I love buying a few poinsettias every holiday season! They brighten up the darkest days, and are a lovely way to celebrate and decorate. Unfortunately, they seem to die or fade away within a couple of months. Did you know you can keep them alive from season to season? There are a few things you need to do, in order for your poinsettia to flourish, and here are the steps!

When the holidays come to an end, your poinsettia seems to come to an end with it. It just looks….rather tired, doesn’t it? And if you’re like me, you probably wonder what to do with it every season. I just really feel sad when I’m not sure what to do, and I end up composting them.

But….you CAN keep your poinsettia alive! Not only that, it can remain a lovely fixture in your home for several months between now and next holiday time, too, as long as it gets the proper care.

Poinsettias are short-day plants, and are native to Mexico. A short day plant is one that requires a longer period of darkness (and therefore a shorter day) in order to flower or change colors.

For poinsettias, what we think of as the “flower” is really a bract, or a special leaf. This is what turns the beautiful bright red color. The flowers are really little buds, usually red or green, that you can see in the center of the bracts. These will open into little yellow flowers. These may tend to go unnoticed, as it’s the beautiful red leaves we’re used to enjoying!

You’ll also notice the dark green leaves below the red bracts, all the way to the base. As the poinsettia fades away after the holidays, these tend to fall off, as it goes through its seasonal change.

FTC Disclosure: There may be affiliate links scattered here and there in this article. If you click through and make any kind of purchase, I may earn a very small commission at no extra cost to you.

Get your free Herbal Remedy and a handy cheat sheet! It’s perfect for your home apothecary or kitchen! Click here to grab yours now!

How to Get Your Poinsettia to Bloom Again Next Year

Here’s what your poinsettia needs to keep it looking great for a few more months as well as what to do so you get to enjoy the beautiful red bracts next year!

1) Light and Temperature:

Be sure your poinsettia is getting a minimum of six hours of indirect light a day, and keep them from being too cold or too hot. They need to be in an area that stays above 50 degrees. The best range is 60-70 degrees.

2) Water:

Water your poinsettia once the soil has dried out to about two inches below the surface. They are rather drought tolerant, and like to become a bit dry between waterings…but not too much. They are susceptible to root rot, so it’s best to err on the side of underwatering than overwatering. Be sure your pot has excellent drainage.

3) Fertilizer:

Because the plant is in its container, you’ll need to supplement with an all-purpose fertilizer, like this organic choice. The nice thing about this fertilizer, being that it’s organic, is that it’s a fine choice for your indoor herbs and sprouts, too!

Apply the fertilizer once a week to keep the plant healthy during the holidays. When you notice the brightly colored bracts falling off, reduce the watering and the fertilizing to give the plant a period of rest.

4) Pruning:

Once the bracts begin falling, it’s ok to trim off any extra leaves so that only a few leaves are left.

Continue these steps into March or even April. The existing bracts can be enjoyed for a few more months. Once you feel the plant is “spent,” you can give it a good trim, leaving only the buds. It may look a bit like a stick, but don’t worry! Continue watering and using a bit of fertilizer, and you should see more leaves growing by May.

General Summertime Care:

If you live in a nice area that’s not too hot, you can take your poinsettia outside, still in its pot, and place it in a shady or dappled area on your patio, after the danger of freezing temperatures is past. Enjoy it as you relax on the porch!

To keep the poinsettia compact and bushy, continue cutting it back periodically—-roughly in mid-July and again in early September, as this will stimulate more branches and leaves to grow.

General Fall Care:

Right around the beginning of October, put the plant in complete darkness as soon as the sun sets. A closet will work fine. It needs a minimum of 14 hours of darkness at this point.

Guess what?

By the end of November/early December, your poinsettia will begin to color up again! You’ll be able to enjoy it’s colorful beauty for another season!

Just repeat these steps, and your poinsettia will last quite a good long time.

