How do you look after a poinsettia?

If you want to keep your poinsettia for the following year follow these instructions. Keep indoors untill temperatures outside are a constant 60 degrees if not keep indoors. Around April prune plant to about 15 cms in height . Don't be afraid! . Also the best time to re pot , place in a pot about 4 cms larger than previous one.

Keep plant fairly dryt, water scarcely then start to water more often in May, June. In July prune again but lightly this time to give the plant some shape and balance. Around September bring it in if it's been outside.

Poinsettias need now to be placed at least 12 hours aday in complete darkness. I usually place mine in a wardrobe!. I place mine around 5pm in complete darkness and then around 8am I place it in the window in my Kitchen on a marble shelf above a radiator. It's in a pot stand which has pebbles in it so that the roots of the plant don't touch the water and the plant receives a lot of light but does not get too dry. Fertilize every two weeks or so. Around late November the leaves have started to go red and you can stop the light and darkness routine.

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