Sunday, November 13, 2011

Planting Poinsettia

The Poinsettia, which belongs to the Euphorbia family, has become almost synonymous with Christmas and brings colour and joy to households all over Canada. It was first introduced to North America by the American ambassador to Mexico, Robert Poinsett.
The poinsettia does well in an indoor environment and if a few simple guidelines are followed will bloom well into Spring.

Watering is one of the most important factors in maintaining a healthy poinsettia. Check the soil daily and when the surface starts to feel dry its time to water. Water until it runs freely out of the drainage hole. Never let water remain in the saucer, as the poinsettia does not tolerate sitting in water.
Poinsettias like lots of light so placing it near a south window is the best place for it. Lacking that option an east or west window will do. Never allow the leaves to touch the glass, as the cold will damage them.
One of the reasons Poinsettia’s do so well inside is that they like the same kind of temperatures we do. So during the day a temperature of 20 – 22 degrees Celsius is ideal and in the evening a temperature a couple of degrees cooler is preferable.
Every year after Christmas I am determined to keep my Poinsettia over the year and have it bloom beautifully just in time for Christmas. And every year it doesn’t happen. Well, this year I think I’ve finally found the right formula to produce a beautiful plant for next Christmas. You can too just by following these simple ( well, not too hard) guidelines:
• Continue watering normally until April 1st then let it dry out gradually. Note that you don’t want it to dry out so much that the stems shrivel. After drying keep in a cool room until the middle of May.
• In the middle of May prune the poinsettia back to about 4 inches above the soil and re-pot in a new pot 1 – 2 inches bigger than the old pot. Put it in a sunny window and water when the soil starts to feel dry. As the new growth starts you can begin fertilizing every two weeks.
• In early June you can move it outside in a lightly shaded area. Continue to water and fertilize while it is outside.
• In early July pinch out 1 inch of the terminal stems.
• Between the middle of August and September 1st prune the plant back so that each stem has three or four leaves on it, bring it back inside and place in a sunny location.
• From the beginning of October until the last week in November keep the plant in total darkness from 5PM until 8AM. This is the important part. There has to be total darkness. Any stray light will delay the blooming cycle. During the day it still needs to be in a sunny window and don’t forget to water and fertilize regularly.
If you follow these guidelines you should have a beautiful Poinsettia blooming just in time for Christmas.
Just a note. For years various reports have led the general public to believe poinsettias are toxic to humans; however, this has not been authenticated. Research conducted at The Ohio State University and other institutions has proved the old wives' tale that poinsettias are poisonous to be false.

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