Poinsettias are one of my favorite types of flowers. They come in endless patterns and colors in the most vivid of reds you can imagine. They bring joy and happiness all through the holiday season, seldom stopping there. Quite often they lend color for Valentine’s Day, blooming well into spring. Poinsettias are resilient and remain beautiful even with the summer weather challenges of the Midwest.
As the summer begins to wane, they can step in to pinch hit when other container flowers have withered away. A friend just gave me three beautiful potted pointsettia plants. Having a container whose inhabitants could not take the heat, I decided to build a grouping using these three plants along with some caladiums and a bunch of lemongrass for the central thriller.
Yeah, I know, they are no longer red, but the green is deep and rich and really sets off the colors of the caladiums.
As a final touch, several smaller Wild Poinsettias, (Euphorbia cyathophora) were popped into the corners. I discovered them while running along a road in North Carolina and dug some up to bring home. They have naturalized in my garden and reseed ever year. They too are hardy and the very top of the plant turns brilliant scarlet just like their big cousins without having to be pampered or placed in the dark.
Poinsettias will even blend nicely with fall mums and grasses in fall containers.
You may have pitched your poinsettias by now, but if you still have them around, put them to work again!
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