How to Keep Your Poinsettia Plant Growing After Christmas and Through Winter
Now that the holidays are over, you may have a lovely holiday poinsettia in your house that you are not sure what to do with. It will likely never be as beautiful as when you bought it, but a few tricks can keep it alive -- and maybe even blooming.
Instructions
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Poinsettias, red or white or in between, like humidity. They are native to Mexico, so the more humid, the better. Remember the Frosty the Snowman cartoon that showed poor Frosty in the greenhouse with the holiday poinsettias? He was melting because it was warm in there. Keep your poinsettia away from cold, at temperatures ideally of 65 to 70 by day, a little cooler at night. Keep your plant watered, but not sitting in water. If you accidentally overwater, let it dry out a few days before you water it again. Place a cup or bowl of water near the plant to add to the humidity.
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Choose its location. Your plant will like indirect light, so place it near a window, but not in the window. About six hours of light daily should do the trick.
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Keep the plant indoors. Once it has stopped blooming and the plant begins to look less than perfect, you can cut back the stems to about 6 or 8 inches from the bottom. Once you do this, place the plant in a darker area and water it weekly.
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Keep it away from the cold; poinsettias are very sensitive to drafts, cool temperatures and cold air. Don't place them by a door or a drafty window. The reverse is also true -- don't allow them to be blasted by hot air coming from your heating system. This may cause them to dry out and the leaves to fall off. Keep poinsettias in temperatures below 70 degrees.
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Replenish the soil in springtime; a general gardening potting soil mix should do the trick. To get your plant to reflower during the holidays, start lessening its light and lengthening its night in October. Don't let it see any light after 5 p.m. daily; move it back into indirect light after 7 a.m.
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Tips & Warnings
Be gentle; poinsettia plants are a bit fragile.
Do not let pets lick or chew the plant. Although poinsettias are not poisonous, as previously thought, eating houseplants of any kind is not good for animals.
References
Resources
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