If you only want to care for your poinsettia for one season anyway, you don't have to worry about cutting back the houseplant. However, if you want to try to get the plant to bloom the following year, you will have to use scissors to cut it. What you need to consider when pruning the poinsettia.

Dried and rotten should be cut back

Reasons to cut poinsettias

  • Remove rotten, dry and diseased shoots
  • Prune the plant before the summer break
  • Keep poinsettia in shape
  • stimulate the formation of new shoots
  • Cut stems for the vase

Cut the poinsettia into shape

In an unfavorable location that is too dark, the shoots of the poinsettia tend to bare. They grow long and thin, what the gardener calls 'growling'. You can cut off these shoots so that the houseplant retains a compact shape.

By cutting back, you encourage the poinsettia to develop new shoots. The plant then appears bushier and often gets more shoots with colored bracts.

Prune poinsettia after flowering

If you want to take care of the poinsettia for several years, you should cut it back after flowering before you put it outside over the summer. Be sure to remove any old blooms.

To do this, shorten all the stems by half. You can also cut out branches that grow sideways.

When pruning back, you can cut woody parts of the plant.

Cut dried or rotten stems

If the poinsettia is watered too much or too little, the shoots can wither or rot.

You should immerse dried poinsettias in a water bath for a short time. The plant then usually recovers. If the stems dry up, cut them off.

This also applies to rotten stems caused by waterlogging or overwatering. Let the potting soil dry out for a few days to allow the poinsettia to recover.

Cut the poinsettia for the vase

Poinsettias are not only great as a potted plant at Christmas. The bracts can also be cut as cut flowers for the vase. To keep the stems longer, hold them over a lit candle or lighter for a short time after cutting. This closes the interface and the plant sap cannot leak out any further.

Poinsettias look particularly pretty in a vase together with sprigs of corkscrew hazelnuts or a fir tree.

Only cut the poinsettia with gloves

The milky sap of the poinsettia is poisonous. On the skin, it can cause skin irritation. Therefore, always cut poinsettias with gloves.

If you accidentally get juice on your skin, wash it off immediately with cold water.

tips

After cutting, it takes some time before new growth becomes noticeable. After about two weeks, however, the first new shoot tips should appear.

Category:

Indoor plants