Soaring energy bills and competition from inferior Dutch imports force British nurseries to pull out of poinsettias UK firms now growing around a million fewer poinsettias than five years ago But Dutch imports have weaker stems, fewer branches and are less hardy The British poinsettia could be in short supply this Christmas because growers have been hit by soaring energy costs and competition from cheaper, inferior foreign plants. For millions of families, the distinctive plant - Britain's second most popular pot plant after the orchid - is a festive staple. But delicate poinsettias need carefully controlled temperatures of between 15C (59F) and 20C (68F) and rocketing fuel bills have driven some UK growers out of business. Christmas favourites: For millions of families, the distinctive plant - Britain¿s second most popular pot plant after the orchid - is a festive staple. But many UK growers have pulled out of producing the delicate crop They are now producing around a million fewer than five years ago and shoppers are increasingly having to buy imports from Holland. Many Dutch nurseries are backed by subsidies to help install energy-efficient heating. Horticultural experts say Dutch poinsettias have weaker stems, fewer branches and are less hardy. British growers devote 18 to 20 weeks to cultivating the plant while the Dutch spend only 12 to 15 - and transporting it by lorry from Holland takes its toll too. Roundstone Nurseries, of Almodington, West Sussex, had been growing 200,000 poinsettias a year for Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer. But bosses have decided to stop after the energy bill to grow its plants last year was more than £50,000. Roundstone managing director Peter Cook said that they are now growing cyclamen instead. 'Energy use for poinsettia is very intensive for a number of months,' he said. 'Heating costs were £50,000-plus - a big investment - because they're a tropical plant and you have to have them at 20C to make them feel comfy. Poinsettia turned out to be a risky crop. It is highly unlikely we will revisit that crop as the cyclamen programme we replaced it with is more profitable. 'With cyclamen, we're not looking at huge gas bill. 'We're sorry because so many customers want to buy British poinsettias but we have made the right decision for our business.' Thing of the past: The poinsettia Christmas crop at Roundstone nurseries last year. The firm has now decided to pull out of growing the plants after rising energy costs made it too difficult to make a profit Ian Riggs, chairman of the British Protected Ornamentals Association, a trade body for British growers, said that poinsettia production among members has slumped. Temperamental poinsettias need specific conditions - but treat yours well and it could bloom again next Christmas. November to March: Find a sunny windowsill. Keep the room between 16C and 18C. Temperature fluctuations weaken the plant. Water when the surface soil feels dry. April: Allow it to get completely dry between watering. Make sure the stem doesn't shrivel - a sign your poinsettia is stressed. Late April: Move it to a cooler spot, about 15C. Mid-May: Cut back stems to 4in. Re-pot in a larger container with fresh soil. Water whenever the soil is dry. Keep temperature between 18C and 23C. June: Move the pot outside and keep partially shaded. Continue watering. July: Pinch back stems by an inch to make sure you get lots of branches. August: Bring poinsettia indoors. Pinch new stems too. Keep temperature to 18C. October: Move plant somewhere completely dark between 5pm and 8am each day. Light exposure delays blooming. Last week of November: Stop darkness treatment. Move to a sunny window again. He said: 'Poinsettias have become one of those things on the Christmas shopping list that people expect like turkey and a Christmas tree. But there will be fewer British poinsettias available this year and garden centres and supermarkets can always go to Holland. We are talking about diminishing choice and people may end up buying Dutch and Belgian poinsettias. Poinsettias are a heat hungry crop. You cannot compromise on the temperature if you are going to grow a quality crop. 'And if growers see that last year's fuel bill was high, that is what they base their decision on. A lot of growers have switched to cyclamen. Mr Riggs said that British growers lavish much more attention on their crops than their Dutch counterparts. 'The British start growing earlier in June or July and have a lower density of crop - around nine plants per square metre compared to 15 in Holland,' he said. It means that they have more branches than Dutch poinsettias, which are more upright. And any British grower will tell you that theirs is a better plant because it spends less time in a lorry and is less tightly packed in boxes than the Dutch, who are mindful of their transport costs. It is a very similar tale of woe nationwide for British poinsettia growers. Pinewood Nurseries, of Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, has halved production this year from 50,000 to 25,000 after poring over fuel bills. Coletta & Tyson, near Hull, used to be one of the country's biggest growers that supplied 500,000 poinsettias to Sainsbury's and Asda. But it gave up production in 2011 with director Paul Tyson citing 'spiralling energy costs'. Waddesdon Plant Centre, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, also grew the plant for many years but stopped because it was no longer viable. Poinsettias originate from Mexico and were once tall, fragile and mostly seen only in the houses of the wealthy. But hardier dwarf strains appeared in the Sixties and their popularity has soared since the Eighties. They are also a festive favourite in the US, Australia and Europe but Germans like cream, purple and oranges as well as red.