Newark Ohio Garden Club

Some tips on keeping your new pointsettia healthy and beautiful:

Remember that pointsettias are a tropical plant. If purchasing your pointsettia on a frigid day, remember to protect your plant from the cold by covering it well with paper or plastic, and getting it home as soon as possible.

LIGHT: Once home, place the pointsettia near a sunny window. As a tropical plant, your pointsettia will appreciate as much sunlight as possible. A south, east or west facing windows is preferable to a north facing window.

HEAT : Maintain a temperature of 65-75 degrees to keep the pointsettia in bloom as long as possible.  Dropping the temperature to about 60 degrees at night will not harm your plant. Keep your plant out of cold drafts. Be sure that the leaves of your plant do not touch a cold window.  Temperatures that are too cold or cold drafts can cause your plant’s leaves to drop prematurely.

WATER: Water your pointsettia whenever the surface feels dry to the touch. Water until it drains from the bottom but do not let your plant sit in water.  If your home is very dry in the winter, you may need to water frequently, possibly every day.

Keeping your pointsettia for next Christmas:

Your plant should provide beautiful color during this holiday season and hopefully into the winter. If you are interested in learning all the exacting steps necessary to care for your pointsettia  over the year so that it will be-bloom next December, refer to a website such as ;

http://gardening.about.com/od/winterin the garden/a/Pointsettia.htm