How to Make a Live Poinsettia Tree

Some people think that poinsettias are trees, but they are actually flowers. You can find a Christmas tree made out of poinsettias or create your own, and they can be pretty spectacular. Stores and shops sell live poinsettia trees around the holidays, but you might not be able to find live poinsettia trees for sale after Christmas and New Year's Day.

There are more than 100 kinds of poinsettias globally, with colors and patterns ranging from white to pink to speckled and marbled. Red is the traditional favorite Christmas poinsettia color, but white and green are also popular during this time of year. There are a few different ways to create a Christmas tree made out of poinsettias.

You can purchase frames shaped like Christmas trees at some retailers. The triangular base has small platforms on it to place different-size potted poinsettia plants. You'll need a lot of plants to fill it up, and some of the frames also include candle holders. To make your own version of this, use stacking tables instead of a frame, placing the smallest on top, securing the tables together and adding the potted poinsettias.

There are a variety of methods for decorating a small craft Christmas tree or creating a Christmas tree made out of poinsettias. You'll need a small evergreen tree, a big pot and potting soil, several poinsettia plants, pruning shears and floral vials. Place the tree into the pot, fill it halfway with potting soil and firmly tamp down the dirt. Cut some poinsettia stems off the mother plant, leaving a few inches of stem attached to the flower.

Fill your flower vials with water and put the end of the flower stems into the vials. Now, you can tuck the flower vials into the tree as you would any other ornament. Wear gloves whenever you are cutting poinsettia plants. When cut open, the stems leak a sap that can irritate the hands and fingers.

You can also buy natural and artificial poinsettia plants and trees in different sizes during the holiday season, but they will be much harder to find at other times of the year. During the holidays, you can probably find a medium-size live poinsettia plant for around $10 to $15. An artificial poinsettia tree can run anywhere from $5 to over $200 depending on where you buy it.

The botanical name for a poinsettia is ​Euphorbia pulcherrima​, and the red ones are also called flame-leaf flower and lobster flower. They are native to southern Mexico, where they grow as perennial shrubs that can reach as tall as 10 to 15 feet. Physician and botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett brought the plant to this country from Mexico. December 12 is Poinsettia Day, which is the day he passed away in 1851.

Although the stems ooze that icky whitish sap, poinsettias are not poisonous to humans. One study showed that a child weighing 50 pounds would need to consume more than 500 leaves to become ill. It is a good idea to keep your pets away from the plants, though. The leaves taste terrible and can cause diarrhea and vomiting.