If you got a poinsettia for Christmas you may be wondering
if you can keep it as a houseplant. Some people enjoy the poinsettia until it
starts looking bedraggled and then throw it out. But if you are a true plant
lover and you can’t stand to see a plant die, you can keep your poinsettia as a
houseplant and even get it to “bloom” again. The plant will stay pretty a long
time, so enjoy it, but if you want to keep it thriving you’ll need to treat it
as a plant and not a decoration.
Poinsettias, (Euphorbia pulcherrima), are native to Mexico. They are large shrubs when mature, 6 or more
feet tall. The colorful part of the
plant often referred to as the flower is actually the leaf bracts. The flowers are the round, yellow structures
in the center of the colorful area. The yellow comes from the plant pollen and
after it is gone the colored bracts usually drop off. Poinsettias now come in a variety of colors
besides red, such as white, pink, yellow and lavender. There are even speckled and multi-colored
bracts (but no poinsettia has natural glitter on those bracts).
After the holiday
To keep your poinsettia thriving first remove the foil
wrapper around the pot and make sure it has drainage holes. If it does, get a saucer for the pot. If it doesn’t have drainage holes either make
some or put the poinsettia in a pot that has good drainage. Don’t cut the plant back right now- this is
sometimes recommended because older varieties of poinsettias were often
lanky. Modern varieties are usually more
compact and greenhouses pinch them back if needed to produce a well branched
plant.
Place the poinsettia in bright light – it doesn’t have to be
in a south window but the brighter the light the better. Let it dry slightly between watering’s but
keep it from wilting. Dry air may cause
the plant to lose leaves. Misting isn’t
recommended anymore but since dry air is also bad for you adding a humidifier
to the room may help both you and the plants.
Rooms with lots of plants or a fish tank are generally humid
enough. A jar of water over a heating
vent can also help.
Hopefully you keep your home between 55 and 70 degrees. Cooler nights are helpful for almost all
species of plants, including poinsettias.
Ideally night temperatures should be about 10 degrees cooler than day
temperatures in the winter for poinsettias.
In March begin fertilizing the poinsettia when you fertilize
other houseplants or every other week. Poinsettias do best with a summer
outside, but people have managed to keep them indoors year round. After all danger of frost has passed move the
plant outside- and now cut the plant
back by one third. This encourages
new branch formation and keeps the plant compact. Move the poinsettia to a shady location first,
then gradually into full sun. Don’t
forget to water it. It’s probably best
to sink the pot into the ground, but not plant it directly into the garden.
Fertilize the plant at least once a month.
If you are keeping the plant indoors cut it back by one
third in June and make sure it’s in a warm, very bright location. Air conditioning may confuse the plant, as
the days are supposed to get warmer as they get longer and the sun
brighter. Air conditioning may also make
the air drier, so watch the humidity level around indoor plants.
How to bring back
poinsettia color
In the fall, before frost, bring any poinsettias outside
back inside to a place where it gets bright natural light in the day but no artificial
light at night. You may have to put a box over them when it’s getting dark
outside. Leave the plant in darkness
until natural day break. Poinsettias need a natural rhythm of
shortening days to start the color show.
From mid-September to December they need 10-12 hours of darkness each
day.
Older poinsettia varieties were very sensitive to light
rhythms and a few minutes of light during what should be a dark period would
greatly delay the coloring up process. Modern varieties are not quite as sensitive
and some plants will get some light coloration without short day periods.
Sometimes a plant in a window will develop color on the window side of the
plant, but not the side facing the room if the room is lit at night. But if you want lots of color you need to
manage the dark period so the whole plant is in complete darkness at night. Cooler night temperatures from the day
temperature aid the color process also.
If you are lucky the poinsettia leaf bracts will color up
again. The brighter the light in the day
period the more colorful the bracts will become. Once the color has developed you can move the
plant to a more visible location for a few weeks if you want. Even
without much color the poinsettia can be a pretty houseplant if it’s grown
well.
Well grown poinsettias will get larger over the summer. You may have to move them to a larger pot in
the fall but don’t trim the plant back then.
Wait until after “blooming”, preferably as the days are starting to get
longer, to prune them back.
Poinsettias are mildly toxic, so keep children and pets from
nibbling them. They probably wouldn’t
die from the experience but might have a lot of stomach discomfort. Poinsettia problems include over-watering,
causing root rot, and powdery mildew, usually from cool, too humid conditions
or misting the plants. Correct the
watering or humidity to save the plants.
Typical houseplant insects like whitefly and spider mites occasionally
affect poinsettias in the home. Treat
infected plants with houseplant insecticides if this happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment