Our Hours
Mon-
Myrtle Creek Nursery
A full service nursery serving Southern California
2940 Reche Road, Fallbrook, CA 92028
(760) 728-
Email: Please click here.
Poinsettia
The poinsettia is a flowering plant indigenous to Mexico and Central America. It
is typically a shrub or small tree that can reach anywhere from 2 to 16 feet if grown
outdoors in a mild climate. The colored bracts (or leaves) can be orange, pink, pale
green, red, pink, white or marbled. Poinsettias need a lot of light during the day
for the brightest color, but also a period of 12 hours of darkness for the leaves
to change from green to another color. The flowers are grouped within the small yellow
structures found in the center of each leaf bunch. There are over 100 cultivated
varieties of poinsettia available.0 cultivated varieties of poinsettia available.d
summer, but in our climate it actually flowers year-
In Mexico the poinsettia is known as Noche Buena, meaning Christmas Eve. Legend tells
of a young girl who was too poor to bring a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday.
An angel counseled the girl to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front
of the church altar. Bright red blossoms sprouted from the weeds, turning into beautiful
poinsettias. The star-
As an indoor plant it prefers good morning sun, then shade in the hotter part of the day. When watering it is important to allow the plant to drain out any excess water. Having a poinsettia sit in water can do harm to the plant as it prefers moist soil to direct water.