Viking Poinsettia

Viking Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Viking') is the compact red poinsettia grown for indoor colour through the Christmas months. It settles at around 800mm tall and 600mm across, small enough for a side table or a courtyard pot. Viking branches low and holds its bracts on short sturdy stems, so it stands up on its own rather than leaning like older poinsettias.

Why you'll love it

• Weeks of red, not days. The colour sits in modified leaves, not petals, so a well lit plant holds it for weeks.
• Compact and self supporting. At 800mm by 600mm it fills a pot without staking.
• Built for humid summers. Heat and humidity tolerant, which is more than most flowering pot plants manage in an Australian December.
• Genuinely low maintenance. Bright indirect light, and water when the top of the mix dries.
• It comes back each year. Cut hard in early spring, it rebuilds over summer and colours again next season.

Where it works best

Indoors. Give it the brightest indirect light in the room, well away from air conditioning vents. Draughts and cold snaps are what strip the lower leaves.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. A pot 250mm to 300mm wide is ample, and one plant reads as a feature beside a door. Keep it under cover on an open balcony, because heavy rain marks the bracts.

Warm garden beds. Tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens can plant it straight into the ground. Anywhere that frosts, it stays potted.

Growing Viking Poinsettia in Australia

Position and climate. Bright indirect light all year indoors. Outdoors it is reliable only in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It is frost tender, so cool temperate, Mediterranean and cold inland gardens want it potted and under cover before winter.

Soil. Free draining potting mix in a pot with a working drainage hole. In the ground it wants light, well drained soil and will not sit in wet clay.

Water and feed. Water once the top 20mm of mix is dry, then empty the saucer. Constant wet is the quickest way to lose one. Liquid feed every four weeks from spring to late summer, and stop once the bracts start to colour.

Pruning. Cut back by about half in early spring once the bracts fade, then tip prune through summer to build branches. The sap is an irritant, so wear gloves. Colour is triggered by long nights: from mid autumn it needs about 14 hours of complete darkness for six to eight weeks, well clear of lamps and street light.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold in one size, tube stock: a young rooted plant of a few branches, not a coloured display plant. It needs a season of growing on before the first real show of bracts. Pot it into a 200mm container on arrival and it will colour the following Christmas.

Tube stock is light and compact, so it travels well. Expect a quiet fortnight after potting, then new growth. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to keep your indoor plants alive
• Browse more indoor flowering plants
• Choosing the right size pot for potting tube stock on
• Plant gift ideas for Christmas

Common questions

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

No. Poinsettia is a euphorbia, and the milky sap irritates the mouth and stomach of cats and dogs, and human skin as well. Reactions are usually mild, but keep it out of reach of pets and children and wear gloves when you prune.

Why has my poinsettia stayed green?

Bracts colour in response to long nights. If a lamp or a street light reaches it in the evening, the plant reads the night as short and stays green. Give it true darkness from mid autumn.

Can I plant it in the garden?

Only in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens, where it makes a shrub of about 800mm. It is frost tender, so in cooler and inland districts keep it in a pot you can shift under cover.