How to keep your Christmas poinsettia alive
Poinsettias are one of the most popular Christmas plants in the UK, famed for their showy display of red leaves.
While they are treated more like a bunch of fresh flowers and thrown out in the new year, these festive shrubs can in fact flourish year-round with the right care and attention.
"Poinsettias are very common around Christmas with their dark green leaves and large strikingly red bracts (leaves around the flowers). Nothing gets you more into the Christmas mood than a poinsettia, at least in the plant world," says Sean Lade, gardening expert and director of Easy Garden Irrigation.
From the right temperature to when to water, keep reading for everything you need to know about this festive plant:
Picking out your poinsettia
Set your poinsettia up for success by purchasing it from a reputable garden centre or store.
Be wary of buying any that you see sitting next to a set of automatic doors; poinsettias don't like exposure to cold temperatures or draughts. This could cause your poinsettia to drop its leaves soon after it is brought into your home.
You'll also want to avoid buying any plants that have sat outdoors or on pavements. This is because they can be exposed to cold temperatures. Ideally, you want to keep the plant between 16 and 21 degrees Celsius, according to the RHS.
The Little Botanical Red Poinsettia Plant Set
Taking it home
Once you've picked out your plant, make sure to wrap it up in paper for the journey home. You also don't want to leave your poinsettia in a cold car for any great length of time. This chill could also cause its leaves and bracts to fall off.
Sean adds: "They are susceptible to fluctuations in temperature and will quickly start to wilt if kept too cold or in a draft. When buying one, you should look for those stored indoors, as when displayed outdoors below 13 degrees, they are more than likely on their way out before they get back home. Even a quick walk between the shop and the car, when it’s freezing outside, can be enough to harm it."
Where to place your poinsettia
Keep your poinsettia away from any direct dry heat sources, such as radiators or fireplaces. They also don't like draughts, so make sure to keep them away from draughty windowsills.
Ideally, aim for beside a window, which gets a good amount of light during the day. The usual advice would be to keep plants out of direct sunlight to protect their leaves from scorching or burning, but this isn't as much of an issue over the winter months. Placing your poinsettia by a south-facing window is completely fine.
When to water
Poinsettias don't like or need a lot of water. The RHS suggests watering them enough to keep the compost just moist – not dry or soggy – and watering when the surface of the compost feels dry to the touch.
You won't need to water again until the soil is dry or the leaves start to show signs of wilting. You'll also want to use tepid water and pour from the top. If you can, keep your poinsettia plant on a tray of damp pebbles for humidity.
When to feed
Your newly purchased poinsettia typically won't require feed or fertiliser over the colder months, as they tend to be sold in pre-fertilised soil. If you plan on repotting your poinsettia or keeping it into the new year, "your poinsettia will benefit from monthly feedings to keep it thriving long into the new year," reveals Dobbies’ senior houseplant buyer, Claire Bishop.
"Consider using a liquid plant food to fertilise your poinsettia throughout the spring and summer months to allow it to bloom again next Christmas," she continues. Using a high-potassium fertiliser, such as tomato feed, once a month, can also help.
Pruning and repotting after Christmas
If you've been successful in caring for your plant into the new year and spring season, you will need to prune and cut it back in April.
Claire recommends pruning it twice a year. She says: "If you are feeding your poinsettia and it is growing, when it comes to spring, you should cut back your plant’s stems by a third, to around six inches."
In late summer, you will most likely need to prune your poinsettia again to "control its size ahead of the cooler months," she adds. You'll also want to remove the plant's foliage to allow room for new growth.
Then repot it in May and place it somewhere with access to plenty of light throughout the summer. Essentially, you want to give it enough room to accommodate its growing size. And don't forget to use fresh potting mix with good drainage and choose a pot or container that's big enough for the plant's roots to grow.
Classic Poinsettia Basket
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