Baby, it's cold outside, yet we're still surrounded by flowers. Poinsettias seem to be everywhere and in more colors than ever.

Sold for only about six weeks a year, poinsettias are still the country's top-selling potted plant.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, poinsettias came from their native Mexico to the U.S. in the late 1820s and started gaining holiday popularity in the early 1900s.

However, they weren't as compact, as long lasting or as common as today's flowers.

David Krayesky, cryptogamic botanist and associate professor of biology at Slippery Rock University, said the showy part of the poinsettia plant is called a bract rather than a flower.

“A bract is a leaf that's beneath the flower,” he said.

Madlyn Peters said the flower is the small bloom at the center of the large bracts. She works in the floral department of Supervalu in New Stanton. Supervalu is the wholesaler that supplies poinsettias for about 150 Shop 'n Save stores in five states including Mihelic's Shop 'n Save at 5375 William Flinn Highway, Gibsonia.

“We probably send out 3,000 poinsettias a day,” Peters said.

The plants are grown mostly at a greenhouse in the Columbus, Ohio, area.

Peters said, “Probably 80 percent are the traditional colors — red, white and pink.” She said red is still the most popular.

“Blue is the number one painted poinsettia of all of the painted colors,” Peters said. “We do blues and purples and pinks in different colors and an orange for Thanksgiving.”

She said these are painted with a spray color by growers, but the plants last just as well as those that are traditional colors.

Ed Bloom, owner of The Butler Florist, 123 E. Wayne St., expects to sell about 250 poinsettias this year.

“I get some locally and some in Canada,” he said. “We probably sell about 60 percent red and about 40 percent the other colors.”

In addition to plants with bracts that are red, pink, white, salmon and pale green, Bloom sells the Christmas rose poinsettia plants with curled or twisted bracts.

The florist also sells Christmas Punch poinsettias, which have variegated leaves, and princettias, developed from poinsettias and almost dwarf in size.

Jennifer Daurora, director of operations for the three McGinnis Sisters Special Food stores, said they have red, white and pink poinsettias, and they also have a new color.

“We have a wine-colored one that looks really luxurious,” she said. “Then we have speckled. That might be red and white mixed, pink and white mixed and red and pink mixed.”

“We've already actually sold over a 100 (at the Adams Township store) and we expect to sell another 100,” Daurora said.

Daurora said the red and the white colors are still the most popular at their stores.

When choosing a poinsettia, Krayesky said to check the underside of the bracts for any scale or insects. This might look like discoloration. He said if it is there, don't buy that plant.

Bloom said, “Look that there's not a lot of yellow or curled-up leaves in the plant. There can be a fungus where they can drop their leaves in a hurry. They should have a lot of leaves on them.”

Peters recommended looking at the small bloom.

“That's the biggest thing,” Peters said. “It should be green and yellow and attached to the plant.”

Even a healthy poinsettia can wither from the cold. Peters said poinsettias should be wrapped before they are taken outside.

“Paper is the best insulation for covering the poinsettia for its traveling,” she said.

“It cannot take any length of cold, ” Peters said. “You wouldn't want to leave it on a porch.”

Krayesky advised full light for the poinsettia indoors but not direct light on a windowsill.

“If the poinsettia has too much exposure to sunlight, it will start fading,” Krayesky said.

For watering, Bloom recommended removing foil around the pot then putting the pot in the sink. The water should be directed at the dirt, not the plant.

Krayesky said to water the poinsettia so the soil is saturated. Before watering again, the top of the soil should be getting dry.

“Don't overwater them. They have a shallow root system and you want to let them dry out a little bit,” Bloom said. “Water until the pot feels heavier or a little comes out the bottom.”

Daurora said a poinsettia makes a good present.

“It's a nice hostess gift or a little appreciation gift for a teacher,” she said.

“It's a tradition. If you look back, it's classic decor even from the turn of the century. Christmas is a very nostalgic time and (they) bring up the times gone by and the joy,” Daurora said. “It's like the Christmas tree. You have to have it.”