Tips to get your Poinsettias to Rebloom
Poinsettias are a favorite at Christmas time because of their beautiful colors and soft texture, but what happens once the colder months have passed and your poinsettias begin to lose their luster and beautiful color? While it may be a challenge to help your poinsettias regain their colors it’s possible for your poinsettias to rebloom by following this method that has proven to give the results you’re
looking for.
Before we get into the discussion what I want to point out here is that the colorful part of the poinsettia that is often believed to be the flowers is not actually a flower but the leaves. The reason why parts of the leaves turn red is the process that poinsettias go through known as photoperiodism.
Photoperiodism
Photoperiodism- Simply means the functional or behavioral response of an organism to changes of duration in daily, seasonal, or yearly cycles of light and darkness. This process does not only have the effect to turn leaves red but white pink and other shade variations.
How to get Poinsettias to Rebloom
December to Early Spring: During the early months of spring reduce the amount of water your poinsettias are receiving. This time what you will do is allow the soil to dry between watering. However, because your poinsettias are making the adjustment from soil that’s always moist to a soil that’s now dry between watering keep an eye on the plant’s stems. If the Stems begin to wilt or shrivel up is an indication that your poinsettias are undergoing stress and may be dying. This adapting is part of the reblooming process. In a week’s time relocated your poinsettias to your garage or basement, the temperature should be kept at 60 degrees Fahrenheit or thereabout.
May: During mid-may prune or cut about 4 inches of your poinsettia stems, repot your poinsettias into a slightly larger container. Keep the soil somewhat on the moist side. Move your poinsettias to an area that gets bright light such as a south or west-facing window and ensure that the temperature is around 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Keep checking on your poinsettias and water once the top few inches of soil feels dry to the touch, you can use your finger for this test and look for new growth as well. Once new growth is discovered begin to fertilize with a complete fertilizer. A complete fertilizer contains all 3 of the major elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, some of these fertilizers include 20-10-10, 6-12-12, or 15-15-15.
Summer: During the summer months move your poinsettias outdoors, locate a partially shaded area and continue to water and fertilize. During early July pinch back each stem. The reason for this is for a fuller plant, the (pinching) process is so important because if left underdone will encourage a plant that’s tall and leggy. By mid-August, your poinsettias should start to fill out and be well on their way. Now cut the new stems, leaving 3 leaves on each shoot, once this is done relocate your poinsettias indoors and place them near a window that gets bright light.
October: At the beginning of October keep your poinsettias in complete darkness, you may have to create dark conditions if needed, the reason being, for poinsettias to rebloom they need 10 weeks with 12-14 hours of complete darkness per day. Any exposure to light will delay poinsettias from blooming, they should be kept in absolute darkness from 5 p.m.-8 a.m. An opaque box will work wonders. During this reblooming process, the slightest exposure to light will negatively impact the bud set. Now move your poinsettias back to the sunny window during the daytime and begin to water and fertilize again.
November and December: During the last week of November, discontinue the darkness treatment and keep your poinsettias near the window. Flower buds should start to emerge at this stage. Once mid-December arrives discontinue fertilizing however continue to water your poinsettias making sure to keep the soil moist and not waterlogged. Hopefully, you should have success with the reblooming process.
The final word on how to get poinsettias to rebloom
Helping your poinsettias to regain their glory days (regain their color) may not be a simple process but it’s possible to achieve the desired results. The poinsettia plant is a garden beauty and the process of helping them rebloom is worth the effort. If you haven’t tried this method of causing poinsettias to rebloom as yet or wondering how it’s done then look no further because you have come to the right place for success.
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About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
What a lovely post. Poinsettias are my mom’s favorite and she has been dealing with color loss due to the weather so I am grateful that I found your blog. I’m confident that I will be able to help her with her plants! Very educational, a lot of things that I was not aware of.
Thanks for this incredible post:)
Hello I am so happy to help and thanks so much for stopping by and commenting, all the best to you, and have a good day!