Even before Thanksgiving dinner is served, the Christmas decorations start popping up. Right next to the turkey decor are the Christmas tree ornaments. In the food aisle, ingredients for pumpkin pie aren’t too far away from ingredients for gingerbread cookies. The snowmen, the Christmas trees and the toys appear even before Mariah Carey sings about impatiently waiting for her boyfriend to come home. But gardeners (and homeowners with a novice green thumb) are looking for one more thing to make it officially the Christmas holiday season: poinsettias to care for.

When Did National Poinsettia Day Start On December 12?

This flower is so popular that it has had a National Poinsettia Day for more than 150 years, always on December 12. An Act of Congress made the flower celebration official in 2002. And not only does it have an affiliation to the Christmas season, but more than 2 million are sold annually.

California Paul Ecke gets credit for making poinsettias easier to grow. He reportedly discovered a technique that caused seedlings to branch, resulting in a fuller poinsettia. He then grew the plant in the tens of thousands for Christmas when other flowers were tougher to grow during the winter season. Ecke used to send the crimson-leaved plants to TV studios nationwide, including The Tonight Show and Bob Hope’s holiday specials. But the flower may have not gotten as much shine if not for U.S. Ambassador Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and the first United States Minister to Mexico, who brought it back from a trip to Mexico in the 1830s. He died on December 12, 1851.

How Did Poinsettias Become a Christmas Flower?

Even someone who could nail a Christmas trivia game may be stumped about why a tropical plant became affiliated with a winter-weather holiday. According to Almanac, the history of the poinsettia began with an old Mexican legend. In this region, poinsettias commonly grow as high as 15 feet tall during the winter season.

The Aztecs called the plant “cuetlaxochitl” (kwet-la-show-she) in the Nahuatl language. The bracts (or petals) were used to make a reddish-purple dye for fabrics and is a source of sap in medicines. Then, Spanish missionaries called the plant “flor de la noche buena”  (flower of the Holy Night) because they look like the Star of Bethlehem.

When a young child named Pepita did not have a gift for the baby Jesus at a Christmas Eve service, according to the Almanac tale, all the penniless kid could do was pick a bouquet of “weeds” to offer. The angels sympathized. After Pepita set the flowers by the nativity area on Christmas Eve, the angels turned those weeds into stunning red flowers. If you believe the tale, this is why red and green are the colors of Christmas today. (Other accounts of red and green affiliate it with Jesus’ blood and evergreen trees.)

How Do You Care for Poinsettias?

Although poinsettias are considered a Christmas plant, if taken care of properly, they can last the long haul. When the top inch of soil is dry, they should be watered. A simple finger poke is all that’s needed to see how moist the soil is. Do so daily. Light, temperature and humidity will significantly affect the results and watering schedule. Generally, one weekly watering (under the sink or with a watering can) is all it’ll take. Although the ideal temperature is between 55 degrees to 75 degrees, if a poinsettia is in a sunnier and warmer place, it will require more watering. As long as it doesn’t start to wilt, you can enjoy it for years (and more Christmases) to come.