Keep your festive poinsettia thriving during the holidays, and learn how to overwinter your plant for next-season blooms.
A floral preservative can help prolong the life of your arrangement.
How Long Do Poinsettias Last?
Credit:Laurey W. Glenn; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
If cared for properly, a potted poinsettia can last for two to three months in your home.
One overarching question courses through your brain.What am I supposed to do with the dang thing now?
Should you plant it outside?
Should you grow it as a houseplant?
Or should you justchuck itand buy a new one next Christmas?
The answer depends on where you live and how much trouble you’re willing to go to.
Growing Poinsettias Outdoors
Poinsettias are part of a huge family of plants known collectively asEuphorbia.
Native to Mexico, the poinsettia (E. pulcherrima) doesn’t like cold.
If you live farther north than that, your poinsettia will freeze into mush.
There are a few tricks to know about growing poinsettias outdoors successfully.
You may be watering too much or too little.
Ensure your plant has soil that is slightly damp to the touch, not waterlogged or dry.
Additionally, too much fertilization can also turn leaves yellow.
To show its displeasure, it will start dropping its green leaves.
Poinsettias aren’t expensive.
you could toss it into your compost and plan to buy a new plant each year.
Are Poinsettias Poisonous To Pets?
There’s a reason for the phrase, “Beware of the poinsettia.”
But it’s not as toxic as we’ve been led to believe.
However, it can cause irritation of the mouth and stomach for kittens and puppies.
