One of the ways I love to decorate for Christmas is by filling every corner of our home with Poinsettias. I had always heard that poinsettias were poisonous but since we did not have children or pets I never worried about having them in our home.

After our son was born I will admit that I became a slightly paranoid first time mom. Our first Christmas with a small child crawling around was not going to include the traditional poinsettia decorations for fear of poisoning our first born. Being the rational minded man that he is, my husband went online to find out if Poinsettias are truly poisonous or not. It turns out that they are no more poisonous than any other houseplant.

Many sources, including medicine net.com and About.com, say the same thing;

“parents of young children can be assured that the poinsettia plant is not a dangerous risk in the home”

“poinsettias have undergone extensive testing and there is no evidence that they are toxic or unsafe to have in the house.”

After reading numerous sources and confirming with our pediatrician, that poinsettias are just as safe as any other houseplant we once again filled our home with the traditional holiday poinsettia.

This year, I am a little more “green” conscience and I started wondering if there was a way to keep those beautiful plants around for longer than a month. About.com had this article How can I care for my poinsettia so that it will bloom again next Christmas. It gives great pointers for how to keep poinsettias blooming year after year. It does not sound easy but it is worth a try.

On the bright side, if I can’t keep them alive until next year I can always compost them since I now know they are not poisonous.

Have you had success in keeping your poinsettias blooming year after year? If so, please share your pointers. I can use all the help I can get.

Picture from Costco.com

Lena also blogs at Over Coffee – the green edition