Whether or not you are buying a tree this year, Christmas time is always a little more festive with poinsettias (aka Christmas flowers or Christmas star flowers) in little corners of your house or set up at the entrance for a spirited welcome to guests. Poinsettias can be found all over Cairo this time of year and purchasing one seems relatively easy, but Poinsettia's are very delicate plants and to keep one looking chipper through the holiday season may take a little more care than you're expecting. Step 1: Purchasing the right poinsettia. Apparently the favorite Egyptian method of enclosing poinsettias in plastic is very, very bad. Gases emitted from the leaves of the poinsettia get trapped inside the plastic and, in a sense, suffocate the plant beyond repair. “Try your best to get your plant out of its plastic as soon as possible,” says Abdullah Ahmed, a gardener working in Maadi. “But if you remove the plastic and all the leaves fall off, expect your plant to last about a week, max.” Apparently, ideal poinsettia plants are full of leaves at the bottom and thick with flowers. Another thing to watch out for: plants with green at the beginnings of their petals. “You want full color,” adds Ahmed, “those are the strongest.” You should pay approximately LE25-35 for a 3-4 bloom plant. Step 2: Decorative and poinsettia-friendly placement Poinsettias are sensitive plants--and they live well in indirect sunlight. In Egypt, you don't have to worry about the poinsettia's other fear--below zero temperatures--but direct sunlight can also damage the poinsettia and considerably shorten its lifespan. Try to place the poinsettia in a spot in your house that is semi-sunny for at least 6 hours daily. All the same, close the windows, as poinsettias do not do well in a draft. Visually, poinsettias look better when there are a few of them so consider investing in a woven basket or a large pot where you can set a few poinsettias and give them room to breathe. Step 3: Care for longer life To keep your poinsettia alive and happy, you should constantly make sure that the soil around it is damp or wet. If the soil is dry, add a bit of water; if the soil is wet, let it be and check again the next day. In climates more humid than Cairo's, the rule of thumb is to water every other day. Here, you never know...you may have to water your poinsettia daily. “Make sure the pot your poinsettia is in can drain the water,” advises Gamal El Dessouky, owner of a flower shop in Zamalek. “If the water stays inside the soil, the roots of the poinsettia will rot.” Unfortunately, there are signs that will show you your poinsettia is in the last phase of its life and shedding leaves profusely is one of them. Step 4: A poinsettia for life Depending on your gardening expertise, you may be able to keep your poinsettia alive forever...or at least until next year. This requires some work; you will need to fertilize your poinsettia with a home fertilizer once it stops blooming. You should fertilize it every two weeks. You can move the plant to a shaded part of your garden, outside, for spring and summer. In order to get the poinsettia to bloom again, you can move it indoors at the beginning of winter and keep it in complete darkness for about 12 hours every night and warm sunlight during the day for at least 6 hours. There's no guarantee your poinsettia will make it through Egypt's dryish and potentially sand blown weather but you can always try!
