Earth, Wind, and Fire — besides being the classic, uber-cool band that makes just about anyone with a pulse jump up and trip the light funk-tastic, it is also a trifecta of helpful tips for you to provide the necessary care poinsettias need while they are decking the halls in your home this Christmas.
So, use my Earth, Wind, and Fire reference not only to get your toes tapping to a few blast-from-the-past tunes, but also to help keep your poinsettias looking pretty through the Yuletide season and beyond!
Earth. Poinsettias will truly suffer in soggy soil, so make sure the containers they come in have drain holes in them. For the same reason, if frilly foil or plastic wrap adorns the containers, it should be removed or have holes poked in the bottom. Lower leaves turning yellow and starting to drop off is a sure sign of pot bog.
On the other hand, keeping a poinsettia’s “earth” properly irrigated is, of course, also essential for its health, but only water when the upper soil surface feels dry to the touch. Giving your pretty plants a drink of room-temperature water about every three to four days will usually do the trick.
Wind. Indoor drafts are the slight wind currents that can cause problems for your poinsettias. The most obvious draft comes from heating duct vents, and while they help keep these Central American natives cozy in the winter, placing them too close to such warm, dry breezes dehydrates the foliage, which can cause the leaves to curl and even drop.
In addition, avoid placing them close to doors that let in drifts of chilled air every time they are opened. Such locations are microclimates of rapid temperature fluctuations, which could result in leaf loss.
Fire. The sun is the biggest fire I know, and poinsettias do like its light. However, in an enclosed house with typical wintertime low humidity, placing them in a sunny window is not the best option. Poinsettias will last longer in a holiday-festive nook or cranny that is bathed by strong yet indirect sunlight for at least six hours a day.
Smaller fires come from wood stoves and fireplaces, which, like indoor duct vents, produce plenty of warm, dry air. So to prevent leaf crinkle, keep poinsettias in other rooms, away from these sources of heat.
‘Acapulco Multicolor’ is a flashy Christmas pepper.
Poinsettias can have plenty of visual competition from Christmas peppers, many of which flaunt bulb-shaped fruit that look like they belong on the Yuletide tree. Like poinsettias, these ornamental peppers prefer well-draining pots. Unlike poinsettias, they do best in full sunlight for four hours or more a day, so a bright, south-facing window would be ideal, but just be sure their tender leaves don’t touch any cold windows.
And while Christmas peppers may look good enough to eat, many were developed more as eye candy rather than delectable edibles, so, besides the fruit possibly having residual pesticide, they are usually bland or bitter tasting, with seedy, pithy innards, meaning they are no culinary match for the typical flavorful peppers from the summer garden.
To Do in the Garden
November
- Planting tulips this fall? Plant them deep — at least 6 to 8 inches down. This will provide a more constant cold (especially in mild winters) to help stimulate flower production. As a bonus, going to such a depth will make it tougher for tulip bulb-loving squirrels to find and dig up your sleeping beauties.
- With insects and seed-producing plants becoming less available for birds now, begin a routine of refilling their feeders with fresh seed and suet at least once a week. And while putting out food for your garden-friendly flyers, also change the water in the bird bath.
December
- If your African violets are starting to look a bit tilted, it’s probably because they are bending toward their light source. Give your pretties a quarter turn every two weeks to lose their lean.
- Add mulch around recently planted evergreens and water them during extended periods when the rains don’t come. Even in the winter, drought can be a problem for such newbie woody ornamentals that remain in full leaf.
- 2026 Gift Guide
- Mrs. Claus Knows
- Season’s Sips
- Pay It Forward: PORCH Cary
- Small Business Spotlight: Annelore’s German Bakery
- Erica Chats: A New Type of Tradition
- All That — and Joy
- Seen and Served: Milo’s Cafe
- Garden Adventurer: Poinsettia Care Essentials: Earth, Wind, and Fire
- Recipes from Readers: Dark Chocolate Bourbon Brownies
- Liquid Assets: Cranberry Kölsch
- Oh Come, All Ye Jedi
- Holiday Happenings
