Poinsettia Care

Brighten the indoors and get into the holiday spirit by adding a few poinsettias to your indoor décor.

Select poinsettia plants with deep green leaves and colorful bracts, the leaf-like structures we call flowers.  Always wrap the plants when moving them in cold weather.  Remove the protective sleeves as soon as they arrive to a warm location. 

Next bend foil edges down so light can reach all of the leaves.  Punch holes in the foil for proper drainage or place a few pebbles in the bottom of the foil wrapper to elevate the pot above any standing  water.

Keep the soil moist not wet and place the plants in a cool, bright location free from drafts of hot or cold air.

If yellow leaves develop, do a bit of detective work.  Make sure there is not standing water in the foil, basket or saucer.  Dump any excess water that has collected.  Adjust your watering schedule to avoid overly wet or dry soil.  And, move the plants to a brighter location.

A bit more information:  Once the holidays have passed, move your poinsettia to a sunny window.  Continue to water thoroughly whenever the top few inches of potting mix are slightly moist.  You can move the plant outdoors for the warm summer months and bring it back in before cold weather returns.  Staring October 1^st grow your plant in a sunny window, allow the soil to go slightly dry and each night give the plant 14 hours of total darkness.  With luck, you will have colorful bracts for Christmas.

Tags

indoor-holiday-plants poinsettia

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