How to Make Poinsettia Turn Red Again
Every year more than 35 1000000 poinsettias are purchased over the holidays.
This number makes upwardly nearly a quarter of all potted plants purchased every yr. That's a lot of plants, especially when you consider that well-nigh of them will end upward getting thrown out.
Come New year's day's Mean solar day, are you ready to pitch your poinsettia?
By Jan, most folks end upwards with a pot full of twigs and a layer of crunchy, faded leaves. These plants are virtually always disposed of, but they don't need to be.
Poinsettias are actually quite piece of cake to intendance for afterwards the holidays, and with a trivial extra effort adjacent fall, you tin enjoy their ruddy leaves every December.
Read on to acquire how to keep your poinsettia good for you and putting out new growth for the residual of the twelvemonth. Plus, I'll evidence you how to get that gorgeous carmine color over again next Christmas.
Related Reading: 22 Things Every Poinsettia Owner Needs To Know
Poinsettia 'Blooms'
The first affair nosotros need to talk about is the part of the establish that turns red. We often assume these red leaves are flowers and refer to them every bit blooms. The colorful leaves on the plant are actually chosen bracts and are non the flower.
When it comes to plants, bracts are specialized leaves, dissimilar from the remainder of a plant. They can be a different shape or colour; they tin can even be larger or smaller than the other leaves. Bracts usually play a role in attracting pollinators to the plant.
If you look in the center of a bract cluster on a poinsettia, yous'll observe the actual yellow and cerise flowers.
And they're tiny!
The brightly colored bracts help to attract pollinators to the footling flowers. Only it'south these showy red leaves that make poinsettias so popular at Christmas.
Like most flowering plants, poinsettias will drop their showy foliage afterwards a while. This is completely normal. Past the time the holidays are over, your poinsettia might non have any leaves at all. Information technology'south about this time that nigh folks pitch their plants.
Only await, if you've kept your poinsettia alive this long, you lot can go on information technology growing and producing prove-stopping foliage for years to come.
Post-Holiday Poinsettia Intendance
Your job is pretty easy after the holidays – water sparingly and let the plant go dormant until springtime.
At the end of Apr, you will need to prune back the found and so that information technology's near 6" alpine.
This is besides a good fourth dimension to repot your poinsettia into something nicer than the plant nursery pot information technology came in. Employ quality, well-draining soil and a pot with a drainage hole. Make certain the new pot is no more than 2" bigger than the previous pot.
For the rest of spring and summertime, you lot will continue to h2o your plant regularly, letting information technology dry out completely between watering. However, you mustn't let the plant get so dry that information technology begins to wilt.
You should besides begin fertilizing the plant once a month later on you've repotted it. Choose a good all-purpose houseplant fertilizer.
Going forward, caring for a poinsettia is quite like to some other pop vacation plant – the Christmas cactus.
Originally from United mexican states, poinsettias prefer a toasty sixty-70 degrees F to remain happy and healthy. Poinsettia shouldn't be exposed to temperatures below 50 degrees F; go along this in heed if you choose to move your plants outside in the warmer weather.
And just like their tropical friends, the Christmas cactus, poinsettias do best in bright, indirect sunlight.
Like most houseplants, poinsettias prefer a humid environment. Employ a pebble tray or a plant mister to provide extra moisture for them.
In mid to late summertime, you should begin to meet new growth on your poinsettia. (Now is the perfect time to propagate your poinsettia!)
All of the new growth will exist light-green, don't worry, we'll get it to turn red just in time for Christmas.
Forcing a Poinsettia to Change Color
In their natural habitat, poinsettia bracts change colour due to the seasonal changes in Cardinal America. Nonetheless, we tin can recreate this environs at home.
You'll want to brainstorm this process virtually eight weeks before you want the poinsettia to be in color, usually beginning in September.
At this point, end fertilizing your plant. If you lot've kept the constitute outside, exist sure to bring it inside long before temperatures fall beneath threescore at night.
Much like the Christmas cactus bloom cycle, poinsettia bracts will change colour if they experience longer nights with vivid days.
To mimic this requires a bit of work, but it'south nothing too hard. You'll demand to put your poinsettia somewhere completely dark for 14 hours a 24-hour interval. During the other ten hours, it should be kept someplace that receives brilliant indirect sunlight.
It's important that the establish exist kept in consummate darkness for around 14 hours.
Even small amounts of light, both natural and artificial, can forestall the poinsettia from irresolute colors. A closet, pantry or windowless room is perfect.
If you don't have a good spot in your home that's completely dark, you lot tin can use two black trash bags (double-bagged) or a large paper-thin box to cover the plant. Cover the plants in the early evening, being careful not to crush the leaves. Remove the cover in the morn for the recommended x hours of light.
Slightly cooler temperatures of effectually lx degrees F will also help to mimic the plant's natural environment.
The poinsettia will demand extra humidity too. A small cool mist humidifier works neat, or in a pinch, using a dish of water placed close to the plant. If y'all were using a plant mister, don't mist the leaves, or they volition develop spots on them.
You lot'll demand to keep up this routine for around four-v weeks; still, one time the bracts accept changed color, y'all tin simply savour your poinsettia as you did the previous holiday. Perchance you'll even bask it more than because you kept it live for another year!
Keeping a poinsettia from year to year is a fun winter gardening project for green thumbs everywhere. Every year your poinsettia will go a little chip bigger and a niggling more impressive.
Yes, information technology requires a bit of try, so this project might not be for anybody, but information technology's at least worth a try once.
And i more do good to keeping your poinsettia alive beyond the holidays, is that you can take cuttings from the new growth in spring and grow a few brand new poinsettia plants. Accept a wait at Tracey'south guide to propagating poinsettia here – and as well learn why doing so might be illegal.
Want to learn more about other holiday plants?
Poinsettias & Other Holiday Plants That Are Toxic To Pets (& three That Aren't)
12 Christmas Plants For A Festive Indoor Garden
How to Save Your Amaryllis Seedling To Bloom Again Adjacent Year
Christmas Cactus Care: More than Blooms, Propagate & Identify Holiday Cacti
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