| | Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) You don't have to discard that favourite Christmas plant - the Poinsettia - after Christmas. Year round treatment discussed here!
 | At 55-60F red poinsettias will stay colourful for 6 weeks and white ones for about 2 months. The newer forms or cultivars often remain attractive until spring. You can enjoy the challenge of bringing poinsettias into bloom for a second season by getting a head start on next Christmas. About 2 weeks after receiving the plant, fertilize it with a complete fertilizer. The plant should be fertilized every 7-10 days until the plant loses its bracts (coloured leaves). |
Be sure to keep the soil moist until the plant drops its leaves. Then let the soil dry out and don't water it until the stems begin to shrivel or crack. Keep the plant in a cool, sunny place such as a basement window ledge. Late April or early May, bring the plant out of its 'resting' stage. Cut the stems back to 3-5" from the soil and re-pot the plant if necessary. After re-potting, water whenever the soil begins to dry out - not too much until the new growth starts. |  |
 | Once the new shoots are an inch long, apply a complete fertilizer. When the new growth is 4-6" long, prune the plant to form the desired compact shape. In mid September, poinsettias will need complete darkness every day from 5 pm to 8 am so put a cardboard box over the plant to provide the necessary "short day". Continue the "short days" until the plant's bracts show colour sometime in late November or early December. The night temperature should be 60-65F to ensure flowering of the plant. |
Poisonous - or not? There are conflicting theories as to whether this particular Euphorbia is poisonous. Most of the family are. Better to assume so. | |
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