if you threw your poinsetta in the trash
back in January then look what you are
missing today we're getting this holiday
plant ready for its summer vacation and
the next round of holidays the easy
green
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way here it is proof that your poinsetta
is more than just a holiday decoration
so it doesn't exactly look like the
poinsetta that sat under my Christmas
tree you can see it's branched out quite
a bit and it's lost most of its red
leaves and I'd say for about 6 months
after Christmas this plant sat in a
sunny window then when the days and
nights were warm enough I took it
outside it's lived out here for a few
weeks now and it's in serious need of
both a trim and a
transplant clip your point set up back
to about 4 to 6 in above the soil line
this part is tough for first timers but
it's a necessary step once it's clipped
back repot the plant in a slightly
larger container water well and your
poin seta is ready to enjoy the rest of
summer so it's only been a few weeks and
you can already see all the new growth
on this plant and at this stage I'm
going to help it along just a little bit
more by giving it a little bit of
fertilizer in another few weeks it's
time to pinch the plant back pinching
back will keep it nice and compact for
when the holidays roll around later this
year remember poinsettas are tropical
plants so they love the humid weather
but they don't want to sit in water so
so only water your plant when the
surface of the soil is
dry at the end of summer it's time to
bring your plant back inside keep it in
a sunny window and make sure the
temperature never drops below 65°
continue to water and fertilize on a
regular
basis when Autumn comes usually around
October 1st this poinsetta will need 12
to 15 hours of complete darkness now
that might mean moving it into a closet
or putting a box on top of it and I'll
admit it's a little bit of a challenge
but it's the only way to get this
poinsetta to rebloom in time for the
holidays once you get the hang of it
though it's easy and it's green
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