Poinsettia

Meet poinsettia, the plant that arrives in Dubai garden centres and shops as the weather cools in November. Its red, pink, cream or speckled "petals" are not flowers at all but bracts, which are modified leaves. The true flowers are the small yellow buttons at their centre.

It is a tender plant that sulks in the cold. The RHS gives a minimum of 13 to 16°C, and a poinsettia that has been chilled drops its leaves and bracts and keeps declining. The likely chills in a Dubai home are a cold vent, the glass of a window on a winter night, or a spot in a draught. The RHS suggests a table a little away from a bright window.

Most are bought as a seasonal gift and enjoyed through the festive weeks. Keeping one for next year is possible, but the RHS says it needs eight to ten weeks of short days with no light at night to colour up again, so many people simply buy a new plant each year. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to pets, but names an irritant sap and calls the toxicity generally over-rated.

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a spurge from Mexico and Central America, sold worldwide as a Christmas houseplant. The coloured parts are bracts in red, pink, burgundy, salmon and cream (RHS), and the true flowers are the small yellow structures at their centre (NC State). The RHS gives its size as typically 60 cm high by 30 cm wide, with mini plants about 10 cm tall.

The RHS says poinsettias are on sale in full colour from November to Christmas, and Plantsworld and Greensouq already listed them in Dubai in late October 2026. Light and temperature decide how long it lasts. The RHS wants bright light out of direct sun and a minimum of 13 to 16°C, below which the plant suffers physiological shock and drops leaves and bracts. NC State says to keep it away from heat vents and cold draughts, and to water when the soil surface feels dry without overwatering.

On pets, the ASPCA lists poinsettia as toxic to dogs, cats and horses. The toxic principle is an irritant sap that irritates the mouth and stomach and sometimes causes vomiting, and the ASPCA says the plant's toxicity is generally over-rated. NC State says a significant amount would have to be eaten before even a mild stomach ache, and that the white sap can affect people with a latex allergy. The RHS advises avoiding contact with the milky sap, which can irritate skin and eyes.

Most poinsettias are discarded a few weeks into the new year, and the RHS says they are cheap enough to treat like a bunch of flowers. A plant can be grown on, but colour is triggered by short days: on average 8 to 10 weeks of less than 12 hours of light, with no artificial light at night, from late September. Commercially grown plants are often treated with growth suppressants, so a plant grown on at home grows taller.