A quality plant in the right location that is well-cared for can stay in bloom for up to six months. When you're picking out poinsettias to Year in and year out, Americans buy more poinsettias than any other type of flowering indoor potted plant. poinsettia flowers Image Credit: JillLang/iStock/Getty Images The lifespan of a poinsettia is often no longer than through the holiday season and into March. Give your poinsettias life beyond the holidays with this year-round guide that will keep them thriving. By By DEAN FOSDICK. They need short days to bloom - about 10 weeks of 12 hours or less of sunlight each day. Answer: You should water your poinsettias whenever the soil feels dry to the touch, about once per week. For the longest-lasting poinsettias, choose plants with little or no yellow pollen showing. Its botanical name is Euphorbia pulocherrima, which makes it a member of the Euphorbia family. How Long Do Poinsettias Bloom › how long to poinsettias last › how long do poinsettia blooms last › how to bloom a poinsettia › how long to force poinsettia to bloom › how to force a poinsettia to bloom › how do you get poinsettia to rebloom. Cut it back to 4 inches, leaving one to three leaves on each stem, and begin fertilizing every two weeks. So, I did a little experiment to see if I could get my poinsettias to turn red again. Poinsettias are short day plants. Poinsettias are cheerful symbols of the holiday season that are often given and received as gifts. I wish to know if the grafting can be done to change the colour of the bloom. Image credit: Polly Wreford. What Can I Do to Make My Poinsettia Bloom Red Flowers?. How long do Poinsettias last? For it to bloom again, a poinsettia requires 14 hours of complete darkness every night. Suggest a correction. Poinsettias are popularly, though incorrectly, said to be toxic to humans and other animals. It will depend on how well you follow the tips above, but on average a well-cared for poinsettia should last 4-6 weeks until the flowers start to fall off. Poinsettias need at least 14 hours of complete darkness each night for six to 10 weeks to trigger bloom. Before you do so, you might want to repot it if it has outgrown the pot it came in. Poinsettias might seem short-lived because they usually start dropping their brightly-colored bracts (the modified leaves that often get mistaken for petals) and looking sparse soon after the holidays are over, but today's varieties actually last much longer than they did even a few years ago. In warm climates planted outdoors directly they have a tendency to ignore the rules because their roots and resources aren't confined like indoor plants. Poinsettias will rebloom year after year with the proper care. (Actually, it’s the nights longer than 12 hours that stimulate bloom, but let’s not quibble over details, as the results are the same.) 1. Keep them away from sources of high heat, such as a furnace vent or fireplace. Top homeguides.sfgate.com. Most poinsettias will last for 4 to 6 weeks before the bracts (flowers) begin to fall off. So anything that reduces day length in the fall, while still maintaining viable conditions (warm temperatures, occasional waterings, etc. They’re demanding plants. The link to the information is below. Don't over-fertilize when the plants are outside. How Long Do Poinsettias Live? And note: other winter greenery like holly bushes DO have poisonous berries, so keep it in mind as you choose what to bring indoors. But allows enough water to keep the poinsettias blooming longer. While we associate poinsettias with those darker nights with the heating turned up and the snuggly blankets out, you may be surprised to discover that they actually hail from Mexico and really don't like the cold. Where do poinsettias come from? Before we talk about what to do as the season winds down, let’s start with how to care for your poinsettia to keep it vibrant and healthy. The article is very informative and helpful. Poinsettias require darkness and dryness to grow, as sunlight and excess water can damage the plants. If your plant is wrapped, be sure to create a few holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. I got the above information from a very informative website called Empress of dirt. Offered in abundance before the holidays, poinsettias are typically thought of as "throwaway" plants to be set on the curb when their red blooms eventually fade. Cover with a cardboard box or black plastic bag or place it in a dark closet. If plants do not receive this altered lighting pattern they will initiate color after Christmas rather than during the holiday season. This requires some management to get it to bloom for the holidays. You might do this right by the window or choose to move the plant each evening to a box in another room and return it to the sun in the morning. Flower buds should be seen by November if all goes well. How Long Does a Poinsettia Bloom? A tropical perennial plant, poinsettias can survive and bloom for many years with proper care. Poinsettia life cycle may seem a bit complicated, but this short-day plant must satisfy certain growing requirements in order to bloom.. Where Did the Poinsettia Come From? Following these steps won’t guarantee your poinsettia will thrive all year, but it can keep them healthy and alive for many months after the traditional holidays come to an end. In 2010 for example, 36.1 million pots of poinsettias with a … Poinsettias require short days and long nights in order to bloom and for their bracts to turn color. If direct sunlight can’t be avoided, diffuse the light with