5 year old Poinsettia

Beautiful Ams, I can't wait for mine to flower as well.

I thought it was really difficult to get it to flower red again?What is your secret?

Arlene & Panther, they are not red flowers but red leaves. I use a special poinsettia fertiliser which is set for foliage and not blooms. It can look a bit scraggly during the year but Christmas is when it shouts "look at me".

I will have to get some, I have a one year old and a new one as the one year old failed to turn red again.

I now have two to try and a whole year to get it right.

Well done Ams...ours always die! Thanks for the tip...Will give it a go!

beautiful...and i am glad i am not the only one that finds this amazing lol!

Ams ~
Stunning photo and interesting advice. Thanks. :o)

LOL, yes I can't wait for the leaves to turn red is what I meant ... :-) Thanks for the tip Ams.
Arlene,sorry I must have confused you....LOL

Happy New Year everyone!!

Well done Ams, I have never managed to keep one alive over the Christmas it was bought for never mind beyond that... The leaves always drop off.

Hi you are the first person I have heard of, that has been able to keep one that long, most of my friends kill them before Christmas is over !!CONGRATULATIONS. Ams.

Well done Ams ........It proberly is the oldest if nobody else can keep one .........LOL

I actually have one that is now 2years old...I was so excited I was able to get it to give me red leaves again. I'm looking forward to next year and plan to try some cuttings from it.

That is great news K, we belong to a very exclusive club by all accounts.
Hints for us in the colder countries...
Cut back stems to 4" in May, replace tired soil, when new growth shows fertilise every 2 weeks. Can enjoy good light up to Sept. Never allow soil to dry out but do not leave standing in water. Keep away from draughts and cold temperatures. Summer it enjoys north light, pinch stems back to 3/4 leaves on each shoot. From October keep in NO light from dusk to dawn to encourage the red leaves. See ya next Christmas ;-)

Good to read this! I can keep them all through the summer but have had no luck getting the red colour back again. I'll have to try this and see if I can get it to work fo me.

Please try Gillian, this plant has an image problem. Remember to force in no light as above.

I think that's what I didn't do, I had a beautifully healthy green plant!

lovely looking plant Ams. I do not feel bad about mine "going the way of all flesh" as this appears to happen a lot.
It was interesting, while googling poinsettias and surfing about i found a whole site dedicated to their care, that was amazing.

I feel I have to champion poinsettias as many people don’t like them at all while others consider them a fortnight decoration. In Mexico they are known as the red Christmas star and they are a little star to me too.