Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, poinsettias are beautiful symbols of the holiday season. They bloom in an assortment of colors, and you can even find some dusted with glitter!
Those gorgeous pots of poinsettias have brightened your home and front porch over the holidays, so return the favor by doing all you can to keep them thriving well into the new year, and beyond.
Keep your poinsettia looking gorgeous year after year!
Poinsettias prefer warmer days and cooler nights. While they can tolerate light frost, they thrive in temperatures between 55 and 70-degrees with high humidity. They do best in a draft-free location.
Given these ideal conditions, poinsettias will stay in bloom until Valentine’s Day, but when the flower bracts finally do fall off, relocate your poinsettia to a spot that’s cool and dark. If you have a garage, this is a perfect place to keep it. Next, decrease regular watering to allow the soil to dry out some, but not completely.
Now that it is no longer blooming, you can apply fertilizer every two to four weeks using a complete houseplant fertilizer. Never fertilize poinsettias when they’re in bloom because this will promote foliage growth at the expense of the flowers.
Once spring arrives and all threats of frost have passed, bring your poinsettia out of its dark hideaway and water it well. Whether you decide to keep it in your home or out in the yard, poinsettias flourish in bright, indirect light as this gives them the energy to flower without the sun’s direct rays drying them out. While poinsettias love consistently moist conditions, be sure to provide adequate drainage to keep yours from becoming waterlogged. Feel free to mist them with a water bottle to mimic humidity.
If you’re planning on placing your poinsettia in the garden, bury the pot halfway in the ground, so you can pull it up and bring it inside when the forecast is calling for frost. Keep in mind that poinsettias do best when they’re beside a wall or fence, so they’re protected from the wind.
If you’ve placed your poinsettia in the garden, check to make sure your irrigation system is working properly. If you aren’t sure your system is running like it should, call us or complete our request service form and we’ll come take a look.
No matter where you’ve decided to display your poinsettia come springtime, be sure to prune all the branches to a length of about six inches. If you neglect this step, it’ll become “leggy’ instead of growing back thick and full. Boost branching by pinching off the tips of all stems when they’re seven to ten inches long. Continue to do this once a month until the weather cools and the nights become longer. These conditions mean it’s time to bring your poinsettia indoors.
To encourage the prolific production of vibrant flowers, make sure the poinsettia gets as little light as possible from dusk till dawn or else it won’t bloom. Some people cover theirs with a box from 5pm to 8am to ensure the poinsettia produce a gorgeous holiday display.
Enjoy the same beautiful poinsettia next holiday season!
By caring for your poinsettias properly, you can look forward to watching them re-bloom in time for the holidays. In addition to saving money by not buying new ones each year, your poinsettias from Christmas past will be larger and grander than ever. Poinsettias of this magnitude can be expensive, so you’re ahead of the game. No matter where you’re placing the poinsettias to spread holiday cheer, friends and family will be in awe of their beauty—and your green thumb!
Remember, if you ever need assistance with sprinkler repair or irrigation in the Orlando area, give us a call!