The secret to the crimson Christmas Poinsettia

The UK’s largest garden centre retailer, B&Q, expects to sell over 150,000 Poinsettias this Christmas as the most popular houseplant makes its annual Christmas debut.

Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, this plant is now a Christmas staple for many UK homeowners. Over 100 million Poinsettias are sold every year throughout Europe, but what many people are not aware of is exactly how the plant gets its famous crimson colour.

The secret... shading the plants in darkness for 50 days. Growers begin in May, six months before they go on sale, to grow the plants and to ensure they all get that red glow. Poinsettias only develop coloured blooms when kept in darkness for a minimum of 50 days, for 12 hours a day. So to ensure that the plant is available in October for homeowners to buy, growers artificially control the environment, blocking out all sunlight. As a result, Poinsettia fans have been enjoying the first colourful plants as early as the end of October.

Poinsettias are traditionally associated with Christmas due to a 16th century Mexican legend. The story goes that a young girl was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday, so was told by an angel to plant weeds from the street in front of the church altar. Crimson 'blossoms' sprouted from the weeds which became Poinsettias. This Mexican seasonal tradition was then adopted by more countries with the plant becoming a Christmas favourite.

Ben Smith Horticulture Bedding Buyer at B&Q said; “Not many people know the secret trick to getting a really red Poinsettia, but it’s the help of our shorter days and artificial darkness which brings out the famous colour. Demand for the plants is high as we sell an average of 2,500 Poinsettias every day in the run up to Christmas.”

“For many, Christmas just isn’t Christmas without this red plant, but for those wanting a change this year, we’re also introducing the new Ivory Poinsettia."