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Look for a poinsettia that has healthy dark green foliage. The tiny buds in the center of the plant should be green and tightly closed.
Keep your poinsettia at normal room temperature in bright, filtered light and out of drafts. Soil should be allowed to dry slightly between thorough waterings. No feeding is necessary.
As a cut flower, poinsettia blossoms are hard to beat. To keep cut stems fresh, you will have to stop the flow of milky sap by sealing the stems. One method of sealing is to make a clean cut with a sharp knife and pass the stem end through a candle flame just the tip, don't burn it. Remove leaves below water level. Cut blossoms should last about a week, providing a brilliant holiday display.
Robin Wright Brumbelow, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
The dogged belief that poinsettias and pets cannot exist in the holiday home because they're poisonous and potentially fatal to four-footed family "members" is nothing but a well-entrenched myth, so says the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. A recent article on their website reports that this myth has been "doggedly" per-PET-uated since the death of a U.S. Army officer's child was erroneously attributed to ingestion of a poinsettia leaf in the early part of the 20th century.
According to the ASPCA, "poinsettia ingestions typically produce only mild to moderate gastrointestinal tract irritation, which may include drooling, vomiting and/or diarrhea." Therefore, keeping a poinsettia out of paw's reach to avoid potential stomach upset is a good idea. However, pet owners no longer need to fear adorning the home with these staples of the holiday season for fear of fatal exposure to Fido or Fluffy.
With fact now separated from fiction, remember to tie a big red bow around Fido's neck too! Tis' the season! .. for all creatures big and small. Family gatherings, poinsettias, pets all coexisting safely and hopefully peacefully .. what could be more purr-fect?
Marva Bliss Lanier, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
When buying poinsettias, it's difficult to get the plant home without a broken stem or two. Instead of throwing the stem away, use it for a lovely Christmas arrangement or centerpiece.
Light a pillar candle so your hands can remain free. Have a napkin handy to use for blotting the sap. Hold the end of the stem over the flame and sear it. It will bubble a little. Place the stem in tepid water mixed with floral preservative. If placed correctly, the stem will remain upright. If it droops, cut off a little of the stem and sear it again. If you change the water every day, it can last from 7 to 10 days.
The stems look great in vases, colored bottles, bowls, or buckets. Add berries or cuttings from cedars, hollies, etc., to create a decorative touch.
Charla Antal, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
What is one man's trash can be another man's treasure, is the old saying. But in this case, a Christmas poinsettia turns into a green foliage treasure at the home of a Tyler-area gardener whose motto seems to be "never throw anything out."
So don't throw those Christmas poinsettias away - instead leave them somewhere in your home where they get approximately 6 hours of filtered sunlight daily, watering only when dry to the touch and fertilizing regularly with a balanced all-purpose house plant fertilizer.
Do throw the foil florist wrapper away as that will keep your plant from breathing and lead to certain death both from root rot and standing water in the wrapper's bottom.
Around March cut the stems to 6 inches, repot in good-quality house plant soil and place outside. Growing by her pool, this creative lady states her "leftover" poinsettia grows about five feet tall and is a nice green foliage addition to her landscape.
To stretch that poinsettia over to another holiday season is a tedious process but can be done with a little patience and the key ingredient... a period of darkness. At the start of October, keep your plant in total darkness for 14 hours per night either by placing it in a closet or covering it with a heavy cloth or box. From October to December, light requirements of poinsettias are 6-8 hours daily bright sunlight and 60-70 degree F night temperatures.
With consistent watering and feeding, that "old" poinsettia will bloom yet again.
Marva Bliss Lanier, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Instead of discarding your poinsettia take on the challenge of re-blooming it for the next year. Here's what you need to do. Maintain and water the plant until March or May. The plant may be leggy and bare and should be cut down to 4-6 inch stems and kept at temperatures of 60-70F. New growth will emerge within a few weeks. Repot the plant in fresh soil.
In mid-May place the plant outside in partial shade, protected from the afternoon sun. Start feeding it every 2-3 weeks with a well-balanced soluble houseplant fertilizer. In the fall bring your poinsettias back indoors. Poinsettias need long periods of uninterrupted darkness at night, at least 14 hours long, followed by 10 hours of bright light for a period of 8-10 weeks starting in late September. Keep it in a room you don't use in the evening or place it in a black plastic bag or box for the 14 hour dark period. Remove it for the 10 hour bright light period. Water when soil surface is dry and drain any excess. Don't let your plant stand in water.
Art Phillips, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service