36 Large and Beautiful Poinsettia Varieties

Poinsettia flowers are part of the Euphorbia family, and these gorgeous plants have very large and bold flowers when they bloom. The flowers are native to Mexico, and they got their name in honor of the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and U.S. Congressman Joel Roberts Poinsett. Today, you may hear poinsettia varieties referred to as the Mexican Fire Plant and the Painted Leaf.

There are many gorgeous poinsettia varieties to choose from, and they come in a range of brilliant colors with full foliage. They look wonderful in a container garden, and we’re going to outline 36 pretty options for you to consider below.

Picking out the perfect poinsettia variety can take time because there are so many gorgeous options available, but getting it right will give you a gorgeous centerpiece. Poinsettias by Alabama Extension / CC0 1.0

1. Candy Wintergreen

When you group this plant with other poinsettia varieties in different colors, you get a stunning contrast. You can also use it as a non-traditional nod to the holiday season. You’ll get an upright growth habit, and the plant holds the bracts above the foliage. The foliage on this plant is dark green. You’ll typically find this cultivare in a mid-sized pot, and you can find it around mid-season.

2. Carousel Dark Red

This smaller poinsettia variety cuts a much different profile from most other ones. It offers very small, darker red bracts that are velvety looking. They have a scalloped look due to very wavy margins. You’ll also see darker green leaves with smooth margins, and this provides a very nice contrast. They’re also extremely sturdy compared to other varieties, and it’s a novelty cultivare that you find early in the season.

3. Christmas Beauty Nostalgia

You’ll get a muted pink color that fades very gradually to a pale green as the plant’s bracts mature. The younger bracts on this poinsettia variety will have a darker rose shade with dark pink veins. This cultivar fits very nicely with vintage-themed decor. As you may have got from the name, it has mid-sized bracts, a rounded growth habit, and very sturdy stems. You should start looking for it around mid-season.

4. Christmas Beauty Princess

This cultivar’s bracts are red with whtie or rose flares in the centers. The white color will get more pronounced as the plant starts to age. The bracts are medium-sized, and they contrast nicely with the dark, lush green foliage. This poinsettia variety will hold up very well in warmer conditions, and this makes it a nice option for people in southern planting zones. It’s a late season cultivar.

4. Christmas Mouse

This is another unique poinsettia variety. The bracts and the leaves are rounded instead of pointed, and it kinda mimics how a red primrose would look. It’s a slightly newer variety to the market, and the name comes from the mouse-ear shaped leaves it has. The rounded bracts get held upright, and the plant offers a very rounded, tidy appearance.

This poinsettia variety won the Glazen Tulip prize in 2020 for the horticultural innovation in flowering houseplants. It’s also one that is available to buy in late November to early December.

5. Cinnamon Star

If warming spices make you feel warm during the cooler winter months, you may use this poinsettia variety as a visual reminder. This cultivar offers a peachy, golden hue with darker pink flecks on it. It’s an early season option that has dark green leaves and a colorful upright crown.

6. Classic White

This is a yellowish colored to creamy white poinsettia variety. The plant has bracts that are slightly upright or flat and hidden under the large crown. You’ll see very dark green leaves that offset the flower’s coloring. It also has an improved heat tolerance, and it would be a nice cultivare to have if you lived in warmer climates or if you tend to keep the house warmer during the winter months. You can find this variety on shelves in the middle of the holiday season.

White poinsettias aren’t as popular as the more traditional red, but the larger bracts make them stand out wonderfully in contrast to the darker foliage. White Poinsettia by ☼☼Jo Zimny Photos☼☼ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

7. Freedom White

If you like the creamy and soft tones of traditional white poinsettia varieties but you want something that is more distinct, you should check out this option. It has extra-large bracts that are an ivory color, and it has darker green leaves. It comes with improved heat tolerance, and you can find it very early during the holiday season.

