Where To Buy Poinsettia Seeds
Growing poinsettia from seeds is not a gardening adventure most people even consider. Poinsettias are almost always found around Christmas time as fully grown potted plants to be given as gifts. Poinsettias are plants just like any other, though, and they can be grown from seed. Keep reading to learn about collecting poinsettia seed and growing poinsettia from seeds.
where to buy poinsettia seeds
When the plant starts to fade, pick the poinsettia seed pods and store them in a paper bag in a dry place. After the pods are brown and dry, collecting poinsettia seeds should be as easy as popping the pods open inside the bag.
Then you can plant them under 1 inches (4 cm.) of soil, but it may take a few weeks for them to sprout. Just keep the soil warm and moist until they do. Care for your seedlings the same as you would any other. Once mature, you will have yourself a poinsettia plant for gift-giving during the holidays.
A: Poinsettias have been hybridized for so many years that the ones you buy at a nursery rarely set seed. Poinsettia growers buy cuttings from large greenhouses that specialize in pollinating and breeding poinsettias. Because the seed are so hard to produce they are rarely offered for sale.
The vibrant red and green leaves of poinsettias make them a perfect choice for Christmas décor, which is clearly one of the reasons they are so popular around the holidays. Of course, they also come in orange, white, pink, cream and even marbled varieties, but red is the most popular and most commonly available for purchase.
This colored foliage is often confused for a poinsettia flower, but it is actually a grouping of bracts, which are specialized leaves. The flowers are the tiny yellow buds clustered at the center of these leaf groupings.
Most people purchase poinsettias for the Christmas holidays, and then discard them once they lose the bright red foliage for which they are known. Because of the short time they spend in our homes, most Americans believe that poinsettias are houseplants. In fact, they are commonly referred to and treated as plants by nurseries, gardeners, and even the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, they are actually small, tropical trees native to Southern Mexico that can grow up to 12 feet tall in the wild.
Historically, poinsettias were used to decorate churches in Mexico and Guatemala and for medicinal purposes and fabric dye by the Aztecs. They were first introduced in the United States in 1828 by Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, who was the first American ambassador to Mexico.
According to the Floriculture Crops 2015 Summary, which is the most recent survey available from the USDA, there are more poinsettias sold in the United States each year than any other potted, flowering plant.
Nearly 32 million poinsettias were sold in 2015, which was slightly down from the 33.6 million sold in 2014. California was the largest producer of poinsettias with just under 5.8 million units sold by 45 commercial growers across the state in 2015. The Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas is the largest producer of poinsettias in the world with the majority grown at their production facility in Guatemala.
While poinsettia plants are most often used solely as holiday décor, with the proper care, they can be kept as houseplants year round or even planted in outdoor flowerbeds or containers if you live in an area that does not get frost or can bring them indoors for the winter.
The easiest way to grow poinsettias is to purchase established plants when they are widely available during the Christmas season. While you will find the best selection in the weeks leading up to Christmas, you will find the best prices if you are willing to wait to see what is left after the holiday has passed.
Propagating poinsettias from cuttings is easier, more common, and more consistent. To grow poinsettias from cuttings, wait until early summer when new growth begins to happen. Use clean scissors or gardening shears to cut stems that are at least three inches in length. Dip the cut end in powdered rooting hormones and place them firmly into a sterile potting substance, such as a mix of sand and perlite or pasteurized potting soil.
Once you have your cuttings planted, place a large plastic bag over the pot to create a mini greenhouse to encourage rooting, and place the plant in a sunny room but not in direct sunlight. Keep the soil moist and, once your new poinsettia plant is firmly rooted, you can transplant it to a larger container filled with potting soil. If your cuttings are intended for the garden, it is best to transplant them in the fall in an area that receives light shade. Remember: Your poinsettias will only do well in the ground outdoors if you live in an area that does not have frost.
Your other option is to grow poinsettias from seeds. Poinsettia seeds can be a bit difficult to find, but you can order them online or harvest them from established plants. Harvest the seed pods in the center of the bracts when the foliage begins to brown. You will then need to dry the seed pods until they open and reveal the seeds. The easiest way to do this is to store them in a paper bag until they dry and open on their own.
