Poinsettias or Poinsettias are plants native to Mexico, where they can grow up to 5 meters in height. Many people buy Poinsettias to decorate at Christmas and don't know how to care for them when the red leaves fall. If you live in a place with mild winters, you can plant the poinsettia outside as a perennial plant. If you live in cold climates, you can grow poinsettias as houseplants, all year round. See the next steps to learn more about both solutions.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Grow Poinsettia as a Perennial Plant
Step 1. Decide if the weather is right
If you live in a place with mild winters - in growth zone 7-8 or higher - you should be able to plant poinsettia directly in the ground, where it will grow as a perennial and get bigger with each passing year. If you live in a place where the weather drops to very low temperatures during the winter, it is best to pot it as a houseplant. Poinsettias are native to Mexico, and they need a warm climate to thrive.
Step 2. Take care of the poinsettia until spring
If you purchased the poinsettia during the winter as a decoration, keep the potted plant until spring, even if you live in a place with mild winters. It needs to remain in pots until the weather gets warm enough to be transplanted. Water occasionally until spring.
- In early spring, in March or April, cut the poinsettia to about 20 cm. This will encourage her to start a new growth cycle and prepare for the transplant.
- Water it regularly and fertilize about once a month until early summer, when it's time for transplanting.
Step 3. Prepare a place to plant
Look for a spot where the poinsettia will get the sunlight in the morning and will be partially in the shade during the heat of the afternoon. Work the soil and loosen it to a depth of 30-40cm. Enrich the soil by adding organic compost if necessary. Poinsettias prefer rich, well-drained soils.
Step 4. Plant the poinsettia
Dig a hole as wide as the root ball and plant the poinsettia. Press the soil gently around the base of the stem. Place 5-7cm of organic mulch around the base of the plant. This keeps the soil cool and helps retain moisture.
Step 5. Fertilize the poinsettia
You can apply a 12-12-12 or 20-20-20 combination at the beginning of the growing season or fertilize the plant with compost. If the soil is not very rich, it may be necessary to fertilize the plants once a month.
Step 6. Water the poinsettia throughout the growing season
Water the plant at the base whenever the soil around the plant feels dry to the touch. Avoid watering from above so as not to favor the formation of fungal diseases on the leaves of the plant.
Step 7. Prune the Poinsettia
Cut the small growing shoots from Poinsettias occasionally throughout the growing season to encourage the plants to bloom. You can get rid of the shoots or use them to propagate new plants. Cut old growth in late autumn or early winter to encourage strong growth again the following spring.
Step 8. Propagate the Poinsettia cuttings
You can take 20 cm cuttings from the tender growing tips of the stems or 45 cm cuttings from the woody stems of the plant to create new poinsettias.
- Dip the end of each cutting into a rooting hormone, then place it in a pot filled with growing soil or a vermiculite mix.
- Keep the soil in the pot moist, but not soaked, for several weeks as the cuttings form roots.
Step 9. Keep the poinsettia alive during the winter
Add fresh mulch around the base of the plant to keep the soil warm for the winter months. The poinsettia can survive the winter in areas where the ground temperatures do not go below 7 degrees Celsius. Dig the plants and bring them indoors if you live in a climate where winters are cold and soil temperatures drop below 7 degrees Celsius.
Method 2 of 2: Grow Poinsettia as a Houseplant
Step 1. Take care of the poinsettia until spring
If you bought the poinsettia during the winter, water it throughout the winter and into the spring.
Step 2. Repot the poinsettia in early summer
Choose a pot that is only slightly larger than the original one and repot the poinsettia with rich growing soil that contains a lot of organic matter. This will give the poinsettia a good head start for the growing season.
Step 3. Make the plant get plenty of sun
Place poinsettia in pots near windows that receive the bright morning sun, but indirectly. Choose windows that are not drafty to avoid exposing the plants to cold air. Poinsettias must be kept at a temperature of around 18 degrees and do not tolerate extreme temperature variations well.
If the summer temperature is warm enough and never drops below 18 degrees at night, you can keep the poinsettia outside during the growing season. Place the plant in a partially shaded area
Step 4. Water the poinsettia well
Water your home-grown Poinsettias during the spring and growing season whenever the top part of the earth feels dry to the touch. Add the water to the pot slowly, and wait for the soil to absorb the water before adding more. Stop watering when saturation slows down and before excess water forms puddles on the surface of the soil. The amount of water must be moderate.
Step 5. Fertilize monthly
Potted Poinsettias need to be fertilized often with a well-balanced liquid fertilizer. A 12-12-12 or 20-20-20 composition is best. Repeat fertilizing every month. Stop fertilizing in the fall when it's time for flowering.
Step 6. Prune the poinsettia
Trim small growing shoots occasionally throughout the growing season to keep the poinsettia compact and bushy. You can get rid of the sprouts or use them to propagate new plants. Cut old growth in late autumn or early winter to encourage strong growth again the following spring.
Step 7. Keep the poinsettia alive during the winter
In autumn, it's time to bring the poinsettia back inside so it doesn't suffer from the cold. You also need to create a cycle of long, uninterrupted nights and short sunny days during the fall and winter to encourage the leaves to turn from green to red. Do this for 9-10 weeks until flower bracts begin to form on the plant.
- Move poinsettias to an area where they receive total darkness for 14-16 hours a day in late September or early October. A cool closet is the best location, but if it's not available, you can also put the plants in a large box for their uninterrupted hours of darkness. Any exposure to light during this time will delay the color change.
- Keep plants in total darkness when temperatures are colder. The best hours are from 5:00 pm to 8:00 am. Poinsettias flower best when night temperatures are between 12 and 16 degrees Celsius.
- Bring the plants to the light every morning and place them near a sunny window, where temperatures are around 21 degrees Celsius.
Step 8. Display the Poinsettias when the leaves turn red
In December, the poinsettia should be ready again for display as a decoration. Place the plant in a sunny window and leave it exposed to normal home light during the winter flowering season.
Step 9. Once the flower bracts begin to change color, encourage dormancy of the plant
When the small yellow flowers in the center of the leaves wither, in February or March, it is time for the plant to go into dormancy.
- Prune plants in abundance up to 20-25cm in height. This is a good time to take cuttings for plant propagation.
- Stop watering for a couple of months until it's time to start new growth in the spring. Allow several inches of soil to dry on the surface before watering.
