How do you care for poinsettias?

Answer 1

If you want to keep your poinsettia for the following year follow these instructions. Keep indoors until temperatures outside are a constant 60 degrees if not keep indoors. Around April prune plant to about 15 cms in height . Don't be afraid! . Also the best time to re pot , place in a pot about 4 cms larger than previous one.

Keep plant fairly dry, water scarcely then start to water more often in May, June. In July prune again but lightly this time to give the plant some shape and balance. Around September bring it in if it's been outside.

Poinsettias need now to be placed at least 12 hours aday in complete darkness. I usually place mine in a wardrobe!. I place mine around 5pm in complete darkness and then around 8am I place it in the window in my Kitchen on a marble shelf above a radiator. It's in a pot stand which has pebbles in it so that the roots of the plant don't touch the water and the plant receives a lot of light but does not get too dry. Fertilize every two weeks or so. Around late November the leaves have started to go red and you can stop the light and darkness routine.

The poinsettia is a native of Mexico, thus it likes the temperate weather and very much dislikes the cold. Thus, keep your poinsettia away from air conditioning, or cold windows. It also does not do well in drafts such as from heat vents or entry ways. Warm drafts can cause the plant to dry too quickly, resulting in curled leaves and leaf drop. Keep the poinsettia more on the dry side, but do not let it dry out completely. Water the plant when the soil 1/2" deep feels dry. A good way to water any plant is from the bottom. Remove the plant from it's decorative pot cover or basket and set the grower's pot into several inches of lukewarm or room temperature water. Leave to soak until the soil surface feels damp. Allow to drain, then place the plant back into its basket. Watering in this way will allow the plant to soak up only what it needs without over watering. You'll actually water less often this way too. To help cut down the affects of drying in a heated home, spread some sort of ground cover around the plant, on top of the soil. Moss or excelsior work well. The colored parts of the plant are bracts, or colored leaves...not true flowers. The actual flowers are the very tiny yellow centers nestled in amidst the bracts. Poinsettias are not poisonous, contrary to popular belief. Much research has been done on these plants. A recent report on this comes from the University of Minnesota. There is more risk to young children or pets choking on chewed leaves (as could happen if any larger leafed plant were chewed). However, the plant does produce latex when stems or leaves are torn. This is a white sticky sort of sap which can produce an allergic reaction in those sensitive to latex. In spring, the poinsettia may be planted outdoors, but should be considered an annual in colder climates. To rebloom, a poinsettia needs about 16 hours of total darkness starting October 1 for about 6 weeks.

Answer 2

After the bloom fades is a good time to repot poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima).

Specifically, poinsettias need to be repotted every 1-3 years - depending upon growth rate - since their roots are fibrous. Fibrous roots are thin and like to spread out. They do not like a fit within a container that is either too tight or too roomy. A good estimate is a change up to a container that is about 2-4 inches/5,08-10.16 centimeters larger.