a sheer curtain. Outside, it will need to grow in a semi-shady location. This is the best way to water the plant every 2-3 days depending on how dry your home is. - Poinsettias need well-drained soil. With a little luck, the blooms will last up to Valentines Day. The plants continue to bloom long after Christmas decorations have been put back into storage. Poinsettias produce deep red blooms in winter, adding color to holiday tables. Secondly, poinsettias must be exposed to a short day (9 hours) lighting period to insure Christmas color. They bloom naturally under the long night conditions of winter, so it is easy for nurseries to bring them into color in time for winter holidays. See Gallery. - Poinsettias do best when the temperature is between 65 and 75 F. Temperatures below that or drafts from cold windows can cause leaves to drop. How to avoid problems with your poinsettias . Some can hold their color for months instead of just a few weeks. One more note on watering. Poinsettias are perennial plants, and if provided with the appropriate growing environment and regular care, they can live quite a long time, and if they are given enough room, they can even grow into massive bushes, reaching heights of ten to 15 feet. Their growth and bloom has improved after following the instructions given herein. Also on HuffPost: 18 Homes All Decked Out In Gorgeous Christmas Lights. Love your plant so much you want to keep it? In 1944, the plant was included in H. R. Arnold's book Poisonous Plants of Hawaii on this premise. Continue to cover your plant until the buds start to appear again. After bringing your new poinsettia home, Place the plant in a sunny room. The ideal temperature range is 60 - 70 degrees. Also the dark period of each long night (15 hours) must be uninterrupted by ANY light. Continue watering and fertilizing as usual during this time. Poinsettias require very specific light conditions to allow the plant to make flowers again. This misconception was spread by a 1919 urban legend of a two-year-old child dying after consuming a poinsettia leaf. If your plant is wrapped comes wrapped in a shiny foil cover, be sure to poke a few holes in the bottom and loosen the wrap. Let the plant soak the water up from the bottom for at least 2 hours. Thanks much for your beautifully researched and written article. ... That’s how long it can stay in bloom, though the plant can live longer. Poinsettias can be restored to re-bloom another year. Don't fertilize your plants while they're blooming. Poinsettias are shade lovers. Mid- to late October - Begin giving poinsettias long nights (darkness from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.). It got pretty big- it easily quadrupled in size- they grow fast when treated properly, but blooming is a whole separate issue. Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are popular winter houseplants because they flower in mid-winter, and because their beauty is the result of bracts (persistent colored leaves) instead of flowers, their attractiveness is long-lasting. This will allow the plant to drain from the bottom, and keep roots healthy. Poinsettias do not like to be watered from the top down. But that is unusual. I had been growing poinsettia for four to five years. Red Poinsettias bloom in the cool, dark times of the year, when nights are long. ), will probably give good results. To get poinsettias to re-bloom, limit its exposure to sunlight or this will affect the blooming process. Poinsettias do not require high levels of light, one of the reasons they are favored as a potted plant. How long do they last after the holidays? Poinsettia . Don't over-water your plants. In order to fully understand or appreciate this plant, it is helpful to take a look at where did the poinsettia come from. Poinsettias are perennial plants, and if provided with the appropriate growing environment and regular care, they can live quite a long time, and if they are given enough room, they can even grow into massive bushes, reaching heights of ten to 15 feet. Poinsettias have been considered as a holiday plant in the United States since the 1820s. How to do it. Imagine the kind of holiday cheer a 15 foot poinsettia bush can bring when its outer bracts turn bright, Rudolph the reindeer-nose red. I kept one going for about a year, treating it like a regular houseplant. - Position the plant in a room that gets indirect sunlight for at least six hours per day. Really nutritious plants are very attractive to pests. Which mean they need a long period of darkness to bloom. Only water when the soil feels dry to the touch. I love in-home gardening projects in the winter when the ground is frozen, so let’s figure out how to turn a poinsettia red. For The Associated Press | Dec 20, 2006 at 3:00 AM . Also there aren't any white ceilings or house lamps! Native to Mexico, poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) can grow outdoors in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11. The plants do not like drafts. They prefer to be watered by being placed in a basin of water with at least 2″ of water in it. At the end of July, you should prune your plant again. The only bummer about poinsettias is that they tend to lose their “blooms” after 4-6 weeks. Do not fertilize poinsettias while they are in bloom. You can! Imagine the kind of holiday cheer a 15 foot poinsettia bush can bring when its outer bracts turn bright, Rudolph the reindeer-nose red. By Debra Durkee Hunker may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. They are native to Mexican forests. Thanks for A2A.