Christmas Stars align for Poinsettia Day

If you want to bring a naturally elegant style into your home this season, without losing any of the traditional charm associated with Christmas, poinsettias are the perfect place to start. Beautifying garden centres up and down the country, they also help to keep these stores alive during the winter months. So popular are these unique plants that they have their own special day coming up tomorrow on 12th December: National Poinsettia Day!

Every Advent beautiful poinsettias – also known as the Christmas Star – come into their own in glorious style and a myriad of shapes. Their colourful bracts that range from blood red and Barbie pink to pure white, warming apricot and variegated brilliance, which ensure poinsettias are the go-to plant for co-ordinated Christmas styling.

In size they run the gamut from charming miniatures up to spectacular plants the size of small shrubs. As perfect for adorning Christmas trees, wreaths and tabletops as they are for gifting to dinner party hosts, friends and colleagues; ideal as cut plants and beautiful in bouquets, poinsettias are as versatile as they are pretty.

Poinsettias are also a fabulous way to introduce festive trends into the home. This year, with 'Kitschmas' and 'Dopamine

décor' proving popular, gorgeous hot pink poinsettias are flavour of the season.

Sustainable Christmas Tree Alternative

This rustic DIY Christmas tree is perfect for anyone who cares about a sustainable lifestyle. It's a recycling project because the tree is created from an old trunk (for example, last year's Christmas tree), wire, clay and evergreen branches. To make it, form a conical tree shape out of a piece of chicken wire and attach it to the tree trunk with florists' stub wire. Next, attach the evergreen branches to the chicken wire frame with more stub wire. Make mini poinsettia Kokedamas and hang them on the tree with parcel string. Finally, attach a beautiful cut poinsettia in a test tube filled with water to the top of the tree. Done! Add a layer of clay at the bottom of the basket to ensure the tree stands securely. For the Kokedamas, first water the mini poinsettias thoroughly. Next, take them out of their pots and wrap the root balls with moss, securing it with fine craft wire. Tip: After hanging, you can either water your mini plants gently from above or regularly place the moss balls in a container of lukewarm water to absorb it.

Style on a Shoestring 

Below left: Making this artistic poinsettia arrangement yourself is easier than it looks. To frame the poinsettia, place it in its planter on a slice of wood. Then cut a metal ring and insert the ends into pre-drilled holes on either side of the piece of wood. Next, cover the top of the ring with wild clematis (Clematis vitalba) tendrils. Loosely wrap chicken wire around the bottom half of the metal ring, then wrap it in the moss and decorate it with natural materials, if you want. A decorative star gives this homemade project the finishing touch. Your perfect poinsettia gift for anyone who loves natural things is ready.

Below centre: Selected golden details lend warmth and elegance to this Art Deco-style composition: vases filled with poinsettias in shimmering apricot and nude shades draw the eye to the serving trolley in front of the subtly patterned gold and white wallpaper. With their magnificent, colourful bracts, poinsettias create a festive atmosphere both as potted plants and cut flowers. In bouquets, they work well with drumsticks (Craspedia globosa), amaryllis (Hippeastrum), pine and eucalyptus branches.

Below right: A poinsettia arrangement on a tray makes a quick gift or home décor idea that can easily be adapted to any taste or interior by choosing different colours and accessories. In this modern, Scandi-style composition, the salmon mini poinsettias and the retro Christmas bauble make an attractive contrast with the blue, grey and yellow pillar candle and the bright blue tray.

Below left: In front of an Art Deco wallpaper with a subtle gold geometric pattern, these festive table decorations featuring cream poinsettias are a real showstopper. In combination with elegant accessories in silver, gold, grey and beige, these magnificent plants create a luxe feel.

Below right: Wreaths are an integral part of the festive season. This unusual example in pink, white and bright blue shows that you can still do it without candles and evergreen foliage. This decorative display made from fresh, cut poinsettias, and dried, coloured grasses, leaves and hydrangeas has bags of upbeat vintage style and can be created using a dried flower foam ring. The cut poinsettias have been placed in test tubes filled with water. Tip: If you dip poinsettia stems in hot water (approx. 60°C) for a few seconds, immediately after cutting, then straight into cold water, they will stay fresh for up to two weeks.

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Editors notes

Stars for Europe (SfE) is a marketing initiative founded by European poinsettia breeders Dümmen Orange, Selecta One, Beekenkamp and Syngenta Flowers, supported by MNP Flowers. The initiative began in 2000 with the aim to promote and secure long-term poinsettia sales in Europe. SfE activities are currently taking place in 22 European nations.