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Poinsettias get 'bad rap' around pets

Popular holiday plant not as toxic as believed

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 17, 2021

Poinsettias contain sticky white sap that is a form of latex. (Photo by Kathy Morrison)

Cats will be cats, and any houseplant can be a potential plaything.

That’s no exception when it comes to poinsettias.

This popular holiday plant has long had a reputation as a kitten killer. But unless your feline really devours a lot of leaves, stems and flower buds, your poinsettia can co-exist with your pet.

According to VCA veterinary experts, poinsettias are not extremely toxic to pets.

“Poinsettias get a bad rap, but they’re actually not nearly as toxic as most people think,” VCA says. “Rather than being lethal, their sap is simply irritating, typically causing drooling and occasionally some vomiting, too.

“So if your pet nibbles your holiday poinsettia, you can rest easy; aside from feeling a little icky, your pet should be fine.”

Usually, the taste of that white milky sap will keep cats – or other animals and kids – from eating more than a nibble. A form of latex, that white sap is very bitter – the better to keep animals and insects from eating the plant’s leaves.

Poinsettia sap does contain mild toxic substances that, when eaten in quantity, can cause stomach upset and diarrhea. It has been known to get some people – particularly small children – very sick.

Poinsettias get extra drought tolerance from their sap, which helps the plant to conserve water. The sap also acts as an instant bandage; if the plant suffers a wound such as a broken stem, the latex quickly dries over the break and seals the damage. With its instant latex Band-aid, the plant doesn’t lose more sap and can heal faster.

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December gardening Sacramento VCA holidays toxic pets poinsettias cats winter

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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