Poinsettia ‘Prestige Red’

Poinsettia 'Prestige Red' (Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Prestige Red') is the compact red poinsettia grown for pots, reaching about 1m tall and 80cm wide outdoors and staying smaller in a container. The red is not flower but bract, the modified leaves that colour up as the nights lengthen, which is why the display peaks in December. Kept in a bright spot it holds that colour for months.

Why you'll love it

• Deep red at the right time of year. The bracts colour through late spring and early summer and hold well past Christmas.
• Compact and well branched. This selection was bred for pot culture, so it builds a rounded shape without the leggy stems of older poinsettias.
• Happy in heat and humidity. Central American by origin, it takes a hot subtropical summer in its stride where many potted colour plants collapse.
• Indoors or out. It works in a bright room, or as a shrub in a frost free garden.

Where it works best

Indoors. A bright room with plenty of natural light suits it, out of direct hot sun through glass. Keep it away from air conditioning vents, which dry the bracts and drop the lower leaves.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. A 300mm pot with free draining mix is ample. Grouping three pots gives the mass of colour that a single plant cannot.

Feature planting in warm gardens. In tropical, subtropical and frost free warm temperate gardens it can go straight into the ground.

Growing poinsettia in Australia

Position and climate. Bright light, morning sun or filtered light outdoors. It is frost tender, so gardens that get frost should keep it in a pot and bring it under cover in winter. Outdoor planting suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate zones only.

Soil. Free draining potting mix or garden soil. Wet roots are the fastest way to lose one, so a pot must drain freely and never sit in a full saucer.

Water and feed. Water when the top few centimetres dry out, then let it drain. Liquid feed monthly through spring and summer, and stop feeding once the bracts colour.

Pruning and colour. Cut back by about a third in late summer to keep it compact. Bracts only colour after several weeks of long uninterrupted nights, so a plant under a streetlight or a lamp indoors may stay green.

What to expect when it arrives

It is supplied as tube stock, a young rooted plant rather than a finished pot of colour. That is the honest position: you grow it on yourself, potting up into a 200mm and then a 300mm pot over the first season, and colouring your own bracts the following summer.

The milky sap is an irritant, so wear gloves when pruning and wash your hands afterwards. It is not safe for cats and dogs, and chewed leaves can cause drooling and stomach upset, so keep plants out of reach in a home with pets. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse flowering plants for indoors
• Plants that perform in containers
• Choosing the right pot size
• Indoor plant basics for beginners

Common questions

Is it safe around pets?

No. The milky sap irritates skin and mouths, and chewed leaves can cause drooling, vomiting and stomach upset in cats and dogs. Rarely serious, but keep it off the floor if your pet chews foliage.

Why did my poinsettia stay green?

Bracts need about six to eight weeks of long, completely dark nights to colour. Artificial light at night, even a hallway lamp, is usually the reason a healthy plant stays green.

Can I plant it in the garden?

Yes, in a frost free garden. In tropical, subtropical and warm temperate zones it grows into a shrub around 1m tall. Anywhere colder, keep it potted and move it under cover for winter.