately 45cm high, in a 13cm pot with 5/6 bracts) up to £35.00 (for a display measuring approximately 60cm in height and width, in a 19cm pot with 20+ bracts). Poinsettia Bowls are also available for the ultimate WOW display – these are priced at £39.00 and feature 3 Poinsettia plants, bearing 20+ flowers, planted in a decorative bowl.

Perfect for a adding a Festive flourish to any home and for gifting. Gift wrapping is available for a nominal change.

Please note: For deliveries, the recipient must be available to accept the delivery as these plants cannot be left outside.

NB. This video was made in 2017.