Poinsettia care: guaranteed success

Poinsettias are essentially straightforward, easy to care for and are real showstoppers, and not just during the festive season. If you follow a few simple tips, these plants will keep looking beautiful until spring. This guide tells you everything you need to know about caring for poinsettias.

The good news is, it’s easier than you think to care for this popular houseplant, known as poinsettia, Christmas star or Advent star. Follow a few simple tips and it’ll stay healthy and survive the festive season with ease. It might even bloom again next year.

Sounds good? Then together, let’s make sure your plant is the centrepiece of your Christmas decorations! Poinsettias can also bring colour to autumn, be used to decorate winter weddings and much more. There’s a reason why its botanical name, Euphorbia pulcherrima, means ‘the most beautiful spurge’.

Whether you’re just starting to look after houseplants or have a lot of experience with them, this article will guide you step-by-step through poinsettia care.

• The ideal location for poinsettias

• How much light does a poinsettia need?

• Watering and fertilising: How to keep your poinsettia healthy

• What to do if your poinsettia loses leaves?

• Tips for care after flowering

• Origin, growth and colourful leaves

• In a nutshell: Poinsettia care – the most frequently asked questions

Tips to care for your poinsettia properly!

Avoid placing your plants in a very hot room, next to a hot radiator, stove or fireplace and protect them from draughts and ‘cold feet’. A spot near a window that offers plenty of daylight is perfect. The brighter the location, the better!

Poinsettias will do best at a temperature between 15-22°C. The temperature should never drop below 12°C under any circumstances. If this happens, sooner or later they will shed their leaves, so they should never be placed in cold rooms. Make sure they are kept at the ideal temperature on the way home from buying them and when airing the room too.

➡️ Want to know more? Our article ‘Poinsettia location check’ has answers to all the questions we’ve ever come across about the right position.

A poinsettia needs plenty of light to keep its bracts bright. In the UK [change to your country], it barely gets enough sun in winter. The best thing to do is to place it in a bright spot near a window as described. Indirect light isn’t essential at our latitudes in the winter months, so even a spot next to a south-facing window is fine.

➡️ If you’re not sure whether your poinsettia is getting enough light or whether it should be placed by a window, you can find more information here: ‘Can you put a poinsettia in the window?’

In this section, find out how often your poinsettia needs water and how much. We also explain when you should start fertilising. Proper watering is the main way to keep your plant healthy and strong for as long as possible.

Always keep the root ball slightly moist, but without leaving it standing in water. Waterlogging is the biggest enemy of poinsettias as it can lead to rotten roots. If in doubt, it’s better to keep it drier than too wet. An overwatered poinsettia will develop yellow leaves and slowly die. To avoid this, only water when the top layer of soil is dry to a depth of 2cm. Alternatively, you can judge whether the plant needs water by the weight of the pot. If it’s noticeably light, it’s time to water.

Tip: Experts recommend using a planter that’s not too small.

We recommend watering from below. Depending on the location and plant size, pour room temperature water into the drip tray or pot daily or every two to three days. This will allow your poinsettia to take up the right amount of water.

When watering from above with a watering can, direct the stream onto the soil so the water doesn’t touch the lower leaves. For a standard sized poinsettia, 100ml of water per session is usually enough.

You can also immerse the root ball in a container of soft, room temperature water, then allow to drain thoroughly.

To avoid waterlogging, check the planter or drip tray for excess liquid 15 minutes after watering and drain, if necessary. This prevents the roots from standing in water for too long. Any planted container should have properly functioning drainage and, if possible, a drainage layer.

➡️ For more detailed information on how to recognise when your poinsettia needs a drink and how to water it, take a look at this article: ‘Watering Poinsettias: How much water does it really need?’

If you buy your poinsettia in the weeks or months before Christmas, you won’t need to fertilise it during its first flowering season. The plants are potted in pre-fertilised soil and have all the nutrients they need. Fertilising only becomes necessary if you want to continue cultivating after flowering has ended.

Start fertilising as soon as new leaves appear. Use a commercially available liquid fertiliser for houseplants and dose it according to the instructions. This will provide your favourite plant with all the important nutrients. We don’t recommend using coffee grounds or other household remedies as fertiliser for potted plants.

Leaf loss is one of the most common problems with poinsettias. But it can usually be prevented with the right care. Everything revolves around these four points:

A good location is key: avoid draughts and temperature fluctuations.

Poinsettias are sensitive when it comes to temperature. Place them in a location where the temperature is consistently between 15-22°C. Also remember to protect them from the cold when transporting them!

Your watering regime plays a major role in whether your poinsettia keeps its leaves. Too much water can cause root rot, while too little will cause the plant to dry out. Water carefully and make sure the soil dries slightly between applications, but never dries out completely. Avoid waterlogging at all costs.

Make sure your poinsettia gets as much light as possible. A bright spot near a window, at a safe distance from frequently opened doors, is ideal for this tropical plant. For comparison: In its native Mexico, a wild poinsettia gets about 11 hours of sunlight per day.

