Category: Poinsettias

Poinsettia by kadavoor

This is the time of year that many homes are enjoying the Poinsettia plant, euphorbia pulcherrima, that they either bought for themselves to decorate their homes for the holidays or received as holiday gifts. And though we are enjoying the beauty of the red leaves that look like flowers, many of us wish we could save the plant and have those beautiful colors return next year.   See a previous post on this topic here.

TheGardenLady received advice from a blog she has signed up to receive that gives information on all sorts of gardening. This month they have an article on caring for a Poinsettia so that it will give you the beauty of the color next December. This information comes from a professional plant nursery in West Virginia that TheGardenLady visited this past fall. Bob’s Market Nursery has a wonderful blog that any gardener can subscribe to as well.

Continue reading “Caring for Poinsettias”

TheGardenLady received this question from John:

I have a Poinsettia that I kept outside in a 12″pot from last Christmas. The plant has gotten pretty big and nice green color with no pruning. What can I do to this Pointsettia to get it to turn red?  Or am I too late?

You may be just a little late in starting to acclimate the Poinsettia to enable the bracts (those are the leaves that look like petals ) on your Poinsettia to turn red by December and to get flowers. Even if you start now and are lucky, the plant may not have the red bracts and flowers until Valentine’s day. Since having a healthy plant is part of the battle, it is worth, at least once, to try to convince the plant to give you the color you want even if you start late. If you don’t have success this year and the plant continues to be healthy and has no insect infestation, don’t toss the plant, but try again next year. Try starting the regimen a little earlier to see if you can do it.

It takes some effort and pampering to make the plant get those red bracts and bloom a second time – something that nurseries do in light and temperature controlled greenhouses where they have the needed equipment and a crew to do the work; but some people have had success in the home.

Continue reading “Getting Poinsettias to Turn Red”