8. Gold Rush

If you want to get a little fall decorating in, this poinsettia variety will make a stunning statement piece. As the name suggests, you get a deep gold coloring with pretty pink hints, and it features clusters of flowers in the center. The bracts are small, and this calls your attention to the foliage. The foliage is mottled, and it has an improved heat tolerance that allows it to survive in warmer fall weather better than other options. You can find it starting in the middle of autumn.

9. Golden Glo

Some poinsettias get categorized as white, but they can have a yellow tint. This poinsettia variety is unabashedly yellow. You’ll see golden yellow colored bracts, and the color gets more intense as the plant ages. The foliage is a darker green color, and it works well to use it as part of your fall decor. It looks stunning when you pair it with traditional colors as you go into the winter season. This is a compact plant with an above average heat tolerance.

10. Green Envy

If you’re a fan of green flowers, this is a must have poinsettia variety. It’s a novelty cultivar that is chartreuse to light green in color. The bracts come with wavy margins and the plant holds them upright to create a very perky and healthy look. This is a variety that complements classically-colored scarlett poinsettias. It also works very well as a lighter accent color when you group different varieties, and it’s available much later in the season.

11. Ice Punch

Anyone who is looking for a knockout plant that won’t leave you with a headache later should look at this poinsettia variety. It’s a striking poinsettia variety that has ruddy-coloring on the bracts with contrasting white. The bracts have wavy margins, but the plant has very pointed leaves. Despite the name, it does well in warmer conditions, and you can find it early in the holiday season.

12. J’adore Pink

This poinsettia variety is a very colorful way to tell the world that you love the color pink. This is an interspecies hybrid between E. pulcherrima and the dogwood poinsettia, and it offers larger centers with a lot of cyathia. This allows the clusters of bracts to take on the look of light pink, large flowers.

You’ll get a nicely rounded growth habit with dark green, elongated leaves. The stronger, long-lasting plants are also durable, and they won’t break nearly as easily as some more delicate cultivars will. You can find them in the mid-season, and they have a decent tolerance to heat.

13. Jingle Bells

Just like the song you’ll hear from November onward each year, this poinsettia variety has a whimsical pattern and bright colors that are a merry reminder of the holiday season. It offers a bright crimson color with white specs, and you may find a random all-white bract. It has dark green foliage with oak-shaped bracts.

This multicolored poinsettia is very cheerful, and the red, white, and green coloring makes it an instant holiday classic. Poinsettia by Garret Voight / CC BY-NC 2.0

14. Jubilee Pink

An interesting shade of pink, this poinsettia variety has petals that are a bright reddish-orange that fades in and out. As a result, this plant looks like each petal has more than one color to it. It has grass-green, large leaves that complement the pink shades, and you can find it early in the season.

15. Luv U Pink

This poinsettia variety  offers a pink coloring that is in a more brilliant tone, and this is an interspecific cross with E. cornastra parentage. This gives this plant flat, small, modified leaves. One of the nice features of this poinsettia is that the bract production keeps going throughout the growing season, and this gives you plenty of color. What’s more, you can even find it early in the holiday season.

16. Mars Marble

Maybe you like softer colors over more intense ones. If so, this poinsettia variety may tickle your fancy. It’s a cream color with a pale rose marbling to it. You’ll see a perky upright growth habit with darker green foliage. It’s also much longer lasting than many other types, and you can get it in the mid-season.

17. Monet Twilight

The creamy colored bracts on this poinsettia variety are flecked with light pink, and the color will deepen into pretty reddish shades as the plant ages. Longer bracts will hang around a bigger flower cluster with darker coloring coming out in new growth. This is another mid-season cultivar that is very eye-catching.

18. Peppermint Ruffles

As the name suggests, this poinsettia variety is a peppermint type with bracts and wavy margins that lend a whimsical ruffled look. You can find them in pale pink and creamy yellow coloring with yellow veins and darker pink flecks. It can mimic the look of the Visions of Grandeur poinsettia, and you can find it relatively early in the holiday season.

