By: Denise Peterson, Crescent Hill Garden Club
Poinsettias make a beautiful holiday gift but after Christmas our alleys are littered with them. We just toss them, non-recyclable pot and all. Have you ever wished you could save a particularly beautiful Poinsettia, let it grow larger and rebloom again next year?
Starting with a healthy plant will improve your odds. First, ditch the foil pot covering that comes with the plant as soon as you get it. Foil does not drain and encourages root rot. The roots like to be moist not wet. An attractive holiday cache pot, a pot without a drainage hole, that you can use every year is a good alternative. A properly sized cache pot should hold the plant off the bottom. After watering, empty any excess water. Keep the plant away from furnace vents as they don’t like drying heat or drafts. Poinsettias like bright indirect light.
If you’re up for the challenge of making your Poinsettia rebloom in time for next Christmas, here’s a step-by-step guide based on our local holidays:
Derby Day – Cut back stems to 6-8 inches above the soil line. Repot into a one-size larger pot.
Memorial Day – Move the Plant outside. Acclimate the plant to the outdoors by placing it in a shady, protected area for 2 or 3 days, then gradually expose it to longer periods of direct sun.
July 4th – Pinch back the stems to encourage branching (more blooms). Fertilize weekly and keep moist.
Kentucky State Fair Begins – Pinch back again. Fertilize weekly and keep moist.
Labor Day – Bring plant indoors to sunny location at 65ºF to 75ºF.
Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ Day – Initiate “short day” conditions by providing 14 hours of TOTAL DARKNESS. Small amounts of light, such as turning on a lamp, a streetlight, car headlights, or the light from a TV can interfere with the production of blooms. Placing the plant in a tightly closed cardboard box may be the easiest way to achieve these conditions. Then just open the box near a bright window for the remaining 10 hours each day. Continue this cycle until you begin to see colored bracts appear.
Thanksgiving – Move to area with full day bright, indirect light.
Christmas – Enjoy Again!!!
If the experiment fails, you can always pitch it. A better alternative would be to compost the plant and reuse the pot in the spring. That would also help to keep our alleys clean.