Your trusted florist assured you that your newly purchased poinsettia  would last you  until next Christmas, but it didn’t. So, today you find yourself with a  plant with dried red leaves  and a suffering appearance and you’re torn: get rid of it once and for all or ask your green thumb to put in some effort?

The poinsettia is a rather delicate plant and it is not easy to make it bloom again because a lot depends on how it was previously grown. Excessive use of a fertilizer to revive its color, for example, could have damaged its resilience. This is the worst. It must also be said that the fact that some leaves start to fall off because they are already dry is a completely natural process. So, do not give up on your star and give it a second chance. Let’s see how.

prune the plant

Once the Christmas holidays are over, the poinsettia invariably starts to lose its red leaves. Give it a couple of weeks and around mid-February  start cutting back the bare branches  of the plant to a height of about 10cm tall. Then water the soil a little if it feels completely dry.

Keep it in the dark

Once pruned, if you want  your poinsettia to bloom again  , you will need to keep it in the dark for at least 14 hours a day, for a period of eight weeks, i.e. from 5pm to 7am the following morning. You will need to find a completely dark spot in the house, then move it to a bright area of ​​the house the following morning: by doing so, 10 hours of light a day are enough for the poinsettia, already in early October,  to quickly turn red, pink or white. During these months, remember to water your plant from time to time and add fertilizer   for flowering houseplants to the water  .

If you want to add transplanting to this laborious operation, you can do so at the end of spring, for example in May: get  universal soil  , transplant and leave the poinsettia outdoors as well, but always in the shade.

Take care of it in the best way

Now you know how to get your poinsettia to bloom again, but you must remember a few small rules to ensure its health all year round. At home, the poinsettia should always be in a spot where it   gets light,   but never direct light, away from south-facing windows and heat sources, therefore always away from radiators. Always be careful to protect it from draughts  and  water it only twice a week, avoiding  stagnation   in the dish. During the flowering period, water it on average every two days, in summer depending on how quickly the soil dries out.