I’ve tried growing poinsettia after the holidays for years now, and it’s one of the toughest things for me to do.
Now don’t get me wrong — I know it’s possible to keep poinsettia plants alive after Christmas.
My father-in-law is pretty good at doing this. A good friend of mine kept some alive for many months after the holidays, too. A long time ago I managed to do the same; the plant lasted clear into early summer, albeit the poinsettia was pretty lanky and didn’t look too healthy before finally kicking the proverbial bucket (er, pot?).
What did I do wrong with my poinsettia plants? Why didn’t my poinsettias bloom next Christmas? Why did my poinsettia die after the holidays?
I found out from an expert how to keep growing poinsettia after the holidays. And I learned there were many things I could’ve done differently!
Growing Poinsettia Plants At Home
My wife and I love having poinsettias around our home during the holidays. Just the same, we enjoy buying a real Christmas tree each year. Usually the fresh-cut Christmas trees end up in the yard waste pile or composter after January 6, which is the last day of Christmas. But the poinsettias can keep going and going. And, if you’re lucky and have a bit of a green thumb… Going some more!
But how do you get your poinsettias to bloom for the next holiday season?
If you want poinsettias to bloom again, you’ve got to take extra special care of these tropical plants from the get-go. Part of that means making sure they get enough water and the right amount of light.
Tia Silvasy, a residential horticulture extension agent and master gardener volunteer coordinator with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Services (UF/IFAS) Extension in Hillsborough County, Florida, has several tips for growing poinsettia after the holidays.
Expert Tips For Growing Poinsettia Plants At Home
Want to keep your poinsettia plants thriving after the holidays are over? Silvasy shares her tips for growing poinsettia at your home:
- When you keep a poinsettia in the house, place it near a south facing window to get some sunlight and don’t overwater.
- Allow the poinsettia soil to dry out in between waterings.
- When the holidays are over the poinsettia can be planted in the landscape. From my personal experience I found they are easy to grow. Wait until after the last frost to plant it. Choose a location with part or full sun in well-drained soil.
- Pinch back your poinsettia several times a year to create a shorter, bushy form.
“Poinsettias are perennials and will live for several years,” Silvasy says. “Remember that they are tropical plants and will need to be protected from freezing weather.”
Silvasy has a few recommendations for poinsettias that gardeners and holiday revelers just love. “Poinsettia varieties come in many interesting colors including red, pink, white, and marbled. The ‘Candy Cane’ poinsettia has a peppermint-speckled look and ‘Marblestar’ is pink with white margins.”
How To Help Your Poinsettia Rebloom Next Christmas
If you’re at all successful in keeping your poinsettia plants alive after the holidays, congratulations! You’ve accomplished something I’ve only halfway done at best.
It’s therefore natural if you’ve actually been able to keep your poinsettia alive into the summer after you bought it or beyond that maybe you’re thinking on ways you can get it to bloom for the next holiday season.
Before you talk about getting your poinsettia to grow flowers next Christmas, let’s take a pause. That pretty growth you see on poinsettias isn’t flowers. As Silvasy reminds us, “It’s important to note that the colorful parts of the poinsettia are modified leaves called bracts.”
It’s best to prune back the plant after the bracts fall off while still providing the plant with plenty of light and regular watering. Then comes the big wait…
You’ve got to let the poinsettia just do its thing for a bit before introducing it to complete darkness each night beginning around late September. Why keep the poinsettia in the dark at night? That’s how you spur on the reblooming process ahead of the holidays.
As new growth appears, you’ll need to ramp up the watering and fertilization. You’ll also need to pinch the stems back a bit to encourage denser growth.
None of these methods suggested here is foolproof. You could do everything exactly right and still find your poinsettia on the wrong side of the grass, so to speak. But these are some of the best ways to keep a poinsettia growing after the holidays. With a lot of the right kind of care and a little luck, you may even get your poinsettia to bloom next Christmas!