Poinsettia Growing Instructions

How to Be Successful With Poinsettias With proper care, today's modern poinsettias will stay in bloom for months.

Frequent Question...Are Poinsettias poisonous? No they are not. That's an Old wives Tale. Ohio Stae University did these tests a few years ago and proved that they are not poisonous. Like all ornamental plants you should not let your pets or children eat them. Very expensive food.
WATERING...The most important part! Poinsettias like to be kept moist at all times. Not too wet...nor too dry, Check The Soil. Water when dryish to the touch. Very small pots often need water every day. If you're not sure, give it a drink. In hard to reach places use ice cubes to water. Allowing a plant to dry out in a too warm room causes the leaves to turn yellow.... Never, never let your plant sit in water, that will rot the roots. Watch out for foil wrapped plants!

FINDING THE RIGHT SPOT. Your plant's happiest home will be in a good bright spot out of the hot sun. Stay away from heater vents, TV tops or cold drafts. Growers don't recommend putting poinsettias outside of the house but people do it all the time and just take their chances with the weather. Watch out for Jack Frost and Santa Ana (wicked cousin to Santa Claus).

FERTILIZER: During the holidays, it is not necessary to feed your poinsettia, after the holidays you can feed lightly.

NEXT YEAR: If you want to keep your poinsettia growing, follow these hints. On St Patricks day cut off blooms leaving 4 to 6 leaf nodes on the stem.When the ground warms up plant your poinsettia outdoors in a half day sunny spot. A good rule of thumb is that the nights should be in the 60's when you plant in the ground.
Water and fertilize regularly with any well balanced fertilizer. By April or May you should see new growth. Pinch back your plant on July 4th, and again on Labor Day if needed to keep it short and bushy. To be sure that your poinsettia blooms at the right time next year, remember that poinsettias need 12 to 14 hours of complete darkness for the plant to decide to bloom. September 21 starts the 12 hour night. Temperature and any artificial lights also have an impact. You can bring your plant into bloom earlier by putting a big box over it or you can put your poinsettias in the closet each night for some extra hours of darkness.
Give it a name like Patty Pointsettia and put her to sleep each night, out to play in the sunshine each morning when you have your coffee. Be sure to send them out to play in the daylight each morning ....or your poinsettia will die!!! Keep this up for 8 to 10 weeks or until bracts begin to color

A bit about the famous Paul Ecke Poinsettias. The Ecke (pronounced Eckee) family is responsible for making the poinsettia into the most popular worldwide Christmas plant. We always have the newest and best of the Ecke varieties. The Ecke Ranch is not open to the public but you can drive by their field of poinsettias to take pictures. Ask us for directions. www.weidners.com 760 436 2194