Caring for Ponsettia plants? I received a poinsettia plant last Christmas and I want to try...
I received a poinsettia plant last Christmas and I want to try to hang on to it alive. I'm a VERY BAD plant grower. I've read a few how-to sites but as I have no opinion of any plant growing lingo I get completely lost. Can someone please report me in simple language (no 'brachts' and such as I have no thought what this means) how to care for it?
I live contained by south Georgia (where the temps are usually pretty warm most of the time) but I hold the plant in an bureau currently because I don't want me 22 month old playing near it if I took it home.
Please if you can, tell me how to prune it, if I should hold it outside, if I should keep it within the dark to manufacture the blooms turn red, etc. Thanks!
Answers: Daily care:
Water lone when soil is completely dry (or close to it). A constantly moist soil will cause roots to rot and the plant will die. If you under-water, the leaves will commence to wilt, thenwater right away! Poinsettias are usually forgiving and will bounce back briskly.
Never let it stay out surrounded by temperatures below 65 deg F (I don't know the exact heat, but Poinsettias will die if it gets too cold).
Give it as much sun as you can (except as noted below for Fall)
Monthly caution:
Give liquid fertilizer as recommended for house plants. Pinch rotten dead leaves, branches, etc.
Poinsettas are not hugely resistant to white flies. I later literary this the hard agency when some flowers from a florist introduced them to my household. To protect the plant from this, I recommend using a mild soap water solution (or buy a mixture from your prairie and garden center that is necessarily the same point with salt added) and spray it, coating the leaves (both sides), once a month. Don't do it too heavy, a frothy mist on both sides of the leaves are usually good plenty. White flies like sagging around under the leaves, where on earth they can easily suck the time out of the plant and stay out of casual belief.
Spring (around May 5):
Pinch back adjectives branches, leaving one and only 4 to 6 inches of the branches. This is also the best time to transplant. If you bought this plant this winter, you should transplant. The pots they sell it surrounded by are usually too small for the root system of the plant. I recommend using the same potting soil i.e. recommended for tomatoes.
Once you are *POSITIVE* that nights will not tip out below 65 deg F, you can leave it outside surrounded by full sunlight. Do not place near parts of buildings where on earth water will runoff and slop on the plant.
Fall:
Bring inside once before night get cold (below 65 deg F).
To craft it bloom for Christmas:
The reason poinsettias don't bloom the subsequent season is because the plant doesn't think it is Fall. The plant must enjoy around 6 weeks of days with smaller quantity than 12 hours of light beforehand it will start blooming (thus think it is Fall). Typical indoor lighting is adequate for the plant to be tricked to think it is still daylight.
Therefore, you must place the plant within a room with certainly NO light for around 14 hrs per sunshine. What I typically do is when I get home from work at around 5pm, place it into a misty closet. And, before I donate for work in the morning at around 7:30am, place it wager on into a sunny window. You should start this process sometime contained by between mid September and October 1. I recommend mid September so it will be blooming for Thanksgiving.
Once the plant has righteous coverage of blooms (not just some red leaves), you can stop placing it contained by the dark for the season.
I live surrounded by Southern Calif....mine is planted in the ground outside. It is 10feet towering...blooms from Dec thru about March. I solitary fertilize about twice a year (Miracale Grow). It will grow surrounded by a pot for a few years but does better planted in the ground.