Poinsettia
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.
Also called bird-of-paradise flower, Christmas flower, Christmas star, fire on the mountain, fire plant, Flame-Leaf Flower, lobster flower, Mexican Easter flower, Mexican flameleaf, painted leaf and pride of Barbados.
Poinsettia is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Irritant sap. Clinical signs: Irritating to the mouth and stomach, sometimes causing vomiting, but generally over-rated in toxicity. ASPCA
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Irritant sap. Clinical signs: Irritating to the mouth and stomach, sometimes causing vomiting, but generally over-rated in toxicity. ASPCA
- Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Loam; pH Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
Routine care
- Watering
- Water once the surface of the soil is dry, without overwatering.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026During growth, water sparingly and feed every 10-14 days with a balanced liquid fertiliser.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- For garden plants, start feeding in spring.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026While growing, water sparingly and feed every 10-14 days with a balanced liquid fertiliser.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- For poinsettias, take stem cuttings in early summer, use rooting hormone, and root them in a mix of peat moss, perlite and vermiculite.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Take stem cuttings in early summer and treat them with hormone rooting compound.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Prune or pinch back during summer to promote growth of the main branches.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026In April, cut plants back hard to roughly 4in (10cm), repot, and keep them somewhere bright and cool through summer, ideally 60-65°F (15-18°C). Short winter days in December and January trigger flowering and bract colour, so from November give them twelve hours of daylight and then a dark room shielded from artificial light. To colour well they need a steady temperature of about 18°C (55°F); do not let them get too cold.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by mealybugs, glasshouse whitefly and glasshouse red spider mite. Diseases: grey moulds can occur.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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About the plant
The poinsettia is a commercially important flowering plant species of the diverse spurge family Euphorbiaceae. Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia was first described by Europeans in 1834. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States minister to Mexico, who is credited with introducing the plant to the US in the 1820s; however, there have been recent efforts to rename the flower to its Nahuatl name, "cuetlaxōchitl", due to Poinsett's involvement in slavery and the Trail of Tears. Poinsettias are shrubs or small trees, with heights of 0.6 to 4 m. Though often stated to be highly toxic, the poinsettia is not dangerous to pets or children. Exposure to the plant, even consumption, most often results in no effect, though it can cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Mexico to GuatemalaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Mexico to GuatemalaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Mexico to GuatemalaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- seasonally dry tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial, Shrub; habit dense, erect, multi-stemmedNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (semi evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 36–144 in; width 36–96 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 0.1-0.5 metres; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 1–2 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow, red/burgundy; blooms in spring, winterNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers red in winter; yellow in winterRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
Used as a poison, a medicine and an ornamental; American Indians made dye from the bracts. Toxic if eaten.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
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Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.