“What shall I do with my poinsettia?”
This is a question often heard shortly after the new year starts and the colorful bracts on this favorite Christmas flower have begun to fade and fall leaving only the sickly yellow flowerets to exude their sticky juice on window sill, kitchen counter or flower stand.
Many persons will answer their own question by setting their poinsettia on the back porch where the winter winds will soon tell what has been done with it. But other courageous souls will tenderly care for the plant all year, hoping that it will bloom at Christmas, only to be disappointed when no flowers appear.
This disappointment is really not necessary, for poinsettias will bloom again at Christmas time for many years if they are given proper care.
To grow any flowering plant it is very important that one should know something about its native habitat, its soil requirements, and the temperature and amount of water it likes best.
The poinsettia is a tropical plant. It was brought to the United States from Mexico by J. R. Poinsett of South Carolina early in the 19th century. Its tropical origin has much to do with what must be done for your poinsettia if it is to bloom several years instead of just one.
Like the gloxinia, the chrysanthemum, and many other plants, the poinsettia needs a long period of rest. In order to get it, the plant must be put to sleep. When its blooming period is over, it should be placed in the basement, a vacant room, or even a closet, where the temperature will not go below freezing or rise to 60 degrees.
It will need only enough water to keep the soil from becoming completely dry. It will lose all of its leaves and will look hopeless, but if these directions are followed, when spring comes it will prove to be very much alive.
Put Plant Outdoors
When spring does come, and the temperature has risen to 60 degrees or more, disturb your poinsettia’s long sleep by taking it outdoors, removing it from its pot and resetting it in a new one at least one size larger, using an African violet or house plant potting soil mix. Fertlize lightly at 1/4 strength.
Set your poinsettia in the new pot using this new soil, water it freely, and place it in a protected but fairly sunny location. If temperatures below fifty degrees threaten, protect the plant until the weather becomes warmer again. Always see that your plant has plenty of water during this early period.
Soon, new growth will appear and you can tell what part of the stem or stems is dead. Even if there is no dead wood, it is well to cut off two or three inches of each old stem in order to stimulate side growth. Do not use these tips for propagation as the plants they make will grow too tall and become leggy.
When new growth gets to be three or four inches long, you must decide what size you want your re-set plant to be, or you may wish to propagate one or two new plants from cuttings. If your old plant had but one stem, this stem should be cut back until it is only four or five inches long.
If your old plant consists of several stems, or branches, each stem or branch should be cut back severely in order that it may not become too large. It was probably produced from a cutting and had to produce roots before it could begin to grow. Your old plant already has its roots and can make a growth by Christmas time that will surprise you.
Leave Plant in Pot
Never plant your poinsettia in the open ground. If you do, you will find that when you pot it in the fall, it will lose practically all of its leaves, and, even if it does bloom, a flower on a leafless stick is not particularly beautiful.
You can pot containing your poinsettia in the ground within an inch or two of the rim – although I think it is best not to. It may keep its roots cool but the plant could sustain some shock later on when digging it up. Keep your plant well watered, but do not let the soil become water-logged. Once a week from the time it is set out until the true flowers which are yellow begin to appear, give your poinsettia a feeding of liquid plant food. This will add vigor to your plant and give brighter color to the bracts.
In early fall, when temperatures begin to slide down below sixty degrees, your poinsettia belongs in the house, for low temperatures cause it to lose its leaves. Place it in a sunny window where it will not be exposed if to cold drafts.
Needs Complete Darkness
Poinsettias belong to that group of plants which time their blooming by the shortening of the day. If you want your poinsettia to bloom during the Christmas season, it must have at least twelve hours of complete darkness during every 24 hours.
Some bulletins on this subject state: “… even one minute of light during this dark period will prevent your poinsettia from blooming at Christmas time.” It may bloom later or it may not. Failure to observe this rule is the chief reason for the failure of your poinsettia to bloom. The lack of a long rest period is a close second.
If these directions are followed exactly and no accident befalls your poinsettia, it will bloom not only next Christmas, but with similar treatment each year, for many Christmas season to come. The writer made the same plant bloom for more than ten years during which time it grew to be more than six feet tall and had more blooms each year, some of which were more than a foot across.
Poinsettia Cuttings
If you want to grow cuttings from your old poinsettia, here are some brief rules that will help you:
- When the new growth reaches a length of four or five inches, remove the cuttings you want from the old stems with a sharp knife.
- Place each cutting in a 4″ inch pot in which you have put a well drained potting mix. Use a rooting hormone if you wish. Do not push your cutting into the soil mix. Make a hole for it with your finger or a pencil. Finally press the soil around it firmly, place it in a clear plastic, and set it in good light, but not in the sun. Make sure the soil stays moist.
- Later, when the cutting begins to show real growth, transfer it to a 6″ inch pot using the same soil mixture that is used for the cutting. If you want to make a gorgeous display, you can place as many as ten cuttings in a 10″ inch pot.
- Cuttings are usually made in July. They should not be made after the middle of August.
