Poinsettias in abundance!

They're quite a sight ! It doesn't look as if they are meant to be small and compact does it ... They are very attractive. Maybe I'll buy one and let it grow tall in the conservatory.

they love the conditions over there. to cold here unless you can keep them warm enough. I had one for about 5 yrs and played around with the light regimen to get them to re colour, which they did. it did get very leggy so I went in the compost bin eventually. It also got white fly, the only houseplant I have had to do so.

Have seen them on the Island of Madeira they grow as trees there 15 ft high at least

Your photos of Madeira look so warm and cheery, I'm getting withdrawal symptoms for some bright weather. Happy New Year to you.

I don’t remember seeing many when I have been in the Canaries, but thats probably because I don’t like them. They can’t stand abrupt changes in temperature if I remember rightly. But I agree...would much rather see a snowdrop at this time of year. In the second photo, I was thinking that somebody had pinned poinsettias to the end of the branches of another shrub...took me a while to work it out! In Spain (including the Canaries) they celebrate Epiphany don’t they...so they will be having their parades at the end of this week. It seems like ages since Christmas now. I can see a change in the sunlight already here in Scotland, and we had a cuppa on the patio today between weeding the borders. Thankfully we missed out on the gales this time around!

I much prefer them as large shrubs.....make wonderful companions to my jungly plants......
A Happy New Year to you Wildrose.....

They look wonderful, Chris, thanks for sharing. At a friend's house yesterday, I saw a lovely "swag" of red chillies which my friend had sewn on to string - they looked very Christmassy!

I love these 'Christmassy' plants, though I usually fail to keep them for more than two or three months. I also remember seeing them on Madeira and being amazed how big they grew.

I like Poinsettias as they are bright, and cheerful and hold happy memories for me. However an affluent Indian friend was quite scornful when she saw them . She said around her home they were "weeds" . Didn't put me off!

Thank you all for commenting. It is lovely to read your thoughts and experiences.

After two weeks of constant rain and wind at home, I now ask myself 'Did I really see those flowers, did I feel the warm sunshine, was I really there?'
It all seems a very distant memory!!
Mind you, there is no place like home. Roll on snowdrop and daffodil time!