Poinsettias are a traditional holiday decoration. Native to Mexico, the ornamental shrub does well in Florida's sandy soils in either full sun or partial shade. It's a member of the Spurge family (that's the same family of weeds that causes Floridians grief), Euphorbia pulcherrima. Poinsettias were once thought to be poisonous but no longer. It's white sap is only considered only as a skin irritant. Mind you, like many of the common plants we have in our yards, I wouldn't advise eating it. 

The jeweled-red, pink, yellow, white and variegated Painter's series bracts (leaves) are not the flowers. The tiny yellow flowers are on the inside of the bracts. Hopefully, since September your poinsettia has been getting 12 to 15 hours of sleep a night with no light. The shorter daytime hours are how the bracts know when to change into their holiday best. 

If poinsettias get any kind of light from a street lamp, landscape lights, or the next door neighbors' flood lights, chances are that the poinsettia bracts will not produce their brilliant hues.  If you buy poinsettias for your indoor parties, keep them moist but not wet. They will do well into Spring, when you can plant them outdoors. Maintenance is minimal with occasional fertilizing and pruning or pinching by a third in the months with A -- April and August. 

This will keep the shrub nice and thick as they can get leggy if not pruned.  With no pest problems to speak of, poinsettias are the ultimate holiday plant for containers or your landscape.