Poinsettias have become disposable items because they are so inexpensive to buy at Christmas time. The indoor plants can certainly be made to bloom again, so that you can take care of a poinsettia for several years. This is how you get the houseplant to bloom again.

Before flowering, the poinsettia needs a darker location

Make the poinsettia bloom again

The poinsettia has its main flowering period around Christmas time. Strictly speaking, the poinsettia is not about the flowers, which are very inconspicuous. Rather, the plant is valued for its bracts, which appear in red, yellow, pink, or bicolor.

After the flowering period, which can last into March depending on the care, most plant lovers throw the poinsettia away because it loses leaves and doesn’t look as pretty anymore.

It is quite possible to achieve renewed flowering in the following winter. The following maintenance measures are necessary for this:

  • cut back from April
  • water less
  • fertilize from May
  • darken in November

Simulate lighting conditions at home

The poinsettia is native to the equator. The lighting conditions there are different from ours. These have to be simulated so that the houseplant forms its pretty bracts again next winter.

The most important care measure is to put the plant into a summer rest and make it much darker a few weeks before flowering.

For at least six to eight weeks, the plant must not receive more than eleven hours of light. Some experts even recommend keeping them completely dark during this time.

Cover poinsettia with paper bag or cardboard

During the summer, the poinsettia may spend a semi-shady place outside on the balcony or terrace. At the latest when it gets too cool outside, you have to bring the plant inside. The temperatures should not be cooler than ten degrees.

Now put the poinsettia in a warm place and water it a little more than during the summer.

A good place is a room that gets at most daylight and is not illuminated by artificial light sources. If such a room is not available to you, cover the plant with a cardboard box, a paper bag or a flower pot for several hours a day so that it is as dark as possible.

Keep light and warm before flowering

After the dark phase, new approaches for the colored bracts have formed. If you want the poinsettia to bloom in time for Christmas, you need to start blacking out in November.

Shortly before Christmas you can bring the poinsettia back into the warm living room. Place it in a bright place protected from drafts.

tips

With proper care, the flowering period of the poinsettia lasts well into March. It is important that you water it properly and that it gets a light and warm location. On the other hand, he does not like drafts and heating air that is too dry.

Category:

Indoor plants