19. Pink Candy

This poinsettia variety is a dark, warm pink with darker pink dots on it. It’s a medium-sized plant with slightly elongated bracts. The bracts will start out a very light shade and get darker as the plant matures. You’ll see a mounded growth habit, and you can start buying them mid-season.

20. Polly’s Pink

This is another perfect poinsettia variety for anyone who loves pink, and you’ll get deep pink-colored petals with grass-green leaves. The leaves complement the bracts perfectly, and they help to pull the plant’s entire look together to make it look stunning and eye-catching.

21. Premium Picasso

This bicolor poinsettia variety looks like you dusted the cream colored crown with carmine. Some of the bracts can be darker and some can be lighter on the same plant, so you’ll get a much more varied color than a uniform one. It’s a compact, sturdy cultivar that you can find early in the season on store shelves.

22. Prestige Maroon

Bright red is the standard color most people picture for poinsettia varieties, but there are some that have darker, deeper shades of this traditional red coloring. This plant is maroon to dark red in color, and the bract color can change based on the temperature fluctuations the plant experiences as it grows. So, you will see variations when you look at a few plants side by side. The bracts are shaped like oak leaves and are very large, and you’ll see it popping up right in the middle of the holiday season.

This darker red poinsettia also comes with dark green leaves, and this gives you a traditional look and feel with this plant. 170409 288 Carlsbad by cultivar413 / CC BY 2.0

23. Princettia Dark Pink

This poinsettia variety offers a vibrant pink coloring that isn’t as bright as some on the list. It’s another interspecies hybrid, and you’ll see a lot of smaller bracts that keep growing throughout the holiday season to create a very thick and dense plant. Like the other members of this series, the bracts will be very faintly outlined in white if you look at the margins. It comes in a mounded shape with improved cold and heat tolerance to make it more durable. It’s available very early in the season.

24. Princettia Pure White

Most of the poinsettia varieties on the list so far have a white coloring with creamy undertones, but this one is different. As the name implies, you’ll see pure white coloring with zero hints of yellow or cream.

This is an interspecies hybrid between E. pulcherrima and the dogwood poinsettia, and it comes with green-veined bracts that are narrower and much smaller than other poinsettias. However, they’re also much more abundant, and it has a reputation for having excellent cold and heat tolerance.

25. Princettia Red

Princettia is a series that plant breeders developed by crossing E. cornastra (dogwood poinsettia) with the relative, E. pulcherrima. You get interspecies hybridization by doing this, and it brings a lot of benefits to this pretty houseplant. The plants will last longer while producing new leaves for more time. This particular cultivar offers red bracts with hot pink undertones, and the bright coloring gives beautiful contrast to the dark green foliage.

The bracts are flat and small, and you’ll see thin white margins. This makes every bract stand out when you look at it due to the white outline. It has improved cold and heat tolerance, and this makes it slightly less sensitive to temperature changes. If you shop for it, do so early.

26. Orange Spice

Orange Spice is one poinsettia variety that stands out because the color is a bright, spicy orange that is very eye-catching, and the entire bract focuses on a single deep color. This is a very striking plant that looks wonderful with the dark green, large leaves. It’ll look wonderful as the centerpiece on your mantle or table.

27. Ruby Frost

Ruby Frost is a crowd favorite when it comes to poinsettia varieties, and it has a very mesmerizing look to it. It offers variegated reddish pink and cream coloring, and the plant looks like it started off as cream before getting an uneven splash of ruby red coloring. This mottled effect can look unfinished to some people, but others find it stunning when they see it. The leaf margins on this plant are toothed, and the bracts have ruby colored veins with an oak leaf shape.

28. Santa Claus Pink

This is a very jolly plant with a whimsical look to it. It has bubblegum pink bracts that are comically large. Since this plant has a larger girth to it, you’ll want to break out the bigger pots to keep it happy and thriving.

