How to Care for Poinsettia Plant
Poinsettia plants are a holiday favorite, with bright red or pink flowers that add cheer to any room. With the proper care, poinsettias can last long past the holiday season. They can even be preserved to brighten your home throughout the year with beautiful reds, pinks and yellows. Their beauty can even last into the next holiday season with a little bit of care. The requirements for poinsettias are rather unique in that they change according to the season. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Poinsettia plant
- Prunning shears
- Potting mix (or sand, organic compost, peat moss and manure)
- Pots
Instructions
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1
Remove the foil wrapper from around the pot when you first bring your poinsettia home. Leaving it on can prevent proper drainage and drown your poinsettia plant.
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2
Set your poinsettia in full sunlight. A bright sunny window where you can enjoy the beautiful colored flowers is a perfect location. December through April is the time when poinsettias are in full bloom.
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3
Cut stems back with pruning shears, leaving about 4 to 6 inches from the base of the plant, as flowers and leaves begin to die back naturally around April or May.
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4
Repot your poinsettia in a good commercial potting mix that you mixed with peat moss to replenish the soil. You can make your own potting mix, if you prefer, by mixing 1/4 sand, 1/4 organic compost, 1/4 peat moss and 1/4 well-rotted manure.
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5
Place your poinsettia into the garden in June, after all danger of frost is past. The pot can be set directly into the soil in a sunny location.
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6
Take cuttings in July and August from the tip growth of the mother plant. Choose cuttings that have three or four eyes. Cut them at an angle. Dip them in rooting hormone or soak them overnight in water with pieces of willow branch, which will have the same effect of encouraging root growth. Plant them in a standard, all purpose potting mixture containing one part peat moss, one part sand and two parts garden loam. Keep your cuttings at a consistent temperature between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit, as poinsettias do not handle sudden temperature changes well.
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7
Bring your original poinsettia inside before the temperatures get cooler in early September. This is the time of year when poinsettias set buds, so fertilize them every two weeks with a low nitrogen fertilizer, such as those used for tomatoes, which have a lower nitrogen and higher phosphorous and potassium content. Maintain your poinsettias in a bright, sunny location.
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Provide full sun during the day and complete darkness after sunset during October and November to simulate short days and long nights that will signal poinsettias to begin flowering. This is critical to setting flower buds and may necessitate moving the plants to a dark closet or basement at night, but the consistent temperatures between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit must still be maintained.
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