Poinsettias Last Longer Than You Think
Believe it or not, festive Christmas poinsettias can be used for more than one year. That’s right, those beautiful red flowers don’t need to be thrown away after Christmas.
They can be used year after year if you take care of the plants, and you’ll be able to use them for yet another holiday season.
Taking care of a poinsettia breaks down into two basic categories. From January to September, you’ll be doing really basic plant care. From September-December, that care gets more intensive.
Basic Care
From January to September, keep the poinsettia indoors and in a spot where it regularly gets bright light, watering regularly in a pot with good drainage.
During the spring time, prune the flowering stems 4-6 inches to promote new growth. In May, you’ll want to repot it in a larger vessel and place it in a sunny window, watering whenever the soil dries out.
June is the time to move the plant outside in a shady spot, watering and fertilizing regularly. When the evening temperatures begin to drop in August or September, move the plant indoors.
Kick It Up A Notch
Okay, this next part is a little intense, but it’s well worth the results you get out of it. In the fall, poinsettias require long nights and short days to flower.
What does this mean for you? Well, from 5PM to 8AM every day, you need to keep the plant in a pitch black spot where NO light will seep in. Then in the morning, you need to set it in the sun for light.
Even the smallest gleam of light could mess up the flowering process, so follow this perfectly from September through December, and you’ll have a perfect plant.
