How to Propagate Poinsettia

Poinsettias are generally temporary houseplants purchased before the holidays in full bloom and discarded after New Year's Day. They can be kept and induced to bloom again the following winter, but this is a difficult process. An easier method of ensuring a blooming poinsettia for the next holiday season is propagation of the plant. You must take some special steps because of the sticky latex inside the stems.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rooting hormone powder

1. Keep the plant alive through the winter and into spring. The best time to begin propagation is in the spring.

2. Cut a three- to six-inch section of the stem way from the end of a branch. Remove the bottom set of leaves from the cutting. If you intend to keep the parent plant, mist the area where you took the cutting with water to help prevent excessive sap from leaking out of the plant.

3. Dip the tip of the cutting in a jar of water to help prevent sap from leaking out of the stem.

4. Fill a three-inch pot with a mixture of sand and perlite. Then add a half inch layer of sand to the top of the mixture. The sand helps prevent the propagation from rotting.

5. Add some rooting hormone powder to the tip of the poinsettia cutting and insert it into the potting mixture. Water the propagation well at first. After the first watering, water only when the potting mix dries out. Too much water can cause stem rot.

6. Wait about two months for the poinsettia propagation to take root. When new growth appears, treat the poinsettia as a mature plant.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a poinsettia propagation in temperatures of 60 to 70 degrees F for best results.