Tips For Taking Care of Poinsettia

 My brother gave me a beautiful poinsettia in November and today is February 29^th and my poinsettia is as beautiful as the day I received it.   I reside in a cold climate transplanting outdoors was not something I could do and bringing it indoors was not an option either so I put it on my enclosed front porch that had southern sun exposure but was not heated.

Poinsettia received in November

I guess the cooler temperature was agreeable because my poinsettia plant is thriving.  The temperature on the porch averages out to be 55 to 65 degrees at night and during the day when the sun is out the temperature averages out at 65 to 70 degrees.

 

Poinsettia in February 

 I take care of my poinsettia by providing it with a space heater when the temperature drops below freezing.  The heat is not hot but instead, it just prevents our enclosed porch from causing the plant to be stressed from the cold.

I also set the plant in an area where it gets 6 hours of indirect southern exposure sun daily.  The porch provides the poinsettia plant with an area that is not drafty, not too cold, and not too hot. 

Then I water the poinsettia in moderation.  When the soil is dry to the touch I will water with tepid water.  Give the plant a good soaking until the water drains from the bottom.  No water is left in the drainage saucer.  The soil is thoroughly dried out before I water it again.  On average I water it once a week. 

My poinsettia will tell me when it needs water. The leaves will drop and some may fall off the plant.  I have found if I go over a week without watering that this will occur. But once watered the plant will bounce back. 

When summer comes the porch will be too hot for my poinsettia plant so I plan to move it to move the poinsettia to the root cellar where it is cooler and provides the plant with artificial sunlight.

Caring for Christmas Poinsettia

It's the season for the Christmas poinsettia plant for gift-giving and home decorating.  The poinsettia is a beautiful plant that comes in a variety of colors; crimson red, pink white, or bi-color leaves along with dark green leaves. It is one magnificent plant and is known as the plant of Christmas.

Know if you reside in a mild climate where the average temperate is 55 to 60 at night and the high is 70 degrees Fahrenheit then you can feature this plant outdoors on your porch or in your feature garden. However, if you reside in an area where the weather is cold then poinsettia must stay indoors.

Healthy red poinsettia gets plenty of light by the window

Red poinsettias are grown in an outdoor feature garden.

Shop for live poinsettias at Teleflora.com This quality plant is best for gift-giving. 

 Also, shop at Lowes.com or at their store. I saw gorgeous poinsettias there and they were reasonably priced. Target.com and Walmart.com also have poinsettias in their seasonal departments.

Buying Tips

When you go to buy a poinsettia I would recommend buying a healthy plant that does not have drooping leaves or brown spots as this would be an indication of not adequate water, which would cause the poinsettia to have stress.

Caring for Poinsettia 

Bring your poinsettia home in a covered bag so that it does not get too cold or suffer a cold draft. Remove your poinsettia from the foil holiday pot wrapper and set it on a plant-draining saucer. 

 The best location for your poinsettia is in a sunny room where the average temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  Your poinsettia needs an average of six hours of bright light so if you do not have a room that has a lot of sunlight then set in under a table light. (I do not recommend setting your poinsettia in direct sunlight) 

At night poinsettia prefers cooler temperatures so a room that is an average temperature of 60 to 70 degrees will keep your Christmas season poinsettia healthy.

Maintain your poinsettia plant by checking the soil daily. Know that poinsettias grow best in soil that is allowed to dry out some in-between watering. Test the soil daily to see if the soil is dry by inserting your index finger into the soil about one inch. If soil is dry then water the plant until it drains out the bottom. Let all the water drain from the plant container, but do not set the pot in the water in the saucer. Instead, dump the water out.  Poinsettias do not like wet soil.  

Other

Know that my friend resides in  Florida and she does grow her poinsettias outdoors. She told me she planted it in her yard after Christmas in an area where the soil was well-drained, plus the plant got six hours of sun daily with part sun in the heat of the day.   Her poinsettia grew into a shapely shrub in her  Florida outdoor garden.

Here is a video where you can learn how to make your plant rebloom again.