How to Get Your Poinsettia to Rebloom

My Garden Life
December 30, 2020
Table of Contents
We tend to think of our poinsettias as seasonal decorations that come into our lives with the pine garlands and go out with the trash from the New Year’s Eve party. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Follow these seasonal tips for keeping your poinsettia alive and blooming for many holiday seasons to come.

Winter

poinsettia in living room as part of Christmas decor

Early December, pick up a healthy poinsettia from the holiday displays at most grocery stores and garden centers, checking to make sure it has a few tight yellow buds at its center and undamaged leaves. Give your plant a bright, draft-free spot in your home, and keep it watered so the soil is always just damp. If its pot is covered in decorative foil, make sure water is not draining from the pot and pooling inside the foil. Poinsettias don’t like wet feet!
poinsettia flowers in a cut flower arrangement

As the new year rings in, fertilize your poinsettia according to instructions with a general-purpose houseplant fertilizer. Clip off the blooms before they become too faded and use them in cut flower arrangements.

Spring

pruning a poinsettia

If the plant gets long and leggy, cut it back to about five inches tall. Mid-March, add some more potting soil to your pot. Keep it in bright light.

Summer

poinsettia being grown as a houseplant

June is a good time to trim back the side branches three inches or so to promote filling out and repot to a larger, more permanent container. Once temperatures are consistently above 60 degrees F at night, you can move your poinsettia outside into indirect light. Mid-July shift it into direct light, trim again, and start a regular program of fertilization to encourage summer growth. Keep the plant watered during this hot and thirsty time of the year.
 
After Labor Day, bring your poinsettia back inside and place it in a spot with six or more hours of direct light a day, supplementing natural light if need be, and cut back some (but do not stop) the fertilizer.

Fall

poinsettia plant being held in darkness in order to stimulate new flowering cycle

Starting in late September, prepare your plant to bloom again for the holidays. You’ll need to give it 13 hours of uninterrupted darkness each night (in a dark corner of the basement or under a box) and 11 hours of direct light during the day. Night temperatures should be in the low 60s F. Continue to feed and water the plant.
By Thanksgiving, your poinsettia will be ready to come out of its winter hibernation and bloom for you! Put it in a place with at least six hours of direct light a day, stop fertilizing and enjoy your poinsettia through the holidays. When you’ve kicked the Christmas tree to the curb, it’s time to start the cycle all over again.
poinsettia coming into bloom for the holidays

If babying your poinsettia through the necessary cooling period to get it to rebloom seems like too much effort, but you would still like to grow your own holiday flowers, try forcing paperwhites. It takes four to six weeks for paperwhite bulbs to bloom in the winter, but they do not need any special care during that time.
Beautiful Narcissus flowers

2 Comments

  1. Nancy

    Thank you for the info on poinsettias I think started a bit late leaves are starting to turn red

    Reply
    • My Garden Life

      Hi Nancy,
      It is a challenge to try to get poinsettias to color up in coordination with our holiday schedules (greenhouse growers have very sophisticated lighting schedules to ensure poinsettias are all in full color for the holidays). Your poinsettia is just following it’s natural schedule and we congratulate you on getting it to turn red!

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

What to do with Your Poinsettia after the Holidays

What to do with Your Poinsettia after the Holidays

It’s hard to say goodbye to a plant, especially one that brings the indoors as much good cheer as the poinsettia does. But when the holidays are done, what to do with these holiday favorites? We’ve got some ideas.
How to Grow Hostas

How to Grow Hostas

Hostas are easy to care for, love the shade and provide highly attractive foliage over a long season. Discover how to grow hostas successfully.
How to Grow and Use Calendula Flowers

How to Grow and Use Calendula Flowers

Learn why calendula flowers, also known as “pot marigolds” or “English marigolds”, are one of the most versatile, long lasting, and useful plants in the garden!

Related Posts

How to Repot an Orchid

How to Repot an Orchid

What to do with Your Poinsettia after the Holidays

What to do with Your Poinsettia after the Holidays

Tips for Planting Roses

Tips for Planting Roses

frost map with dates

Frost Map with Dates

USDA zone finder with zip code search and maps

USDA Zone Finder

plant library

Plant Library

Save plants to your personal library

Join My Garden Club to access more features

Already a member?
Log in now

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share this post with your friends!