How to Transplant a Poinsettia to Your Garden
If your poinsettia is still alive past New Year's Day, it may live to see another holiday season. If you live in a temperate climate in which there are no hard frosts, you can plant this tempermental plant outside in a permanent location. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Set the poinsettia outdoors once outside night temperatures average 55 degrees F or above. Allow the plant to acclimate to the outdoors for a few days prior to transplanting.
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Select a protected site against a south-facing wall.
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Dig a hole larger than the pot. Fill the hole partially with a rich, fast-draining potting soil.
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Gently remove the plant from the pot and place it in the prepared planting hole. Adjust the soil under the plant so that 1/2 inch of the root ball will set above the surface of the soil once the hole has been filled.
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Fill around the root ball with potting soil. Water after planting is complete. Add no fertilizer for a few weeks.
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Cut the poinsettia back to about 8 inches in height in late March or early April. By the end of May you should see vigorous new growth.
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Prune during the summer to keep the plant bushy and compact. Do not prune after September 1.
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Water regularly. The roots of poinsettias should never be allowed to dry out completely.
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Fertilize every two to three weeks with a complete fertilizer.
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Cover the plant for 14 hours at night, starting in October, making sure it receives no light at all. (If your plant receives no artificial light at night from the street or house, this step is unnecessary.)
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Remove the cover each morning for a maximum of 10 hours.
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Continue this procedure every day for 10 weeks, and you can have poinsettia blossoms by next Christmas.
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Tips & Warnings
Poinsettias are native to Mexico and are sensitive to cold. If frost is predicted, cover the plants with fabric or a box.
Contrary to popular myth, poinsettias are not poisonous.
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Comments
View all 12 Comments-
..........get Plastic Plants....just windex them once in awhile
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Being a daughter of a Botanist I know that they are way too fragile to live here. You could plant them outside but you will have to make sure to bring them in before the first freeze. If you keep them inside you need to put them in a closet or a dark place for about a month before you want them to bloom and then you will get the red blossoms.
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We plant them at my friend's where I do the gardening for the summer. They really just stay a shrub....no flowers, but they are pretty!!! I noticed that I have two to plant when I get there this week. I will let you know....but nothing ventured, nothing gained. It would be fun for you to watch it grow.....
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Thanks, Teri! I kinda figured... I was amazed when I first moved to San Diego that people would just stick 'em in the ground after Xmas, but it IS very mild there...
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Keep it inside. Even out here where I live we have to keep them inside.
