Points for pretty poinsettias

Proper watering of your poinsettia is critical to its health and longevity. As with most plants, you don’t want the soil media to dry out, but you don’t want to overwater either. This means that you should closely monitor the soil’s dampness, keeping it as even as possible, not letting it dry out too much between watering.

This means that you need really good drainage in your soil. If the greenhouse selected the proper media for poinsettias, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. You will, however, want to make sure that there are holes in the bottom of any decorative foil that may be wrapping the container. If there are none, punch a few holes to insure that excess water will drain out. If water drains out into a pan beneath the main container, be sure to discard it.

When you water, use barely lukewarm water. Be sure that the plant does not dry out. Wide swings between too wet and too dry conditions will stress the plant and shorten bract life.

Another environmental factor to consider is the temperature where you keep your poinsettia. If you keep it too warm, bracts may fade or even fall off prematurely. Generally, temperatures above 75 degrees F should be avoided. On the other hand, if it’s too cool, diseases could develop or you might even get some chilling injury. Chilling injury occurs at temperatures well above freezing. With a poinsettia, 50 degrees F is the magic number. Never let the temperature fall below 50 degrees.

So what are the ideal temperatures for your poinsettia? Warmer temperatures during the day, when it’s getting that indirect sunlight, should be around 68 to 70 degrees F to promote good growth. Cooler temperatures at night are desirable, to reduce respiration and help prolong bract color. 55 to 60 degrees F would work well, keeping in mind that 50 degree lower limit. High humidity also helps your poinsettia.

All this is the ideal, of course, and if you intend to discard your poinsettia along with the Christmas tree, you need not follow most of the above guidelines. But if you want to keep your poinsettia around as long as possible, the above pointers should help. In a future article, I will discuss after-Christmas care of your poinsettia, for greater longevity. And for those of you who would like a horticultural challenge, I will discuss the techniques needed to re-bloom your poinsettia next year.