The Christmas plant

The other day I bought a potted poinsettia - the Christmas plant. I am always reminded when these lovely plants appear in the shops, of a task I had to do annually in our garden in Durban SA.

On top of a retaining wall we had a row of poinsettia plants. They looked terrific all summer but had to be pruned every year. They reached heights of 8-10ft in a season. I didn't have the benefit of a pair of loppers back then, only a pair of cutters and an old garden saw. Pretty hard work cutting throught those tough stems. The plant, euphorbia pulcherrima, oozes a white milky latex sap when stems are cut. This stuff is dreadful, sticky and impossible to wash off it is also a bit toxic.

So not my favourite garden task. However, every year these plants would grow to their spectacular best, only to cut them back again. Isn't nature wonderful?

For advice on how to look after poinsettias indoors