58 On the Treatment of the Euphorbia Poinsettii. 



Art. Vl. On the necessary Treatment of Euphorbia Poinsettii. 

 By P. Q., Philadelphia. 



Gentlemen : 



This euphorbia, which was introduced in 1828, from 

 Mexico, by Mr. Poinsett, should be extensively cultivated 

 in every choice collection of plants. It was knov/n by the 

 name of heterophylla, for some time, till its true character 

 became better known. Hence the name, in honor of Mr. 

 Poinsett, it being deemed a new species. The treatment 

 which I have always adopted differs very little from that of 

 a geranium : — cutting back the young wood about the mid- 

 dle of May, and planting the old plants immediately in the 

 ground, in the open air, and allowing only one strong shoot 

 to grow from each root, as on this you may look for a very 

 large bractece. Its color is the most vivid of all scarlets, 

 holding its bloom, in the highest degree of perfection, from 

 December until March, forming in that period the most 

 conspicuous object in the hot-house, the bracteee being from 

 seventeen to twenty inches in diameter. In propagating 

 this euphorbia, it should be observed, that every two eyes 

 of the young wood, that is cut off, will make a plant. After 

 the oittings are prepared, they ought to lie three or four 

 days in the full sun, so as to dry up the milky substance that 

 oozes from the stem ; afterwards place each singly into 

 thumb pots, in equal parts of leaf mould and sand, and 

 phuige them to the rim in a gentle bottom heat, preferring" 

 a bark red, with a frame placed upon it. The frame should 

 be kept close, day and night, until such time as the eyes 

 begin to push, when it is advisable to admit a little air in 

 the evenings, sprinkling them with water at the same time 

 that air is given. As soon as they are rooted, I prefer 

 planting them out in the garden, as there they will be 

 found to make strons-er shoots, and retain a much greener 

 foliage, than if kept in the pots and shifted. Care must be 

 taken, when removing them from the ground in the fall, as 

 every particle of soil ought to be allowed to hang to the 

 ball ; otherwise, if it is broken, the leaves often fall from 

 the plant, and the bractese will not be produced in any 

 beauty. Cuttings struck in May, planted out the latter end 

 of June, will generally make shoots three feet in length; 

 and on these plants the finest bracteros appear. Plants may 

 also be raised from cuttings of the root, as well as the 

 shoots. Yours, &c., P. Q. 



Philadelphia, JSTov. 8, 1835. 



