By Stephanie Brash, Master Gardener, SCMG
Fun FACT: You can keep it for another year, and many years to come!
Sure, you could dispose of it in the compost heap or as regular yard waste, but where’s the fun in that? Wouldn’t reblooming your poinsettia for next Christmas be so much more rewarding?
(Answer: YES!)
Here’s how:
1.) After Christmas, care for your poinsettia as you normally would, giving it plenty of bright, indirect light, and keeping the soil moist but not soggy.
2.) In April, cut the entire plant back to about 4″ and repot into a larger planter. Grow it in a cool, light place over the summer, ideally at a temperature of 15-18 degrees Celsius. Continue to care for it as before, and start fertilizing it along with your other houseplants.
3.) When November arrives, it’s time to start “forcing” the plant to bloom. For the next 6 weeks, it will require 14 hours of complete darkness each day to alert it to the shorter days of winter, which will encourage the red flowers to flourish.
Tip: Move your poinsettia into a closet when you finish work for the day and put it in a sunny window the next morning.
So, are you up for the challenge of reblooming a poinsettia? Give it a try!
