[Music]
hi I'm Pam Bennett horiculture educator
for Ohio State University extension and
I would like to share with you how to
keep your holiday poinsetta looking its
best the very first thing is to pick out
a perfect poinsetta when you go to a
garden store to pick out a poinsetta
look for one that's nice and Compact and
has lots of color on it now most people
think that the red or the colored part
is the flower this is actually a Brack
or a modified Leaf the FL is the piece
right here in the middle of these braas
and if you look closely you'll see these
are just starting to open up it should
be in tight green bud or just beginning
to bloom if you look at a a flower and
there's no buds at all and there's just
little tiny stubs that means the bloom
is complete it's finished and it won't
last much longer in your home so look
for one that's nice and healthy the BRS
are nice and clean and it has lots of
good flowers just getting ready to open
when you leave the store make sure they
put a protective sleeve on it Point set
is do not not tolerate cold temperatures
the foliage the flowers everything will
drop if they get too cold so put a
protective sleeve on it in order to
leave when you're out doing your holiday
shopping and you buy a poinsetta make
that the last thing on your list you
don't want it sitting in a cold car or
even a hot car during the whole day soon
as you get home remove that protective
sleeve and place it in a location that
is away from drafts or a source of heat
if you have a a place where it's near a
door for instance and people are coming
and going that cold weather will cause
the Fage and the bra to drop quickly now
taking care of it is rather easy you
want to make sure it stays nice and
moist you don't want to overwater it but
you want the soil to kind of stay moist
the way I tell if it's moist or if it
needs water is just to kind of lift it
and feel the weight of the pot right now
it's kind of heavy if it gets a little
bit lighter I take it out of the sleeve
the decorative cover put it in a a tray
of water or put it in the sink and just
let it sit there for about an hour the
soil will soak up all that water and and
again you'll be able to feel that
difference you'll feel that weight when
it's finished watering let it drain then
stick it back in your decorative cover
and then I also make sure I use this
plastic drainage tray to protect my
furniture and my floors from any kind of
water that might seep out now while some
know that poinsettas may be toxic you
would have to consume an enormous amount
in order to cause or have an ill effect
on humans and animals so therefore
they're safe to have in the home the
other thing about poinsettas is the
breed ing has been just absolutely
incredible in fact Paul eki a graduate
of Ohio State University is responsible
for many of the poinsetta varities that
we see today this particular one called
winter Rose has this nice rose-like
flowerer shape you can get all different
colors like pinks and whites and and
variegated speckled colors and you can
also get something like this purple one
or a yellow or an orange one now these
Oddball colors are dyed there's actually
sprayed with a dye and in this one you
also see a little bit of sparkles on it
today you can get just about any color
any variety of poinsetta imaginable so
there you go tips on how to enjoy your
poinsetta for the holiday season