Poinsietta WHat to do with it now?

[molly]

May sound silly, but my husband bought me a small one at Christmas. The stems are still very healthy and the leaves have almost all fallen off. Can they be planted outside here or should I but it in the basement until next winter>>> helo I dont want to kill it now, LOL

[northsouthgirl]

Check out this website.

 

http://www.ecke.com/html/h_corp/corp_pntcare.html#rebloom

 

It will tell you what to do to get it to bloom again, when to cut it back, putting it in darkness. Pretty simple I did this once. But don't always expect it to bloom at Christmas. We had a very beautiful Poinsetta for Valentines day that lasted indoors thru July.

[Guest Tracy96]

My mom had a beautiful poinsetta years ago.  We then moved to Florida where she did plant it outside.  It was the biggest poinsetta I ever saw!  We never thought it would grow there but it did.  You could place it outside in a pot (like on a porch or deck) and see how it does.  If it seems to be doing poorly then you can just bring it back inside.

[Julie26]

I have the brownest thumb ive ever seen. I cant get a weed to grow.  ;D  I actually did a small flower bed with FAKE flowers. Every time i plant them, they either dont come up at all, or they die soon after. I had a seven sisters bush infront of my house for years, it died last year and i dont know if i can bare pulling it out.

[lavender]

You can put it out in the summer but it must come in for the winter as they are not hardy in zone 5 (us). Once you bring it in put it in a room that doesn't have a light turned on at night. They bloom on the basis of the length of the day; short day long night makes them bloom. There is one at the library in DuBois that blooms every year. They swear that they do nothing special to it. They have it on a table about 5 feet from the windows but there is still good light.  

[lavender]

I have the brownest thumb ive ever seen. I cant get a weed to grow.  ;D  I actually did a small flower bed with FAKE flowers. Every time i plant them, they either dont come up at all, or they die soon after. I had a seven sisters bush infront of my house for years, it died last year and i dont know if i can bare pulling it out.

A lot of the old fashioned roses put up suckers. Check around, it may have started itself a few feet from the original bush.

 

 

[molly]

THANKS Guys it is just such a pretty vibrant green right now and I didnt want to kill it:) I will try your suggestions.

[Petee]

Also remember that Poinsettias are small trees in Mexico.  That will give you an idea of what they want as far as general culture.  However when they flower it is because of shorter cooler days.  Just mimic their natural setting as much as possible.

[sscamaro]

Also remember that Poinsettias are small trees in Mexico.  That will give you an idea of what they want as far as general culture.  However when they flower it is because of shorter cooler days.  Just mimic their natural setting as much as possible.

i never knew that,thanks for the info.

[VulcanSoot]

You can make your plant bloom again....It will be a spiritual experience....My grandmother had a number of them which always amazed the family iwhen they showed up for the holidays.....She always claimed it was the sunlight,temperature and contolled humidity..But you'll need  to pick the right sunny window ...

[Petee]

I'm hunting for a site that shows Poinsettias growing wild in Mexico but this one has pretty good info.  Note that it says even one second of light at the wrong time can cause a POinsettia not to bloom.

 

http://www.gardens.si.edu/horticulture/res_ed/fctsht/poinst.htm

[Petee]

I'm hunting for a site that shows Poinsettias growing wild in Mexico but this one has pretty good info.  Note that it says even one second of light at the wrong time can cause a POinsettia not to bloom.

 

http://www.gardens.si.edu/horticulture/res_ed/fctsht/poinst.htm

 

Here's what it looks like in the wild.  The ones we get for Christmas don't even come from Mexico, they come from a nursery! :-)

http://www.explorelifeonearth.org/poinsettia.html