Meet the man who covers his home in poinsettias every Christmas

By Kate Pounds via SWNS

Meet the man who has covered his home in poinsettias every Christmas for the last decade - at a cost of £3k ($3,641)

John Newman, 53, brings up to 50 of the plants home to partner Arwell Evans, 51, during the festive period.

The plant is strongly associated with Christmas as the shape is sometimes thought of as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem.

John, from Newbury, Berks., England, is a self-proclaimed poinsettia addict and says he gets "really, really excited in December" - because he can buy the flowers.

He said: "I just love them. They're so vibrant! If someone gives me a poinsettia it's like they've given me the world."

John has filled the home he shares with Arwell, a nurse, with new poinsettias each year for 10 years.

He starts buying around six weeks before Christmas, picking up around 50 plants at a cost of £300 ($364) - spending roughly £3k over the last decade.

John, a school catering manager, said: "I get really really excited about Christmas, like a kid waiting for a present - because I know the poinsettias are coming.

"Our house is like a sea of red. We are truly invaded.

"Shop workers must hate me. I go through each one checking out the middle so I can tell which ones will last the longest."

John buys each year as he finds the plastic replicas unsatisfying and doesn't have the right conditions to grow his own plants.

John Newman is a Poinsettia collector with his dog Tia. (Emma Trimble via SWNS)

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He puts the plants all over the one-bed semi, including on every second step - so it's a mission to get up or down the stairs.

And the plants even cover the dining table, so the couple have to eat on their laps for the duration.

The poinsettias are on the bedside table too - they're the first things to greet the couple every morning.

John says the plants remind him of his beloved late nan, who always had a poinsettia in the window.

But his love of them has gone way beyond that, and the avid fan has a poinsettia t-shirt, a broach, a mug and a wine glass.

He even has poinsettia cushions strewn around and decorates his Christmas tree with tiny plastic poinsettia.

John also dedicates his social media to poinsettia, joins fan groups - and has a poinsettia phone case.

He said: "We've only got a very small house. People are always wondering where I put them all.

"But I have to find space because I can't stop buying them and I can't give them to anyone else. I just couldn't. It would be like giving away a child.

"I've tried buying them for other people but I always have to keep them.

"I don't stop at Christmas either. If I go into a garden centre on Boxing Day and they're there I'll buy them.

"It's so sad when it's over, there's no point going shopping, but I can't wait for the next year."