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LIGHT |
Bright, indirect light |
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WATER |
Moderate water needs |
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|
CLIMATE |
Cold-sensitive |
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SOIL |
Well-draining soil |
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FERTILIZER |
During the growing season only |
Poinsettias are simple to care for when you aren’t decorating a movie set: presumably you have one or two, and not forty. The trick is to put your fingers into the soil and check for moisture. A poinsettia likes to be moist, but not wet. You know when you have a soggy sponge? It’s heavy, and when you squish it, water pours out. A wrung-out sponge is moist and springy, but not full of water. Let’s unofficially call that the “wrung-out sponge test”: that’s what we want our soil to be like! When the soil starts to feel crumbly, water and let it drain completely before placing the nursery pot back in the foil hat.
Say Christmas is over, and you want to keep your poinsettia until next year. Now what? Care for the poinsettias remains similar for a while. Eventually, the red leaves will die, being replaced with green leaves. This is totally normal! By April, you should have a green, bushy poinsettia. Now that you’ve made it this far, keep an eye out for typical houseplant pests and remove dead leaves to prevent molds and fungal diseases from forming.
In September, you’ll have to start thinking about Christmas again. I know! The kids are heading back to school, the leaves are falling, and it’s PSL season. You do not want to even think about Christmas yet. But hear me out: this is when you want to start planning for your poinsettia to be beautiful again! Six to eight weeks before you want your poinsettia to be red (or white! or pink!) again, create a set-up where your poinsettia can have at least 14 hours of darkness per day. This must be perfect darkness: no nightlights, no cracks under the door. We are mimicking the lighting conditions of the Caribbean, where it is dark and warm. I’ve been partial to a disused closet for this project: hook up a grow light on a timer in your dark space and put your poinsettia inside. You’ll need to check for watering every few days. (I absolutely require a reminder in my phone’s calendar!) After six weeks, check the branches for redness – the leaves will still be green. If the poinsettia is ready to be moved, the branches below the leaves will have started to turn red.
There’s a scene I love at the end of Home Alone: Kevin McCallister is walking through his parents’ mansion, and there are dozens of poinsettias. I laugh every time, because this greenhouse nerd is always thinking the same thing: what eight-year-old is taking care of those plants?! These are the things we think about when we love plants a little too much!
There’s a scene I love at the end of Home Alone: Kevin McCallister is walking through his parents’ mansion, and there are dozens of poinsettias. I laugh every time, because this greenhouse nerd is always thinking the same thing: what eight-year-old is taking care of those plants?! These are the things we think about when we love plants a little too much!
|
|
LIGHT |
Bright, indirect light |
|
|
WATER |
Moderate water needs |
|
|
CLIMATE |
Cold-sensitive |
|
|
SOIL |
Well-draining soil |
|
|
FERTILIZER |
During the growing season only |
Poinsettias are simple to care for when you aren’t decorating a movie set: presumably you have one or two, and not forty. The trick is to put your fingers into the soil and check for moisture. A poinsettia likes to be moist, but not wet. You know when you have a soggy sponge? It’s heavy, and when you squish it, water pours out. A wrung-out sponge is moist and springy, but not full of water. Let’s unofficially call that the “wrung-out sponge test”: that’s what we want our soil to be like! When the soil starts to feel crumbly, water and let it drain completely before placing the nursery pot back in the foil hat.
Say Christmas is over, and you want to keep your poinsettia until next year. Now what? Care for the poinsettias remains similar for a while. Eventually, the red leaves will die, being replaced with green leaves. This is totally normal! By April, you should have a green, bushy poinsettia. Now that you’ve made it this far, keep an eye out for typical houseplant pests and remove dead leaves to prevent molds and fungal diseases from forming.
In September, you’ll have to start thinking about Christmas again. I know! The kids are heading back to school, the leaves are falling, and it’s PSL season. You do not want to even think about Christmas yet. But hear me out: this is when you want to start planning for your poinsettia to be beautiful again! Six to eight weeks before you want your poinsettia to be red (or white! or pink!) again, create a set-up where your poinsettia can have at least 14 hours of darkness per day. This must be perfect darkness: no nightlights, no cracks under the door. We are mimicking the lighting conditions of the Caribbean, where it is dark and warm. I’ve been partial to a disused closet for this project: hook up a grow light on a timer in your dark space and put your poinsettia inside. You’ll need to check for watering every few days. (I absolutely require a reminder in my phone’s calendar!) After six weeks, check the branches for redness – the leaves will still be green. If the poinsettia is ready to be moved, the branches below the leaves will have started to turn red.
Poinsettias: Holiday & Year Round Care
There’s a scene I love at the end of Home Alone: Kevin McCallister is walking through his parents’ mansion, and there are dozens of poinsettias. I laugh every time, because this greenhouse nerd is always thinking the same thing: what eight-year-old is taking care of those plants?! These are the things we think about when we love plants a little too much!
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