Christmas Poinsettia Care
Tips & Tricks
With a little extra care, you can keep your Poinsettias healthy and blooming year after year. Here's how!
Sunlight
Poinsettias need plenty of bright, indirect sunlight. Place them in an East, West, or South facing window for ideal sun exposure.
Temperature
If your plant is indoors, try and keep the average temp. at around 60-75 degrees. Avoid sudden chills or blasts of hot air. Avoid placing them near uninsulated windows, heat ducts, fireplaces, fans, and space heaters.
Temperatures below 50 degrees can cause damage to or may even kill your Poinsettia. Freezing temperatures will kill Poinsettias.
Water and Soil
Keep the soil consistently moist but not soggy. Good drainage is essential, so ensure the pot has holes that will prevent standing water. Overwatering will cause root rot and result in damage to the plant.
How to Re-bloom Your Poinsettia
Yes, you can make your Poinsettias re-bloom next year! Starting in late September, give them 14 hours of complete darkness every night and 10 hours of bright, direct light during the day. This means shielding the plant from all light sources, including streetlights, lamps, reading lights, etc.
You can cover them with a cardboard box or move them to a dark closet if needed. Night temperatures around 60 degrees can also help encourage blooming.
Keep up this routine of short days and long nights for about 7 to 8 weeks. Once you see the leaves beginning to show color, you can stop the dark treatment and resume regular care for the holiday season.
How to Prune Your Poinsettia
For indoor Poinsettias, give them a trim in late winter. Cutting them back to about 5 inches above the soil will encourage more compact growth. If needed, you can prune them again in late May by trimming 2 to 3 inches from the branch tips to promote more branching.
If your Poinsettias are growing outside, prune them 12 to 18 inches above the soil in early spring and prune them monthly through August to promote branching.
How to Propagate Your Poinsettia
A Poinsettia can bloom again from one holiday season to the next, or you can grow new blooms by propagating cuttings. For the best results, take cuttings from a healthy plant during the summer.
Dip the cut ends in a rooting hormone to encourage quicker growth, then place them in a humid, shaded area. After about 5 weeks, the cutting should root, allowing you to transplant them into a larger pot. With a bit of care, they should be ready to bloom by winter!
Referances
Stewart, Martha. "Poinsettia Care Tips." Martha Stewart, 12 Dec. 2023, www.marthastewart.com/poinsettia-care-8399482.
"Poinsettia." University of Minnesota Extension, University of Minnesota, 2024, extension.umn.edu/houseplants/poinsettia.
