Top tips for Poinsettia care
Poinsettia flowers are legendary for being extremely versatile and rigid flowers, starting to grow late in spring, and dying off towards the coldest stages of winter. It is possible however to keep poinsettia’s blooming all year round when looked after properly, so we have created this guide, which if you follow it , will give your poinsettia’s a good shot at sticking around all year!
Winter
Winter is the most critical time of the year where you really have to be on top of your poinsettia care in order to keep them growing through spring and back into summer, follow these winter guidelines to see your poinsettia’s through till spring:
- ·When the soil is dry with no frost, (preferably mid day) water your poinsettia flowers thoroughly.
- ·Try your best to keep the temperature above 60 degrees Fahrenheit over night, this is easily doable by placing an outdoor light in close enough proximity to the flower to keep the temperature above Fahrenheit, but make sure that the temperature does not exceed more than around 72 degrees in the day.
- ·It would be a good idea to place the plant in a location where it can still get light and nutrients, but is also protected from cold winds, again, this is easy enough to overcome with some large enough rocks, or other , bushier plants to act as a wind buffer.
Spring
When early march rolls around, the hardest part of keeping your poinsettia’s alive is over, but there are still steps you should take to ensure their survival:
- ·Out all of the stems back to just above 8 inches above ground level
- ·Continue to water thoroughly when soil is dry
- · fertilize with an all-purpose plant food every 3 weeks, ( after the elemental kicking your poinsettia flowers have had over winter, they need it).
Summer
When summer comes around (June) now is the simple task of making sure your plant is getting enough water, as now it will be getting enough sunlight to ensure stable consistent growth, there are only a couple of guidelines to follow over summer:
- ·Water every 2-3 days, poinsettia’s are very greedy flowers, and require a lot of water.
- ·If the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is highly unlikely, but hey, this is the United Kingdom, cover your plant with a lightweight cloth .
Early Autumn
When your poinsettia’s start to receive less than 12 hours of light a night for between 1-2 weeks, you swill start to see its flowers forming, now is another important stage of the year, as the flowers will need a lot of nutrients to grow, especially after the unnatural stress of being alive for almost a year:
- ·Water when the soil is dry to touch, usually every 3-5 days in autumn unless it has reigned in the 3-5 day period between watering.
- ·Fertilize every 4 weeks to ensure it is getting all of the nutrients it needs.
Winter
When winter rears its cold head around again around November, you have successfully kept your poinsettia’s alive and kicking all year round! And are free to repeat the same process again if necessary, additionally, over time the poinsettia will start to adapt to this, making it easier for you to look after! It’s a win win situation!