How to Rebloom Your Poinsettia So It Lasts Long After Christmas

Also known as the Mexican flameleaf, poinsettias are mostly grown for the brightly colored leaf structures or bracts, which bloom at the top of the plant in showy shades of red, pink, white, and other colors.

Unfortunately, poinsettias are often thrown away when those bracts start to fade at the end of the holiday season. However, with the right care and a little bit of trickery, you can learn how to make poinsettia bloom again and enjoy these vibrant plants in your home or garden for many years to come.

Basic Poinsettia Care Tips

Poinsettias can be kept as houseplants or grown outside year-round in zones 9 through 11. But while poinsettias may survive on your kitchen counter or bookcase for a few weeks around the holidays, these plants need a little more attention if you want to grow poinsettia perennially.

• Remove poorly draining pots. Poinsettias are usually sold in pots with a decorative foil wrapping and no drainage holes at all. To prevent root rot, remove the foil wrappers as soon as you bring your plants home and, if needed, repot your poinsettias into well-draining containers.
• Provide enough light. Indoors or out, poinsettias grow best in bright, indirect light. Low light can cause these plants to lose their color early, while too much sun can lead to sun damage.
• Protect plants from cold. Indoor poinsettia grow well at room temperature, while outdoor plants should be protected from cold weather. Temperatures below 50°F cause poinsettias to die back, so be sure to bring outdoor plants inside before fall.
• Water right. For best results, water poinsettias when the top of the soil feels dry, and don’t allow your plants to sit in water.
• Prune as needed. Keep indoor plants bushy and compact by pinching back their leaves as needed to a leaf node. Poinsettia sap is a skin irritant, so gloves are a must.
• Fertilize sparingly. Poinsettias don’t need much fertilizer and indoor plants should only be fertilized during the growing season with a liquid, organic fertilizer diluted to half strength. Outdoor plants, on the other hand, should grow just fine with an annual application of compost.

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How to Get Poinsettias to Rebloom

As long as you provide poinsettias with regular water and bright, indirect light, poinsettias are relatively easy to grow as foliage plants. But if you want your poinsettias to turn red again, you’ll need to “trick” them into blooming by depriving them of light. This can only be done once a year in winter, just in time for the holidays.

1. Remove old bracts: When your poinsettia bracts fade, trim the bare stems back to a leaf node. Care for your plants as usual until they enter a state of dormancy and drop about half of their leaves.
2. Tend dormant plants: Once your poinsettias are dormant, move them into a cool, dark spot that won’t freeze and reduce watering.
3. Move plants outdoors in spring: As new growth emerges, increase watering and light levels and move your plants outdoors when temperatures are above 50°F. During summer, water, fertilize, and prune your poinsettias as needed.
4. Bring plants indoors in the fall and reduce light: Before temperatures fall below 50°F, bring your poinsettias back inside and cover them with a light-proof box every evening for about 10 weeks. Poinsettias should be placed in a window during the day, but they need 16 uninterrupted hours of pure darkness to rebloom.
5. Enjoy those poinsettia colors: Poinsettia blooming is triggered by the short days of winter and plants may not rebloom if they’re exposed to even a few seconds of light in the evening. When your plants develop color, stop depriving them of evening light and place them in a spot in your home where you can enjoy them. 

Phases on Poinsettia Care, Based on Month

As you can see, poinsettia care changes throughout the year—especially if you want your plants to rebloom. To help you keep track of those changing care requirements, here’s a quick look at how poinsettias should be tended during each season.

Blooming (December)

Place poinsettias in bright, indirect light and water them regularly to keep the soil evenly moist. There’s no need to prune or fertilize poinsettias at this time, but plants in poorly draining pots should be repotted into containers with drainage holes.

Dormant (January-March)

When your poinsettia bracts fade, trim them back to a leaf node. Continue to water your plants regularly until they drop half of their leaves. Then, move your plants into a cool, dark spot and water just enough to prevent shriveling stems.

Regrowth (April-September)

Once your poinsettias start putting out new growth, increase the light and watering, and move your plants outdoors when temperatures are consistently above 50°F. You can plant outdoor plants directly into your garden or keep your poinsettias in pots if you plan to bring them back inside in the fall.

Cut your plant’s stems back to six inches above the soil line in June, pinch the growing tips back by one inch in August, and fertilize once a month with a diluted liquid, organic fertilizer.

Reblooming (October-December)

Check your plants for pests and bring them indoors before temperatures fall below 50°F. During the day, provide poinsettias with bright, indirect light, and in the evening, reduce room temperatures to around 65°F and completely deprive your plants of light. Continue this treatment for about 10 weeks until your poinsettia bracts develop their full winter color.