My poinsettia is still going strong

[Blueeyedpoggle]

Bought it in early December. Still very happy. Got new leaves coming too.

This isn't supposed to happen is it? Aren't they meant to die off in spring?

We had one that lasted a couple of years (and I’d only bought it because it was damaged and £1). It never got red leaves again though…making it do so required complicated gardening skills that I do not possess.

They’re perennial. It’s just that people get bored with them, or don’t look after them, or they aren’t proper plants just barely rooted cuttings shoved in a group to resemble a plant.

The red bracts will eventually turn green. To get red bracts for next Christmas they need long dark nights from October. Need to be in a room with no lights in the evening, or put a completely light proof cover over them

We had one that survived ages once and to make it red again we had alarms set on our phones to put it in and take it out of an airing cupboard at certain times of the day to trick it into thinking it was in South America 🙈 someone babysat it for us and it died.

Mine is still going too. Not as nice as the ops but still alive

I've got a 4yr old one. Felt terribly mean pruning it down to 4" last year but it was 3' tall and blocking the view from the window. All the others I bought over the years died within a few weeks.

Hello, how many hours does it need to be inside the cupboard? I'm trying to learn how to keep the leaves red but I can't find any " protocols " on Internet. Thank you!

Their ideal growing temperature is 15–20°C, although they can go down to 13°C

They are shrubs or small trees, with heights of 0.6 to 4 m (2.0 to 13.1 ft). They are not really pot / house plants and they do grow outside in the right conditions. Native to Mexico they are a euphorbia.

In the UK they are often given growth regulators in the nursery so are tampered with. The growth regulator wears off.

Care and darkness / keeping it red
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/articles/graham-rice/house-or-conservatory-plants/what-next-for-holiday-poinsettias

I got mine to go red by leaving it in the spare bedroom and not ever switching the light on in there. In other words, it was having N England daylight hours.