After flowering, a poinsettia naturally loses its colourful bracts. But that doesn’t mean its time is up: poinsettias are perennials. You can overwinter them after they finish flowering and continue to care for them as foliage plants during the warmer months.

After flowering, poinsettias go into a dormant phase. At this time, they need less water and no fertiliser. Water sparingly, just enough to prevent the soil from drying out completely. A cool, bright location is ideal now, preferably at temperatures around 15°C.

Pruning should be done in spring. Cut the shoots back to a height of about 15cm and start watering your poinsettia regularly. Now is also the right time to transplant it into a larger pot if necessary.

➡️ Find out more about how to prune correctly here: Pruning poinsettias: When and how to do it.

In summer, place your poinsettia in a bright spot out of direct sunlight and fertilise once a week with liquid houseplant fertiliser. This will help it develop into a vigorous foliage plant.

As long as the temperatures in summer are above 15°C, even at night, you can keep it outside in the garden or on a balcony. Remember to bring it indoors in good time in late summer/autumn, as it will react sensitively to low temperatures. With the start of the darkening phase (we’ll explain what this is in the next section), your poinsettia is well on its way to flowering in full glory again, just in time for Christmas.

So, over the summer, your poinsettia from last year has turned into a beautiful green plant. But how does it get red leaves again?

Poinsettias are short-day plants and require special treatment. For your plant to show its colourful bracts in time for Advent, you need to make sure it’s kept in complete darkness for at least 12 to 14 hours a day from the end of September. You can achieve this by placing it in a completely dark room or covering it with an opaque cardboard box. It’s important to remove the cardboard every morning so the plant gets enough light during the day.

After about eight weeks, your poinsettia will develop new flowers and colourful bracts. As soon as these appear, you can stop darkening and place your beloved plant in a suitable, bright spot in your home.

However, everything must go according to plan during the darkening period! Just a small interruption in the routine – even for a short time – can ruin your success. And even if it works, your poinsettia will probably not look as magnificent as it did the first year. There is a reason why growers invest a lot of energy and skill every year to bring perfectly grown specimens with dense foliage and bright bracts to the shops at Christmas time.

Still want to give it a try?

➡️ We discuss in detail here how to get your plant through the summer and ready for its next flowering: Oversummering poinsettias: Ready for the next season.

Here in the UK, we know the poinsettia mainly as a small potted plant for the festive season. In its native South America, it can grow for years and develop into a 4 to 5m tall shrub. This shows that your poinsettia can accompany you for many years if you look after it properly. Find out how in this guide.

A common misconception is that the brightly coloured ‘leaves’ of the poinsettia are its flowers. In fact, they are called bracts and are arranged in a star shape around the actual flowers. The real flowers of the poinsettia are also known as cyathia. They are located in the centre of the coloured bracts and are small, yellow-green and inconspicuous. In its wild form, the poinsettia uses its magnificent bracts to attract pollinating insects – precisely the coloured leaves that inspire us today as an ornamental plant.

By the way, flowers still in bud are a real sign of quality. What else should you consider?

➡️ Take a look at our Tips for buying poinsettias.

In this section you’ll find answers to the most frequently asked questions about caring for poinsettias as well as other useful tips.

A bright, warm location without draughts at temperatures between 15-22°C is best.

Leaf loss in poinsettias can have various causes, including incorrect temperature, too little light or incorrect watering. It is normal for poinsettias to lose leaves in spring.

You should water your plant regularly but not too generously. Avoid waterlogging as the roots react sensitively to this. One tried and tested method is to immerse the root ball in a container of lukewarm water until no more bubbles appear. Then allow the root ball to drain well before putting it back. Anything from every day to once a week may be necessary, depending on many factors, such as the size of the plants, ambient temperature, pot size and watering method. You can find all the information on this subject in our article ‘Watering poinsettias: How much water does it really need?’

Poinsettias are perennials. With the right care, they can live for many years. If they have had enough darkening treatment, in Europe, they should flower from at least November to February.

Find out more in our article ‘Oversummering poinsettias and getting them to flower again’. 

Yes, your poinsettia can be placed outdoors in summer as soon as temperatures are consistently above 15°C. Avoid blazing midday sun, as direct sunlight in summer can be too strong for your plant. Water and fertilise it regularly to keep it well fed.

To bring out its colourful bracts – the correct name for its false leaves – your plant will need a darkening phase from the end of September/beginning of October. It must be in complete darkness for 12 to 14 hours every day. This phase lasts around eight weeks. This should allow the bracts to develop again in time for the festive season.

As soon as the new shoots appear. Use sharp, clean tools and wear gloves to avoid contact with the milky sap. It can trigger allergic reactions in some people.

It’s important to act quickly in the event of spots or webbing. Remove affected shoots and check whether the plant can still be saved. If the plant is heavily infested with pests, such as spider mites or whitefly, it’s not worth fighting them. In such cases, it’s usually better to dispose of the plant to prevent the pests from spreading to other plants.

Want to find out more about poinsettias and get some great ideas for inspiration? Just take a look at our decorating tips and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or YouTube!