How to Keep a Poinsettia Going After Christmas
If your poinsettia is still alive past New Years Day, it has passed through the shock of being moved from the greenhouse into your home. Odds are good that it will continue to grow for next year's holiday celebration. Here's what you need to do.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Fertilizers
- Garden Shears
- Planting Containers
- Poinsettias
- Potting Soil
- Watering Cans
- Water
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1
Continue to water your poinsettia, keeping the soil moist, but not wet, at all times. Keep the plant away from drafts caused by opening doors or heater vents.
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2
Set the poinsettia outdoors once night temperatures average 55 degrees F or above.
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3
Transplant the poinsettia into a larger pot. Use fast-draining potting soil rich in organic matter.
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4
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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5
Prune during the summer to keep the plant bushy and compact. Do not prune after September 1.
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6
Keep the plant in indirect light or filtered sun.
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7
Fertilize every 2 to 3 weeks with a complete fertilizer.
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8
Move the plant into a closet each night, starting in October, for 14 hours, making sure it receives no light at all; move it into the light each morning for a maximum of 10 hours. Poinsettias bloom only when they experience long nights.
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9
Continue this procedure every day for 10 weeks and you can have poinsettia blossoms for next Christmas.
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1
Tips & Warnings
The secret to growing poinsettias is to provide constant moisture to the roots. Don't, however, allow the plant to sit in water.
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Comments
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Now to try to re-pot it...
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Amazingly, the one I bought in November is still going strong.
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Triune
Dec 30, 2009
A co-worker of mine once was given a poinsettia as a gift, and she hates them. She tried to kill it, giving it only the dregs of her sodas, coffees, or teas and to her dismay it continued to blossom into spring and even grew new blooms! -
Triune
Dec 30, 2009
A co-worker of mine once was given a poinsettia as a gift, and she hates them. She tried to kill it, giving it only the dregs of her sodas, coffees, or teas and to her dismay it continued to blossom into spring and even grew new blooms!
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Aug 08, 2006
We've had a poinsettia in my office for over three years, and it is still great. I've never cut it back, and two years ago I tried to put it in the back office to make it bloom, but broke off two big branches, so I quit. It blooms anyway, but usually not until after New Year's Day. I only water every two or three weeks.
