Which is your favorite: traditional poinsettia or Princettia?

by Connie Oswald Stofko

Traditional poinsettias are still a welcome sight, but “the Princettia variety is becoming more and more popular,” said Mark Yadon, vice president at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville.

“Princettias are compact, mounded plants,” Yadon said. “The flowers are smaller, but more abundant.”

A traditional poinsettia has larger flowers, but there are fewer of them.

An aside about poinsettia flowers: What we call flower petals on poinsettias aren’t really petals. They’re bracts, which are a kind of leaf. The actual flower is the small part in the center of the colorful bracts. 

Mischler’s offers about 20 varieties of poinsettias.

The Princettias are:

• Princettia ‘Pure Red’—new this year
• Princettia ‘Sparkling Rose’—new this year
• Princettia ‘Pure White’
• Princettia ‘Hot Pink’
• Princettia ‘Pink’

Other poinsettias at Mischler’s are:

• ‘Alaska’
• ‘Christmas Feelings Merlot’
• ‘Christmas Mouse’
• ‘Holly Berry’
• ‘Ice Punch’
• ‘Jubilee Red’
• ‘Premium Red’
• ‘Premium Lipstick’
• ‘Prestige’
• ‘Tidings Dark Pink’
• ‘Superba New Glitter’
• ‘Ferrara Red’
• ‘Christmas Spirit’—new this year
• ‘Christmas Wish’—new this year
• ‘Frozen’—new this year
• ‘Prestigious’—new this year

Sales and festivities

Small Business Saturday

Stop in and get a huge discount on poinsettias when you stop into Mischler’s on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30. Buy a poinsettia for only $19.99. (This is a carry-out special; no deliveries.)

While you’re at Mishler’s, snap a picture of your family and friends (even furry pets!) with a gorgeous background of poinsettias.

Enjoy refreshments and enter to win a Mischler poinsettia.

Free local delivery of poinsettias

Order a poinsettia and get free local delivery from Mischler’s. The poinsettia needs to be ordered by Wednesday, Dec. 11; it can be delivered as late as Saturday, Dec. 14.

Single poinsettias are $35, doubles are $50 and triples are $70.

Holiday in the Village

Enjoy the holiday sounds presented by flutists of Note-worthy Concertante between 1 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at Mischler’s. This free concert, part of Holiday in the Village, has become a holiday tradition.

Caring for poinsettias

You can enjoy your poinsettia plant for weeks or even months if you care for it properly.

“The main thing is don’t overwater them,” Yadon said. “They don’t need to be watered nearly as much as people water them.”

If the plant is in foil, take the foil off, water the plant at the sink, let the excess water drain out of the pot, then set the pot back in the foil. You don’t want the pot sitting in water, he explained.

Keep the plant moist; don’t let it dry out completely between waterings. But again, don’t overwater.

“The majority of people wreck their poinsettias by overwatering them,” Yadon said.

Some people who take good care of their poinsettias will have beautiful plants into March and April.

You might be able to keep poinsettias alive until next December, but it’s really difficult to get poinsettias to rebloom, Yadon said. So while it’s possible to keep a poinsettia plant alive for a year, most people enjoy poinsettias as if they are cut flowers– They’re happy if the poinsettias look nice throughout the holidays.

Yadon admits that he’s one of those people. At home he’ll water poinsettias the week before Christmas, then stop watering them.

“They’ll last through the second week of January, and I’m good with that,” he said. (Yes, they’ll go a couple weeks without water. Did we mention that you shouldn’t overwater your poinsettias?)

Place your poinsettia in a well-lit location, but not in direct sunlight, he said. You also don’t want it too warm, so avoid setting it close to a fireplace, wood stove or heat register.

If your plant loses a few leaves, don’t worry, Yadon said. That’s normal. It won’t affect the look of the plant too much. But if you lose a lot of leaves, you’re probably watering too much, he said.