Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Someone gave me a white/cream? poinsettia for Christmas, and I'd like to know if there is someway I can keep it thriving, so it can live on as a potted plant, and grow. I tried this years ago but the plant died on me. But this one looks really nice and healthy. I don't know much about gardening , and I have just 2 potted plants (that are surviving despite me!), so any info would be of help.
I was thinking that maybe I will repot it with some good potting soil, and then it should live on and grow? Yes? TIA.
My step mother always kept her Poinsettias growing year after year. Of course she has a green thumb. I don't know how she did it but I do know it can be done!
Poinsetta is a tropical plant so if you live in a southern area, you can transplant it outside and it will grow nicely with some care. I did this in southern California a couple of times and it stayed alive for several years. I've never been able to keep one growing in a pot indoors.
A lot will depend on the root system of the original plant. If the plant is well rooted, you may be able to trim it back when it gets too big and keep it going for years in the pot. Then it will get root bound and die.
We had a couple of plants in an office once. After Christmas, we put them in front of a north facing window. They grew like crazy. When they reached a point where they were getting in the way, we trimmed them back....that's when they decided that they didn't like it and died.
I have put them in the ground out side. A warm winter is OK. But they can't take freezing.
However, a lot of the store bought Christmas plants don't seem to be raised in the pot. I got one that proved to be just stems that had been recently cut from a larger plant and stuck in the potting soil. No root system at all. They didn't even last until New Year's day.
No, shuttrbug. It is a tropical plant, and it won't even grow outside in central or southern SC, because it gets below 20 degrees. You don't see them growing in the Southeast until you get into FL... and even then, a sudden cold snap will kill it. The only way to keep it where you are is to "greenhouse" it, and it is a lower-light plant, so putting it in a bright window can kill it too.
Most potted plants when you bring them home are already root-bound, so carefully repotting it in a larger pot to give its roots room to spread out is a good idea. Do not let it keep "wet feet", but keep the soil barely moist. If the leaves start to turn yellow, it is getting too much water.
Those pretty 'flowers' are not flowers at all, but leaves that change color due to increased light. The flowers are what look like the interior of the big "Flower". So don't expect it to stay brightly colored. To make them change color (this paragraph is what I've read) florists and growers put them in dark rooms for several weeks, then slowly increase the light to make them bloom and the colored leaves change.
I've seen them growing outside in FL, in a protected and mostly shady spot; as the light increases with the change of seasons, their leaves change and look like a mass of huge flowers!
When I lived in Florida there was one at my house outside that was probably 10 foot tall. I had no idea that they could live outside or were perennials. (It was in central Florida.) That one was not in the shade, either. It was in full sun. I have no idea how long it had been growing there. It was there when I moved in.
If I had a bright window in a spare room in my house I would keep it there off season... I've always been told that they're sensitive to drafts and temperature changes indoors.... but since they'll grow outside they can't be that sensitive, ya think??? Then, this summer you can harden it off and put it in a pot on your deck.
Google Poinsetta. There's some really good pages that came up that will more than answer all of your questions.
Last edited by World Citizen; 12-30-2008 at 09:40 AM..
I live in the tropics but they're rarely seen here - at least not the type that you're describing which have quite fragile leaves and which also abound here around Christmas when Home Depot and suchlike ship them in. Which means I'm of little help but I have the feeling that they're rather "picky." Someone gave me a potted one a few years ago at Christmas time and it lasted only a few months.
Just on a general note, I don't now buy much here that has been "imported." I bought a beautiful little gardenia (probably imported from Florida) a few years ago and it fizzled miserably. Conversely, my neighbor had a big gardenia bush (more like a tree) and one day one of his tenants lopped the whole thing down to nothing (it's since grown back!) A couple of sturdy branches fell over my side of the fence and I cut and rooted them with the addition of some rooting powder. I now have four or five gorgeous gardenia "trees" in my place and also gave away several other babies to friends setting up their tropical gardens.
Similar experiences and mistakes have led me to believe that as much as you go by what grows where in any particular "zone" it's better to buy local from nurseries which propagate their stock from local plants whether from seed or cuttings.
I'd venture to guess that your long-term success with the poinsetta won't amount to much. Enjoy it while it lasts but don't feel guilty when it croaks! Cheers!
Poinsettias are an odd plant. I believe they're native to somewhere in northern, coastal Mexico? Anyway, I had one that was up to the gutter on my condo in Orange County, CA (practically a tree) and I never did anything to it, and it turned red every December (or late November). They like a very specific climate and specific amount of light in the Fall and cool, but not frosty nights, to let them know when to turn red. Then they naturally lose all their leaves in late January, and are bare for a while. Just because it loses it's leaves after Christmas doesn't mean it's dead!
The real trick is if you live in some other climate other than SoCal, to shock it into turning red in the late Fall. You have to set it in sun for so long, then in a dark closet for so long - you can google the exact instructions. I tried it once and got some of the leaves to turn white, but not red. This is probably why there are so many huge poinsettia farms in SoCal, because they just naturally do their thing. Now I just toss them after they lose their leaves since I know I can't make the thing turn back to the nice color for the next Christmas, and when they're just green, they're really nothing interesting to look at.
Thanks everybody! I'm learning a lot from all the good info you all are sharing. Looks like i'll first have to check that it is a plant, not just potted stems (like Padgett said). I never thought about that... I hope mine has roots though. Anyway, I think I'm gonna give it a shot... though now that I have learned more about how the leaves turn color, it looks like it might be a lot of work?!! But I'm gonna try... the one I got look soooo pretty, I don't feel like tossing it. Looks like I have the tips I need to keep it living/thriving. Wish me luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I tried this years ago but the plant died on me. But this one looks really nice and healthy. I don't know much about gardening 
, and I have just 2 potted plants (that are surviving despite me!), so any info would be of help. 
TIA.
I'm learning a lot from all the good info you all are sharing. Looks like i'll first have to check that it is a plant, not just potted stems (like Padgett said). I never thought about that... I hope mine has roots though. 
Anyway, I think I'm gonna give it a shot... though now that I have learned more about how the leaves turn color, it looks like it might be a lot of work?!! But I'm gonna try... the one I got look soooo pretty, I don't feel like tossing it. Looks like I have the tips I need to keep it living/thriving. Wish me luck! 
