What kind of poinsettia do you grow at home?
Poinsettia, known in most of the world as the Christmas Star, is native to the dry, subtropical forests of Mexico. The triumphant procession of the flower around the world began in the USA, and today there are hundreds of poinsettia varieties for growing at home.
The discovery and popularization of this amazing plant is due to D.R. Poinsett, the American ambassador to Mexico, who worked in this country in the first half of the 19th century. An enthusiastic botanist sent the first seedlings to the United States, where almost immediately work began on the "domestication" of the bright southerner.
The wild representatives of this culture, which once fell into the hands of breeders, were strikingly different from the varieties of poinsettia for the home, the cultivation of which is carried away by thousands of flower growers.
Poinsettia Oak Leaf is the first cultivated variety obtained in the first half of the 19th century and named for the characteristic leaf shape resembling the foliage of American oak.
In the last century, with the advent of knowledge about plant genetics, work on the development of new varieties has accelerated. New varieties have acquired not only more compact forms, resistance to many diseases and pests, compact large-leaved inflorescences, but also original colors.
Popular poinsettia varieties
The true embodiment of Christmas can be considered the classic bright red Premium Red poinsettia with a yellow-green, like a luminous middle and pointed broad-lanceolate bracts.
For lovers of rich colors and laconic traditional forms, breeders have created a whole series of Cortez varieties dedicated to the conqueror of Mexico Fernand Cortez. The most solemn and memorable in this collection is the Cortez Burgundy poinsettia variety with crimson apical stipules.
The equally attractive Cortez Red poinsettia has fiery scarlet top leaves that develop dark green streaks as the shoot grows.
Compared to the plants described above in this series, the Cortez Pink poinsettia variety is striking in its delicate purity. The golden core is surrounded by pink leaves, the tone of which becomes lighter with distance from the top.
Rosaceous poinsettia varieties for home
A bright novelty - poinsettia varieties with textured, bizarrely curved leaves. Thanks to them, the shoots look like blooming lush roses or peonies.
The first of the "terry" varieties at the disposal of florists was the Winter Rose poinsettia variety with a small greenish core and a luxurious rosette of fireplace leaves bordering it.
The peculiarity of the Premium Miro poinsettia variety is not only the curved, crinkled "petals", but also their double color, which combines snow-white and pink shades.
A variant of the Winter Rose Early Red poinsettia variety with solemn red leaves at the very top of the shoot will appeal to those who are not indifferent to roses and want to admire their exquisite splendor even in the cold season.
Milky white "petals" will light up the room on the darkest winter day. Another representative of the “winter rose” family is the Winter Rose White poinsettia.
The Freedom Jingle Bells poinsettia variety is addressed to connoisseurs of amazing plants and flower growers who love unusual color combinations.The tops of the stems are striking in their rosaceous shape and pale pink bracts, bordered by a thin light green stripe.
Amazing white poinsettias
Leaves diverging from a small pearl-green core are narrower than the main ones, green, pointed and very much reminiscent of a bright star burning high in the sky. The appearance of the White Star poinsettia fully explains its name. An unpretentious indoor flower will decorate any room and will look great in a duet with a scarlet "Christmas star".
Poinsettia variety Polar Bear, or polar bear, evokes frosty patterns on glass and sunlight on pristine white ice. A compact yellow-green core and green veins on the lower leaves bring the picture to life.
Poinsettia Arctic White is a well-deserved love of flower growers. Its snow-white bracts against the background of rich greenery look even more refined and vibrant.
Variegated varieties of homemade poinsettia
Wild-growing poinettia cannot pamper growers with a variety of shades. However, taking advantage of the natural mutation of the plant, breeders were able to get amazingly beautiful variegated poinsettia varieties for growing at home.
These varieties are conventionally divided into two types. The first is the Sonora Marble poinsettia, the apical leaves of which are painted in white and pink tones, and the lower leaves are completely green.
Poinsettia Winter Blush Marble belongs to the same type with dark green main leaves and delicate pink bracts, edged with a white, uneven border.
The Strawberry and cream variety occupies a special place among the "marble" poinsettias. White spots are located here chaotically, mainly on young, still small leaves. An unusual plant, in addition, strikes with a bizarrely cut foliage, like its wild ancestors, which retained the resemblance to the leaves of the American oak.
Poinsettia variety Da Vinci, named after the legendary painter and scientist, surprises with its delicate pink foliage covered with fine carmine spray.
An incredibly strong impression on the viewer is made by the Monet Twilight poinsettia with white-pink bracts, as if from an airbrush sprayed with scarlet paint.
If all the described varieties belonged to the first type and they had two-colored bracts, then the Tapestry poinsettia variety is a different matter. In this plant, as can be seen in the photo, the bracts are bright scarlet, and the leaves located down the shoot are decorated along the edge with a yellow uneven edging.
Poinsettia Carousel Series
While in the collection of poinsettias with bizarrely twisted edges of the bracts, there are only two varieties. This is Carousel Dark Red with dark scarlet "petals" at the base of modest greenish buds and a lighter tone Carousel Red poinsettia.
However, the work of breeders has just begun, and after the appearance of these varieties 10 years ago, they promise to please flower growers with light pink, marble and white poinsettia with original flounces.
Yellow, orange and salmon poinsettias
Poinsettia Cinnamon Star is a real gift for lovers of bright unusual colors and joyful variety on the windowsill. Unlike the described varieties, at the beginning of flowering, this plant reveals salmon-orange leaves, which gradually acquire a beautiful pink or fireplace blush.
Another type of flower with yellow bracts is much softer than the first. This is a variety of poinsettia Lemon snow or "lemon snow".
Poinsettia varieties - a gift for Christmas
For about 150 years, poinsettia has been in the USA, and then in other countries of the world, it has been considered a living symbol of Christmas. This beautiful flower adorns many homes and is presented as a gift. It is not surprising that breeders give new varieties and hybrids names associated with winter and everyone's favorite holidays.
Poinsettia Premium Ice Crysta is the most delicate of the Christmas varieties. Its pointed-heart-shaped leaves near a small green inflorescence, as if after a walk in the cold, are covered with a bright joyful blush.
The Jingle Bells poinsettia with variegated bracts, which perfectly creates the mood of the eve of the celebration, got its name for a reason. When you look at the flower, it seems that its carmine-red leaves are covered with flakes of fluffy New Year's snow.
The Ice Punch poinsettia variety will remind you that a real holiday will not work without a mug of fragrant punch seasoned with a melting cube of transparent ice.
Bright as festive fireworks, the Sonora White Glitter poinsettia crowns the celebration. Not only do white flashes on carmine leaves raise the mood, the luxurious "flowers" look incredibly contrasting against the background of the main, dark green or purple foliage.
Poinsettia is not for nothing recognized as the most extraordinary representative of the Euphorbia family. The reason lies not only in the stunning appearance, but also in the selective flexibility, thanks to which amateur flower growers today have the opportunity to admire the most varied forms and colors of this plant.