Click here to get your FREE herbal remedy guide immediately! It’s a beautiful 10 page reference guide perfect for your kitchen or home apothecary!

A Month-by-Month Guide for Poinsettia Care

I came across these guidelines on the blog of one of my favorite seed and gardening supply online shops recently, and I adapted them for my own plant. These tips are from TrueLeaf Market, and this is where we buy our cover crop seeds, many of our regular seeds, and all of our sprouting and baby greens seeds for all year growing. It’s also where I love to buy my coconut coir and potting soils for smaller projects too. It’s a great company!

Here’s how to really nail down your poinsettia care year long:

January:

If you see new growth on the plant, it’s fine to fertilize lightly. Continue making sure your poinsettia has enough light and water.

February:

If your plant is losing leaves and developing long, leggy stems, it’s time to cut them back—-do a little pruning. Cut the stems back to around five inches tall to stimulate new and stronger growth. Remove any dead leaves and stems on the soil surface, and add additional soil if need be. Continue keeping your plant in a nice bright window.

May:

This is a great month to transplant your poinsettia out of its plastic nursery pot. Frankly, I’m just not a fan of these pots at all, and I transplant almost ALL my plants once I get them home. Since poinsettias are decorative seasonal plants, though, I do wait until spring to move it to a more comfy pot. Fertilize your poinsettia every three to four weeks at this point.

June and July:

Depending on your garden zone, June is a great month to move your poinsettia outside. Be sure the location you choose gets lots of bright but indirect light. If you can find a location where the plant can get a bit of full sun without burning up, you can also place it there after a couple of weeks in the bright indirect light. Be sure to watch your plant and move it accordingly. Keep fertilizing….

September:

Now it’s probably time to move your poinsettia back inside…I know it is where we live, here in zone 5. But if you’re in a warmer zone, your poinsettia may be able to stay outside a bit longer. Reduce the fertilizer amount to about a fourth of what you’ve been using up until now.

October:

Here’s where the excitement starts! Your plant now needs 16 completely dark hours a day, and only six to eight hours a day of bright light. This mimics it’s native growing range. The dark hours need to be completely dark, so putting your poinsettia in a very dark closet where no light can enter at all is helpful. If you have a very cold house, try to put it in an area where the temperature will stay around 60 degrees at night. Continue watering and fertilizing at the reduced amount. This is kind of a pseudo-dormancy period.

November:

Place your poinsettia in a nice sunny spot where it will get about six hours of sun a day. Stop the dark periods in the closet. Reduce watering even more and stop fertilization.

Following these guidelines, your poinsettia just might start producing bright lovely red bracts!

You might also enjoy this video on growing rosemary indoors! I have some surprising tips for you….

Final Thoughts on Keeping Your Poinsettia Alive Year After Year

I realize that poinsettias are not expensive and easy to find during the holidays, and because of this, they’re easily disposable for many. But if you’re like me, and you like keeping plants living and thriving, give these steps a try!

Are you a gardener or lover of indoor/outdoor plants?

Then….Join us in our FREE community, Healing Harvest Natural Living Groups. It’s a place to share ideas, tips, and experiences with like-minded people! And best of all…you’re totally in charge of what shows up in your feed! No ads. No distractions. No mind-games.

Here are some other articles you may enjoy if you liked this one:

8 Herbs You Can Grow Indoors All Year

A Complete Companion Planting Guide—-Plus a free Printable Reference Guide!

10 Tips for Beginning Vegetable Gardening Success

20 Medicinal Herbs to Plant in Your Healing Garden

The Ultimate Guide to Growing and Using Calendula for Beauty and Medicine

And there are over 500 other articles on the website! Go explore and enjoy!

Are you planning to keep your poinsettia around for awhile? Let us know how it goes!

Hugs, Health, and Self-Reliance,

Heidi

P.S. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter and never miss a thing! Just fill out the form below! And…don’t forget to join our free community that’s private and off social media!