Care For Your Poinsetta & It Will Bloom Next Year

With the proper care, you can enjoy these beautiful plants for many years to come. Poinsettias seem to follow the seasons when it comes to caring for them.

The process for saving your poinsettia and getting it to rebloom begins with the care you give it the first season. So be sure that the poinsetta you to keep for next year is in good condition.

Care for during the holidays is detailed at the end of this post

After Christmas Care

• January - March: Keep watering the poinsettia whenever the surface is dry.
  
  
• April: cut back old flowering stems to 6-8 inches in height to promote new growth. Replant in a pot 1 to 2 inches larger in diameter or shake old soil off the roots and repot in the same container, using a new soilless mix. Choose one that is not very finely textured. Don't use soil from the garden can introduce disease to the plant.
  Water the soil thoroughly after potting; wait five minutes and water again.
  Then put the plant near the window that is exposed to the most sunlight; will need 6 hours of light.
  Keep the plant at a temperature of 65 to 75 degrees F, and water when the surface of the soil is dry to the touch.
  During this period, the plants will also need fertilizing monthly.
  
  
• May: After new growth appears, fertilize every two weeks with a complete water soluble fertilizer at the rate recommended on the label for flowering plants.
  Will need to be kept away from heat sources.
  Water when the soil is dry
  
  
• June: Move the poinsettia outside, pot and all. Keep it in a partially shaded location. Continue regular watering during the growth period, and fertilize every 2 to 3 weeks.
  Turn the pot regularly to keep the plant from rooting through the hole in the bottom of the pot; a quarter of a turn weekly should be enough to prevent the rooting. The turning will also help the plant grow evenly
  
  
• July: In early July, pinch back each stem by about one inch. This is to encourage a stout, well branched plant. If left unpinched, the poinsettia will grow tall and spindly.
  Continue to water and feritilizer every two weeks with a complete 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer.
  
  
• August: Between August 15 and September 1, cut or pinch the new stems back, allowing three or four leaves to remain on each shoot.If the plant is not pinched, it will grow too tall and be unsightly.
  After this second pinch, bring the plant indoors and again place it near a window with a sunny exposure.
  Keep the plant at a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees F at night.
  Continue watering and fertilizing.
  
  
• September: Continue regular watering and fertilizing.
  Make sure the temperature stays above 65 degrees F.
  
  
  The poinsettia is a photoperiodic plant, meaning that it sets bud and produces flowers as the Autumn nights lengthen. To re-bloom, poinsettias need about 10 weeks with 12 hours or less of sunlight per day. You will have to artificially create these conditions and it’s crucial that you be diligent.
  
  
  
• October: Starting October 1, the plants must be kept in complete darkness for 14 continuous hours each night(from 5 pm to 8 am).
  Accomplish this by moving the plants to a totally dark room, or by covering them overnight with a large box. Any exposure to light will delay blooming. Many people place their plants in a closest, but if light gets in though the cracks or if you open and use the closet, it will affect the buds setting.
  Move the plant back to the sunny window during the daytime.
  Continue watering and fertilizing.
  
  
• November: Around the last week of November, you can stop the darkness treatment and allow the plant to remain in the window. You should see flower buds at this point
  
  
• December: - Stop fertilizing about December 15th.
  Keep watering and treat your plant as detailed below. If all has gone well, it should be back in bloom and ready to begin the process all over again.

When You First Bring Your Poinsettia Home or Subsequent Years:

Light - Place it near a sunny window. South, east or west facing windows are preferable to a north facing window. Poinsettias are tropicals and will appreciate as much direct sunlight as you can provide.

Heat - To keep the poinsettia in bloom as long as possible, maintain a temperature of 65 - 75 degrees F. during the day. Dropping the temperature to about 60 degrees F. at night will not hurt the plant. However, cold drafts or allowing the leaves to touch a cold window ca injure the leaves and cause premature leaf drop. If you’ve ever see a gangly poinsettia in bloom, with only a couple of sad looking leaves hanging on, it was probably exposed to temperatures that were too cool or extreme shifts in temperature.

Water - Water the plant whenever the surface feels dry to the touch. Water until it drains out the bottom, but don’t let the plant sit in water. Wilting is another common cause of leaf drop. A wilted plant can be revived and salvaged, but it will take another season to improve its appearance.

Humidity - Lack of humidity during dry seasons, in particular winter, is an ongoing houseplant problem. If your home tends to be dry and your poinsettia is in direct light, you will find yourself watering frequently, possibly every day.

I Got much of my Information from: Poinsettia Care in the Home , How to Re-Bloom Your Poinsettia, and Poinsettias - Keepers or Compost?

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