Using one seed per pot, plant your seeds about an inch below the soil level and set your pots in a sunny room but not in direct sunlight. Keep the soil moist and watch for seedlings to begin appearing after about one to two weeks.
Most of you are going to acquire your poinsettias during the holidays, and then continue to grow them in pots in hopes of enjoying the same showy displays of color next time Christmas comes around. So, as we look at how to grow poinsettias, we will focus on seasonal poinsettia care that will help keep your plants healthy and ensure you have plenty of opportunities to obtain cuttings to propagate new plants. This will allow you to enjoy your poinsettias for years to come.
The first thing to note is that poinsettias planted in the ground will only survive the winter in areas where there is no frost. Poinsettias planted in containers should be brought indoors during winter.
Keep your poinsettias in a sunny room away from warm or cold drafts. They should not be near windows, heating vents, or fireplaces. While they do like sun, they do not like a lot of direct sun, so they will fare best in areas with indirect sunlight, such as rooms where sunlight is filtered through light curtains. Keep in mind that poinsettias are sensitive to heat and cold, and they will lose their bracts if the ambient temperature varies too far outside of the 60-70 degree range.
You will likely enjoy the colorful bracts on your poinsettias through February or March. When the color is gone, it is time to prepare your poinsettia plant to get a little rest before it is time to start growing again. Cut the plant back to about six inches and make sure there is still a leaf or two on each stem. At this time, start watering your plants only when the soil is dry and give them a little houseplant fertilizer every two weeks.
Continue to water and fertilize your poinsettia plant in the same manner. If you live in an area where the temperature drops below about 45 degrees at night, you will need to bring your plants indoors. Remember to keep them away from heat sources, drafts, and direct sunlight.
Okay, so we have already covered that what most of us consider a poinsettia flower is actually a grouping of specialized leaves called bracts. However, these bracts are related to flowering, so it is accurate to say that we are trying to get the poinsettia to bloom.
Bracts change color to show off their vibrant red, pink, orange, white, cream, or marbled hues through a process called photoperiodism. To achieve this, each plant must experience complete darkness for about 14 hours every night. Anything less than complete darkness will disrupt the process and you will not have poinsettia flowers for Christmas this year. This means that it cannot be exposed to a street light, night light, or even the light from your phone screen.
To make sure your poinsettia is not exposed to light, you can cover them for 14 hours every night using a large, carboard box, an opaque garbage bag, or opaque shade cloth. You can also place your plants in a closet or bathroom, but make sure that no light will sneak in beneath the door. During the day, uncover your plants and make sure they get plenty of sunlight for at least six hours during the day (but not more than 10 hours).
What do you think, gardener, are you ready to give it a go? Have you ever tried propagating poinsettias on your own? Let us know about your experience in the comments and feel free to share a picture!
The question is whether to grow poinsettia plant from cuttings or seeds, and which is better way to grow poinsettia plants. You can propagate poinsettia from seeds or by rooting a poinsettia cutting. However, it is mostly propagated by rooting a poinsettia cutting in water or soil, propagating from cuttings is easier than seed and most successful. It is easier to grow a new poinsettia plant if your poinsettia branch broke off, you can propagate it in water or soil.
Euphorbia pulcherrima is native to Mexico and belongs to spurge family. Poinsettias can grow up to heights of 0.5 - 4 m or shrubs. Poinsettias plants are popular Christmas decorations in homes, offices, churches, and elsewhere. Poinsettias are easily grown indoors and outdoors.
Poinsettias are mostly propagated by stem cuttings, but you can try growing poinsettia from seed. The new plants, in general, will be inferior to the parents plants. You need fresh poinsettia seeds, as seeds viability decreases rapidly when they are stored for 3 months at 25C [1].
How to collect Poinsettia Seeds? The poinsettia seed pods are the big green balls that grow on flowers on the stalks. When the poinsettia seed pods turn brown from green, collect them and enclose them in a closed paper bag to dry. The seeds will pop out of the pods or you can take out the seeds from the pods. The seeds are very small. 041b061a72
