By Christi Stromerg Williamson County Horticulture Agent
Shared by Merilyn Cranford
With patience, you can coax your poinsettia to bloom again for another year, according to Ellen Ellison of Brenham, Texas. Here’s how:
- Christmas. Pick a colorful plant with tightly clustred yellow buds. Protect from hot or cold drafts, water when dry, and place in a room with enough natural light for reading.
- New Year’s. Apply fertilizer. Continue light and water. Plant should remain colorful for many weeks.
- Valentine’s Day. If your plant has become long and leggy prune to 5 inches from the soil.
- St. Patrick’s Day. Remove faded and dried parts of the plant. Add more soil, prferably a commercilly available sterile mix.
- Memorial Day. Trim off tow or three inches from the ends of branches to promote side branching. Repot to a larger container. Move plant outside…first to indirect, then direct light.
- Fourth of July. Trim plant again. Make sure it has full sunlight. Slightly increase the amout of fertilizer.
- Labor Day. Move indoors, but make sure it has six hours or direct light from an uncertained window. Reduce fertilizer.
- First Day of Autumn. Starting on or near September 21st, five plant 13 hours of uninterrupted darkness and 11 hours of bright light per day. Keep night temperatures in the lower 60s. Continue to water ad fertilize. Rotate plant each day to give all sides even light.
- Thanksgiving. Discontinue day/night treatment. Put plant in a sunny area. Redduce ater and fertilizer.