We love poinsettias for their velvety and colorful leafy bracts and deep green leaves, but poinsettias have a reputation for being sensitive. The truth? They are actually quite hardy if you follow a few general rules.
Here is your ‘checklist’ for making your Poinsettia a long-lasting guest at your holiday party.
1. “Trunk” Trap
The Mistake: Throwing the plant in the trunk or truck bed for the drive home.
The Fix: These are tropical plants! If the temperature is below 50°F, the cold wind chill in a truck bed will kill them. Keep them inside the heated cabin of your car. They prefer the warm passenger seats over the cold cargo holding areas. The bed of a truck is always a bad idea if it is uncovered, even if it’s warmer, they will not tolerate the wind.
2. Foiled Fail
The Mistake: Drowning the plant while it’s wrapped in decorative foil.
The Fix: That foil acts like a bucket. If water pools at the bottom, the roots will rot in days. Always take the plant to the sink, water it, let it drain completely, and then put it back in the foil. If you must water it in place, tip it sideways or upside down afterward to drain the excess.
3. Draft Damage
The Mistake: Placing the plant by the front door or right under a heat vent.
The Fix: Poinsettias hate mood swings. Cold drafts from opening doors or dry heat from vents will cause leaf drop. Find a bright spot with stable temperatures.
4. Water Wreckage
The Mistake: Watering every Monday “just because.”
The Fix: Stop watering on a schedule! Water only when the pot feels lightweight. Depending on the humidity in your home, this might be every 5 days or every 10 days. Let the plant tell you when it’s thirsty.
5. Landfill Loss
The Mistake: Throwing it out on January 2nd.
The Fix: With a little TLC, these plants can stay green and beautiful for months as a foliage houseplant. Don’t be so quick to toss it!
If you want to grow the poinsettia for next year, you can let it grow outside once it warms up. You will want to fertilize the plant and then trim it back when the new growth starts again. You will want to trim it back again in August. Once the days start to get shorter and the weather becomes cool again in late September, you will want to bring the plants indoors to start the flowering. Poinsettias are very sensitive to light to start flowering, so it will take some effort to provide total uninterrupted darkness every night for 12+ hours to start growing their winter color.