Poinsettia

Poinsettia - are they just for Christmas?

Poinsettias can provide that vivid splash of colour just when needed in the depth of winter but, if you are unlucky, a plant bought just before Christmas has shed most of its leaves or even collapsed by New Year's Day. But is it chance which decides how long your plant lasts?

Admittedly it is often difficult to find an indoor spot which meets all the requirements listed on the plant label - enough light but not too much, no draughts, warm night and day but not too hot, not near radiators etc. So does it matter where you put them? What can you do to make sure your plant lasts well into the New Year?

Test details

Two days before Christmas Day (1999), medium sized poinsettias (about 30 - 40 cm/12 - 16 in high) were bought from three retailers (M&S, B&Q, Wyevale) and direct from a nursery. Some plants from each source were kept on a table near a west-facing window in a warm centrally-heated room (temperature range 19 - 22 degrees C, relative humidity 40 - 77) and others in a greenhouse (13 - 23 degrees C, 59 - 75 RH) with 12 hours supplemented light. Plant containers were placed in large trays and leaves falling from each plant into the tray were collected every two weeks, dried and weighed.

At the start of the trial a typical plant from each source was sacrificed and the total dry weight of leaves measured. To show the amount of leaves lost we expressed the weight of leaves lost every two weeks with the starting weight of the typical plant.

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Some queries to ponder:

1 Do you think that the price you pay for a plant determines the size of the plant you get?

2 Would you expect any of the plants, kept either indoors or in the greenhouse, to keep all their leaves into the New Year?

3 Do you think plants would lose more leaves soon after purchase or later say after 6 weeks?

4 Which plants do think would lose most leaves, those in the greenhouse or those indoors, the M&S, B&Q, Wyevale or Nursery sourced plants?

To see results click here

	Poinsettia - are they just for Christmas?
	Poinsettias can provide that vivid splash of colour just when needed in the depth of winter but, if you are unlucky, a plant bought just before Christmas has shed most of its leaves or even collapsed by New Year's Day. But is it chance which decides how long your plant lasts? Admittedly it is often difficult to find an indoor spot which meets all the requirements listed on the plant label - enough light but not too much, no draughts, warm night and day but not too hot, not near radiators etc. So does it matter where you put them? What can you do to make sure your plant lasts well into the New Year?
Test details	Two days before Christmas Day (1999), medium sized poinsettias (about 30 - 40 cm/12 - 16 in high) were bought from three retailers (M&S, B&Q, Wyevale) and direct from a nursery. Some plants from each source were kept on a table near a west-facing window in a warm centrally-heated room (temperature range 19 - 22 degrees C, relative humidity 40 - 77) and others in a greenhouse (13 - 23 degrees C, 59 - 75 RH) with 12 hours supplemented light. Plant containers were placed in large trays and leaves falling from each plant into the tray were collected every two weeks, dried and weighed. At the start of the trial a typical plant from each source was sacrificed and the total dry weight of leaves measured. To show the amount of leaves lost we expressed the weight of leaves lost every two weeks with the starting weight of the typical plant.
Home	Some queries to ponder: 1 Do you think that the price you pay for a plant determines the size of the plant you get? 2 Would you expect any of the plants, kept either indoors or in the greenhouse, to keep all their leaves into the New Year? 3 Do you think plants would lose more leaves soon after purchase or later say after 6 weeks? 4 Which plants do think would lose most leaves, those in the greenhouse or those indoors, the M&S, B&Q, Wyevale or Nursery sourced plants?
To see results click here