GARDENING : Why Paint the Town Red When You Can Just Plant Poinsettias?

In many homes, holiday decorating isn’t complete until you’ve perched a beautiful, brilliantly colored poinsettia in a place of honor. This striking flower with its velvety blossoms has become such a tradition at Christmastime that it ranks as the best-selling flowering potted plant in the United States.

The credit for introducing the poinsettia to this country in 1820 goes to Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico. While visiting Taxco, Mexico, Poinsett saw the spectacular red flowers in bloom and brought specimens back to his home in Greenville, S.C.

Already officially designated Euphorbia pulcherrima, the flower became commonly known as the poinsettia in honor of the ambassador: Poinsettias differ from many blooming plants in that the most colorful parts of the plant are the leaves (called bracts ). The flowers are actually the tiny yellow berries surrounded by the bracts.

Today, the center for production and distribution of poinsettias is the 900-acre Paul Ecke Ranch in the San Diego County community of Encinitas. There are also a number of other growers based in Southern California--including those near Ventura, which has used the nickname “Poinsettia City” since 1926.

Some varieties of poinsettias can be grown outdoors here and in some parts of the South. However, most poinsettias are raised indoors in greenhouses by commercial growers and are destined to spend their lives inside.

Poinsettias come in a variety of shapes and sizes--everything from the standard three- to six-stem plants to trees, bushes, hanging baskets, topiaries and the recently developed miniature poinsettias. Deep red still rates as the most popular poinsettia color, but pink, peach, white, yellow, marbled and speckled varieties offer stunning alternatives.

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When buying a poinsettia, look for plants that are well-shaped and balanced on all sides, with stiff stems, deeply colored leaves and tightly clustered berries. The plant also should have plenty of green leaves all the way down to the soil.

To keep a poinsettia at its best, place it in a cool room (about 72 degrees during the day and 65 degrees at night) away from drafts, ventilating ducts or fireplaces. Poinsettias need at least six hours of bright sunlight, but avoid placing them where the hot afternoon sun will shine directly on the bracts. This can cause them to discolor and burn. Water when the soil feels dry to a light touch, and pour off the excess that drains through. If poinsettias sit in water, they can develop root rot.

To encourage a poinsettia you’ve received at Christmas to bloom again next year, follow these steps. First, keep the plant in a sunny window until the bracts fade (usually in late March or early April). Then cut the branches back six inches to eight inches, and put the plant back in the window. At the beginning of June, transplant it to a pot two inches to four inches larger than the original pot and place it outside. (Or plant the poinsettia in a protected garden bed.) In the fall, as the weather turns cool, bring the plant indoors.

Around the first of October, place the poinsettia in total darkness each night for 14 continuous hours, then in a window during the day so that it gets six to eight hours of bright sunlight. Continue this routine for eight to 10 weeks, until the bracts are fully colored and pollen shows in the berries.

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Groupings of potted poinsettias make ideal decorations for the holidays. For large areas, use plants in six- to eight-inch pots with three to six stems each. For smaller spaces, use four- to five-inch pots or miniature poinsettias.

You’ll find miniatures perfect for bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres for holiday weddings or other formal gatherings, or as accents for wreaths, swags, garlands, small centerpieces or flower arrangements.

Have you hesitated to bring a poinsettia home because you’re afraid your pets or young children might eat one of the leaves and get sick? If so, there’s no need to worry.

The myth of the poisonous poinsettia has been debunked. According to research by Ohio State University and the Society of American Florists, poinsettias pose no threat to people or animals.

What’s more, the Poisindex Information Service, which serves most of the poison-control centers in this country, says that a 50-pound child would have to eat more than 500 leaves to ingest an amount that might be unsafe--but scientists found no toxicity at that level.