Hi Linda
You can do one of two things. Keep the flowers until they die back or if you’re tired of flowers with bare stems, cut the flowers stem down to 4-6″ above the soil line in Feb/March. This will stimulate new growth from the buds in the leaf axils. Place the plant in a sunny spot with temperatures of 60-70F. Start feeding your poinsettia with a well-balanced houseplant fertilizer every 2-3 weeks and continue throughout the growing season. Once new growth starts to show, repot the plant in fresh soil and a larger pot if needed. Cutting the plant back is important, it will keep the plants from getting too tall and leggy. see above article.

Hi Bob
The only way you can grow poinsettia outdoors in NY is in a container and in the summer. It is a tropical plant and will not tolerate cold temperatures.

Hi Lisa
One possibility is that your poinsettia is planted in an area where it does not get 14 hrs of uninterupted darkness to initiate bloom. Street lights, car lights or any lights will break the bloom cycle, thereby not allowing the plant to go into bloom. When nurseries are growing poinsettia in a greenhouse, they make sure that poinsettias are exposed to any type of light.

I’d like to trim the plant to make it bushier and to stimulate growth, but i’m not exactly sure where i should be cutting..(and i’m scared of trimming too much and killing the plant!). Should i be trimming all at once? or leaving some leaves..

Also, i’m in an office environment, and there’s nowhere for the plant to get good sunlight exposure. Just fluorescent lights during the workweek.

Thanks for your help!

Hi Louise
It is good sign, if your neighbors are growing Poinsettia that you can grow them . They are hardy in zone 9 and up and Florida is in zone 9-10. Plant it in a North east side of the house for winter wind protection. It’s recommended that you cut it back to control the size and maintain a bushy plant especially after transplanting. See how tall it gets this year, then you can decide how much to trim next year. They can get up to 9 feet tall outdoors. So if you want a 6ft tall poinsettia for Christmas cut it down to 4 ft in late summer.

Hi Wendy
If the roots are still alive and worth saving , cut it back to 6 inch stems in Feb/March or sooner and hope it will send out new lateral growth-see above article.

Hi Celeste
To propagate a poinsettia- take a 3-4 inch tip cutting from a side shoot with 2-3 mature leaves, dip in water to seal in the latex then dip in a rooting medium (optional). Plant the cutting in a soil mix of peat moss, sand or perlite. Keep soil mix moist (not wet), maintain high humidity(mist) and temps at 70-80 F during the day and 70-60F at night. Cuttings should be in a shaded area to avoid wilting and take 3-4 weeks to root. Best time to take cutting is in early-mid August.

The green leaves will start to turn red and then produce a tiny flower in the center. This is accomplished by giving the plant 14 hrs. of darkness per day for 8-10 wks. It is a photo periodic response that gets the plant to bloom. Once the bracts start to show color, move it to a sunny spot so that they get 6 hrs of bright light. If you start now it will bloom in January. Timing is everything.

When the bracts start to show color on the upper leaves, you can stop the day/night treatment and place in a sunny area and provide 6-8 hrs of bright light to develop a full color. Your poinsettia won’t be the same quality as a greenhouse plant but you will get it to bloom.

The light/dark period takes 8-10 wks. Water normally, when the soil surface is dry. The amount of watering depends on high light and humidity. OSU.edu recommends for a 6″ pot – 12 oz. water letting it drain. Don’t let your plant stand in water . Continue to fertilize lightly every 4 wks with 15-16-17, or 20-10-20 until mid-Dec. Use reduced amount of fertilizer because of lower light conditions and slower growth. You can also use a timed release fertilizer instead. Stop fertilizing, once the plant is in bloom and during the dormant winter season. Resume fertilizing again in March. It takes 60-85 days depending on variety, temperature and light intensity so if you start in late Sept or early Oct., the bracts should show color in time for Christmas.