Poinsettias seem to get stranger every year. The classic deep red that became popular in the 1950’s will always be my favorite, although white is my favorite color and also very traditional for poinsettias. Pink had been less common, but conventional. Then, in the late 1980’s, many variations were developed and the classic red was replaced with a somewhat orange red. More contemporary cultivars were described as variegated, marbled, speckled, spotted and margined. I still think that spotted poinsettias look like they were grown in greenhouses infested with pigeons. Since 1990, poinsettias have been blooming with colors such as yellow, ‘salmon’, peach and purple, and with more floral variations, including ‘ruffled’.

With so much breeding of poinsettias, someone should have developed a cultivar that would easily survive the transition into the garden when finished in the home. Every winter, countless poinsettias come and go from perhaps every retail horticultural establishment on the continent, but so few are ever seen in the garden.

Poinsettias are the epitome of what is known to growers as ‘pot plants’ and is a very popular holiday plant for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This designation does not imply that they are only legal in Santa Cruz, but that they are only expected to perform for a limited time in their own containers, then discarded. Potted chrysanthemums, Easter lilies, kalanchoe and various forces bulbs are other examples of ‘pot plants’. Although they are rarely salvaged, any will eventually adapt to an appropriate garden environment. In fact, my great grandmother grew a poinsettia since about 1970 in her garden in Sunnyvale.

I certainly would not recommend planting poinsettias in the garden now. Greenhouse grown specimens are very sensitive and easily ruined by winter weather. They should be enjoyed in the home as long as they are appealing. The colorful ‘flowers’ should remain intact for several months until weather is warmer. (Poinsettias flowers are small and yellow. Brightly colored ‘bracts’ surrounding the flowers are modified leaves. Bracts may remain intact after flowers have been abscised.)

Poinsettias may be grown in the home as houseplants. In fact, one of the most impressive specimens I have seen has spent several years in the Saratoga Post Office. Transition from pot culture to garden culture is not as simple, but possible with extra attention to the whims of the subject. Poinsettias incidentally prefer sheltered areas because they are sensitive to frost. They become tall and scrawny, so would be more appealing behind something lower and more dense.

Of course, many garden enthusiasts indulge in potted plant species that are not so disposable. While visiting with the poinsettias at the Summerwinds Nursery in Mountain View, I observed various blooming orchids. Like many greenhouse grown flowers, many types of orchids are available through the year, but others are more seasonal.