29. Solar Red

Anyone who has been eagerly looking through the list for a classic red poinsettia variety has found it. The mature bracts on this plant are a stunningly bright scarlet color, and the younger, smaller ones have a darker red hue. Bracts are flat and medium-sized, and some of them come with a rounded shape while others are oak leaf shaped. You can find this variety later in the season, and it has a very rounded, compact appearance.

30. Sonora White Glitter

This poinsettia variety is scarlet with bright white spots and splashes with an odd pure-white bract thrown in. It has oak leaf shaped leaves, just like the Jingle Bells cultivar. One way that you can tell the two apart is that the green leaves on this plant look like they are intermingled right into the crown, and this offers a green, white, and red festive holiday display. You can find this poinsettia in the middle of the Christmas season.

As the name suggests, this poinsettia looks like it was sprinkled with white glitter, and this makes it a very different variety than many on the list. Poinsettia Sonora White Glitter by Henryr10 / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

31. Sparkling Punch

Sparkling Punch is a poinsettia variety that is very close to the Ice Punch cultivar, but it has a rosy-colored crown. Each bract has pink coloring with a cream-colored stripe running up the center. You can find it early in the season, and it works well as a transitional plant between autumn and winter. It pairs exceptionally well with the Gold Rush poinsettia.

32. Strawberries and Cream

Offering stunning rose-pink bracts with raspberry-colored veining running throughout, the grass-green foliage looks stunning next to the bracts. It adds a very eye-catching look for your mantle, dining room table, or fireplace.

33. Tapestry

Some poinsettia varieties come with variegated bracts, it’s much more rare to find ones with variegated leaves. This is one such variety you can buy. It has a pretty cherry-colored crown with a hidden layer of greenish-gray leaves and cream-colored margins. They look a little bit like variegated holly leaves. It would look stunning if you grouped it with a creamy white poinsettia in your holiday decor, and you can buy it in the middle of the holiday season.

34. Visions of Grandeur

In spite of the imposing name this poinsettia variety has, it has a very soft look to it. You’ll see slightly ruffled, large bracts that are creamy, pale yellow to pale pink. The veining is yellow, and the bracts can look upright or flat above the light green leaves. The plant has a flouncy, tousled look that gives it a surprisingly elegant look and charm.

35. White Wonder

This is a more traditional poinsettia variety, and it has a snowy white look with the slightest hint of cream. It offers medium to large sized bracts that form a very full canopy that looms over the plant. The dark green leaves stay underneath it, and it works well if you have lower lighting conditions. It could be a good pick if you live in an area where the winters are overcast.

36. Winter Rose Early Red

The final poinsettia variety on the list is Winter Rose Early Red. At first glance, you may mistake it for another plant. It offers scarlet bracts that curl up to form a nice globe-shaped head of flowers. It can look like a rose in full bloom, but it’s really a very stunning poinsettia that is available in the middle of the holiday season.

Breaking Down Poinsettia Varieties by Color

Now that you know 36 different poinsettia varieties, we can easily break them down by broad color categories. Doing so will give you a good idea on which ones you should pick out to create your stunning holiday decor. The most popular options include:

Marble Poinsettias:

• Christmas Angel Marbella
• Infinity Marble
• Marblestar
• Sonora Marble
• Winter Blush

Novelty Poinsettias:

• Cortez Burgundy
• Ice Punch
• Jingle Bell 3
• Money Twilight
• Shimmer Surprise

Pink Poinsettias:

• Enduring Pink
• Marks Pink
• Pink Cadillac
• Pink Elf
• Polly’s Pink

Red Poinsettias:

• Carousel Dark Red
• Novia
• Prestige Maroon
• Red Elf
• Red Jubilee “1139 Red”

White Poinsettias:

• Cortez White
• Infinity Polar
• Polar Bear
• Premium Polar
• White Christmas

Bottom Line

We’ve outlined 36 gorgeous poinsettia varieties that you can purchase to spruce up your garden into the early winter months. There are ones that are more tolerant to heat and cold, so keep your climate in mind when you shop and pick out the poinsettia that will be able to survive the best. If you do, you’ll get a show-stopping look all season long.