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How To Care For Poinsettias Year Round

ByKim Posted on Updated on

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How to care for poinsettias year round. They are not as hard to grow as you think. With these tips, your poinsettia plant will stay beautiful all year!

A Quick Look At Poinsettia Care

In this guide, you’ll learn:

  • Where to keep your poinsettia (bright, indirect light, away from drafts, about 65°F (18°C))
  • How to water it from the bottom so the soil stays moist but not soggy
  • When to fertilize, and when not to
  • How to care for your poinsettia after Christmas
  • How to get it to bloom again next year
  • Whether poinsettias are perennials or poisonous
  • Why poinsettia leaves fall off, and how to fix it
Red poinsettia on a table with gold wrapped gifts under it. The text overlay says "Do You Know How To Keep Poinsettias Beautiful?"

Is there any plant that just says Christmas more than the poinsettia?

Yet they have a reputation for being hard to grow, but really they aren’t with these tips for how to care for poinsettias year round.

How To Care For Poinsettias Year Round With These Easy Tips

Plant breeding has given us many different colors of poinsettias to choose from. Poinsettias come in salmon, cream, pink, white, and of course red that is the most popular color.

What is fascinating about the poinsettia is that what we call flowers really are not the flower of the poinsettia plant. The flower itself is very small and really nothing special.

It’s the beautifully colored leaves called bracts that give the poinsettia its stunning look.

These bracts are produced by the plant before the flowers open and will last for quite a while.

Poinsettia Care Instructions

Red poinsettia with bright bracts and dark green leaves sits in a red wrapped pot against a white tile background. A healthy example for a guide on how to care for poinsettias year round.

Where to keep your poinsettia plants

One of the most important things to consider when bringing your poinsettia plant home is where you are going to keep it.

Poinsettias need a bright location out of direct sunlight (bright, indirect light). It needs to be protected from drafts and about 65°F (18°C).

Poinsettias just can’t handle direct sunlight especially from near windows it will burn their leaves.

Watering Poinsettias

A red poinsettia sitting on a table with gold wrapped gifts and Christmas decorations around it. The text overlay says "Do You Know How To Water Poinsettias The Right Way?"

One of the biggest mistakes people make with poinsettia plants is overwatering them. This one reason alone is why you are probably killing your poinsettias every year.

I find that the best way to water poinsettias is from the bottom. Set the pots into a basin of water with a few inches of water in it. Let your plant sit in the basin for 1 to 2 hours, until the soil is evenly moist but not soggy.

Then remove the pots and set them back on their plant pot trays. Don’t let your poinsettias stay consistently wet any water that drains into the trays should be discarded.

Water your plants every 3 to 5 days depending on how humid or dry your home is. You want the soil to be moist to the touch but not soggy wet it’s ok to let it dry out a little between waterings.

If the leaves start to curl on the edges water the poinsettia right away.

Once the bracts have fallen off you can either discard the plant or keep caring for it to enjoy next year too. If you’re going to keep it through the year move the poinsettia to a cool, dark area and slowly decrease your regular watering schedule to allow the plant to dry out a little.

Fertilizing Poinsettias

Close up of a pink poinsettia with layered rosy bracts surrounding small yellow green flowers and dark green leaves underneath. A colorful example for a guide on how to care for poinsettias year round.

When your poinsettias are in bloom don’t give it any fertilizer. You should wait until after the blooming period to start fertilizing your plant. Use a multi-purpose houseplant fertilizer and apply it every two weeks to once a month.

Poinsettia Care After Christmas

Close-up of a red poinsettia blooming. The text overlay says "how To Care For Poinsettias Year Round.

In the spring bring the plant back to a bright area but remember to keep it out of direct sunlight and water it well. Cut back all the branches to about 6 inches in length.

Spring is also a great time to repot your plant and add some good potting mix. You can keep your poinsettia indoors or place it into a protected area in your garden over the summer.

When the new growth reaches 6 to 10 inches start pinching out the tips to encourage more branches to grow. Do this monthly until late summer.

How To Get Your Poinsettia To Bloom Again

This is the step that gives you those beautiful colored bracts again in time for Christmas.

Starting in September, light becomes an important part of poinsettia care. To encourage blooming, poinsettia plants need long periods of darkness at night.

Move your poinsettia plant to a location where it will get at least 12 hours of darkness at night. If needed you can place a cardboard box over it.

Make sure your plant still gets ample light during the day and if possible keep the daytime temperature between 65–70°F (18–21°C) and the nights 55–60°F (13–16°C).

These dark hours and temperatures will encourage your poinsettia to bloom.

Are Poinsettias Perennials?

Close up of a white poinsettia with creamy white bracts surrounding small yellow green flowers and deep green leaves.

Yes, poinsettias are perennials. In warm climates like their native Mexico, they grow outside as large shrubs.

In colder areas like mine, they can’t handle frost, so we grow them as houseplants. With the care steps above, you can keep the same poinsettia growing and blooming year after year.

Are Poinsettias Poisonous?

Poinsettia plants are not as poisonous as once thought but the milky sap from their leaves can cause skin irritation. If it gets on your hands wash them right away. Eating a part of the poinsettia may cause a stomachache more information about poinsettia toxicity can be read here.

It’s a good idea to keep your poinsettia out of reach of pets too, since nibbling the leaves can upset their stomachs.

Why Are My Poinsettias Leaves Falling Off?

Poinsettias are really easy to grow, but they are sensitive plants. If conditions aren’t just right they will start to drop their leaves.

Most of the time leaf drop is an easy fix. Keep your plant in a bright, draft-free place out of direct sunlight and make sure the soil is kept moist during the blooming season but not soggy.

This should be enough to help your poinsettia recover, but if not, you can replace the plant easily during the Christmas season.

FAQ’s

Water every 3 to 5 days, depending on how humid or dry your home is. The soil should be moist to the touch but not soggy.

Poinsettias need long nights to color up. Starting in September, give your plant at least 12 hours of darkness every night.

In the spring, cut all the branches back to about 6 inches long. Then pinch out the new tips once a month until late summer.

Yes, you can move it to a protected spot in your garden over the summer, or keep it indoors.

Yes, poinsettias are perennials, so with the right care you can keep yours growing and get it to bloom again next Christmas.

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A collage image of red and pink poinsettia plants. The text overlay says "Care For Poinsettias Year Round".

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3 Comments

  1. Thank you for your advice. I keep mine for a few years usually and they do very well. Last year I bought a tiny one and ‘bonsaid’ it.. Each time a leaf grew slightly big I took it off and I know have a tiny poinsettia with tiny little leaves. I’ll start putting it in the dark more and hope it gets red bracts. It’s been fun to try. Silvia

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  2. This is great… thank you. Last year my plants make it until July when the air conditioning took them out. I bought new plant just a couple of weeks ago… gonna try it again.

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