Whether as a pot plant or cut flower in bouquets and arrangements, with its beautiful bracts, the poinsettia, also known as the Christmas Star, is widely used as interior décor as the nights draw in and thoughts turn to Christmas.
Careful cultivation over the years has resulted in a broad variety of poinsettia plants in a beautiful array of colours, from trendy Viva Magenta and Apricot Crush (Pantone Colours of the Year for 2023 and 2024 respectively), to pure Scandi-chic white and cream to hot Barbie Pink and – of course – traditional red.
This spectacular array of coloured bracts can be turned to all manner of fun and satisfying craft projects, suitable for DIY enthusiasts with different skill levels. Here the experts at Stars for Europe set out a range of projects that you can enjoy creating at home, from beautiful centrepieces and planters to special wreaths and bouquets.
Homemade flower and candleholders featuring poinsettias make a natural table decoration that's quick and easy to make and can be used in a variety of ways. These DIY flower holders also make wonderful gifts.
For these mini flower vases and candleholders you will need mini poinsettias, frosted apples (available from florists), candleholders on spikes, taper candles, test tubes, moss, craft wire, gold glitter, a vegetable peeler, oranges, pins and red ribbon.
For the poinsettia candleholder, carefully remove the mini poinsettia from its pot, wrap the root ball with moss and bind the moss ball with the craft wire. Then insert a test tube into the hole, fill it with water and place a cut poinsettia in it. Tip: Immediately after cutting, dip the poinsettia stem in hot water (about 60°C) for a few seconds and then in cold water. In clean water, the poinsettia will stay fresh and beautiful for up to two weeks.
Tip: Water the plant beforehand so the root ball is moist before pushing in the candleholder.
Wrap the red ribbon around your oranges, tie a bow on top and secure in place with a pin in the base of the fruit. Arrange your homemade poinsettia vases and candle holders on the table. Place the decorated oranges and more frosted apples next to them.
Scandi-chic candle planter
This DIY candle planter makes a Scandi-style centrepiece out of gorgeous cut cream poinsettias that takes very little skill to make. You will need a bowl, chicken wire, floral tape, high-strength glue, a candle, a short piece of plastic pipe, poinsettias, kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos manglesii), winterberry (Ilex verticillata), wild asparagus (Asparagus acutifolius), eucalyptus pods (Eucalyptus robusta), James Storie orchids (Aranthera James Storie) and kiwi vines (Actinidia deliciosa).
Step 1: Stick the plastic tube to the bottom of the bowl using the glue.
Step 2: Cut a length of chicken wire to roughly the diameter of the bowl, scrunch it up and place it inside the bowl, around the section of pipe and fix it in place, using floral tape placed over the edge of the bowl.
Step 3: Insert the cut poinsettias and the other florals close together into the chicken wire. Finally, place the candle into the plastic tube and add water to the bowl. Tip: Cut poinsettias will last for up to two weeks if you immerse the cut stem end in hot water (approx. 60°C) for a few seconds immediately after cutting and then in cold water, then place the cut flower in fresh water.
This stunning bouquet of winterberry stems, grasses and cut red poinsettias has a long vase life if regularly given fresh water and is simple to make in just a few steps. In addition to the florals you will need small test tubes, craft wire and ribbon.
Step 1: Attach the test tubes to the winterberry stems with craft wire.
Step 2: Tie the winterberry stems and grasses into a bouquet and secure it with the red ribbon.
Step 3: Fill the test tubes with water, insert the cut poinsettias into them and place the bouquet in the vase with fresh water.
Tip: The poinsettias will stay fresh for up to two weeks if, immediately after cutting, you first dip the cut ends in hot water (about 60°C) for a few seconds and then in cold water. Faded poinsettias can also be easily replaced in this winter bouquet.
Kokedama Advent Wreath
With its floating moss balls and scarlet mini poinsettias, this Kokedama decoration is show stopper. You can create this original design idea in a few steps using a log slice, mini poinsettias, moss, gold craft wire, three taper candles, three candle holders on spikes, wooden kebab sticks, a pine branch, a cordless drill and secateurs.
Tip: The number of poinsettias you need will depend on the size of your log slice.
Step 1: Use the cordless drill to drill holes in the log slice for the candle holders and the wooden kebab sticks. You will place the kokedamas onto the sticks later, so make sure the holes are evenly spaced out over the log slice.
Step 2: Insert the spiked candle holders and the sticks into the pre-drilled holes. Space the candle holders out evenly.
Step 3: Remove the mini poinsettias from their pots, wrap the root balls with moss and secure it with the gold craft wire. Tip: Water the plants beforehand so the root balls are moist.
Step 4: Gently push the poinsettia kokedamas onto the wooden sticks so they are level with each other here.
Step 5: Finish off the arrangement with the pine branches. You can also attach the sprigs to the candle holders with craft wire. Finally, put the candles in the holders and place the arrangement in a bright place protected from draughts. Place the finished wreath in your desired spot and light the candles.
Tip: You can water the mini poinsettias gently from above. Alternatively, place the wrapped root balls briefly in a container with a little water to allow the moss to soak it up.
More information about the poinsettia and lots of decoration ideas can be found at https://www.starsuniteeurope.eu
Stars for Europe is a marketing initiative from European poinsettia breeders Beekenkamp Plants, Dümmen Orange, Selecta One and Syngenta Flowers.
The initiative was founded in 2000 with the aim to promote and secure long-term poinsettia sales. Through carefully defined themes, targets and an image refresh, the initiative taps into new buyer groups and increasingly inspires younger generations with poinsettias. The campaign is now active in 22 countries.
We'd like to thank Stars for Europe for providing the image used.