Homegrown A cracker that’s not just for Christmas: Poinsettias can be beautiful all year round
Poinsettias have started to appear in the shops and if you’ve already been tempted then you may be puzzling over how to keep yours alive until Christmas.
Too often these festive beauties start to drop their colourful bracts very quickly, leaving many people perplexed over where they went wrong.
Sometimes the damage has been done before the plants have left the shop. If they’ve been displayed near the entrance, then blasts of cold air could have chilled them with fatal results.
Alternatively they may have been allowed to dry out, so it’s important to check that this isn’t the case. The compost should be damp, but not sodden, and there should be no dead foliage around the top of the pot.
Next it’s important to get the plant home safely and this means covering it completely so that cold air doesn’t get near it. Also don’t transport it in the boot of the car, where again cold temperatures could be an issue.
Once indoors find a bright spot in the warmest room of the house and give your poinsettia pride of place. Unlike most plants, which are best watered weekly, the key with poinsettias is “little and often”.
If yours is next to a radiator it will need more moisture than one further from a heat source and pay attention to the size of the pot. Often poinsettias are sold in small pots in relation to their size, but all that foliage needs water to keep it healthy. So get into the habit of picking it up every time you pass it and if it feels light give it a top-up.
Be alert to the dangers of draughts and if your plant is on a windowsill move it overnight as temperatures next to windows plummet.
Once the festive season is over you may be tempted to keep your plant going until next year – good luck.
Persuading poinsettias to colour up involves a complicated regime of excluding all light for long periods of time and, while it can be done, you’ve got to ask yourself it is worth the effort.
On the other hand getting your poinsettia to flourish a second time could be just the challenge you were looking for and it will definitely be something to boast about if you pull it off.