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It's Cool To Keep Poinsettias Warm

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - If it's the last thing you do, buy some Poinsettias! In fact, make it the last thing you do. Never leave them in a cold car while you keep shopping, because poinsettias can't take a chill. They're used to much warmer climates - Mexico in fact. Members of the Euphorbia family, they were exhibited for the first time at the Philadelphia Flower Show in 1829 – they'd been presented to the Bartrams as a gift from the US Minister to Mexico – a man by the name of Mr. Poinsett.

Nearly 200 years later, they're such a symbol of the Christmas season, it's easy to forget that they're tropical plants and can't stand our winter cold. So, protect your poinsettias in a paper bag before you leave the store, then take them straight home. Don't let them sit in a cold car while you do more shopping. Better yet, just put 'buy poinsettias' at the bottom of your shopping list and make it the last thing you do, so your poinsettias will be as spectacular when you get them home as they were in the store.

Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio

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