Poinsettia, my baby is dying..Help!

[Tammyla]

The leaves are dropping off, and I have no idea how to care for this plant. :confused:

[Tammy in Germany]

From another Tammy...I threw mine in the trash the day after Christmas...they have no hope in my house. :rolleyes:

[jmgconner]

From another Tammy...I threw mine in the trash the day after Christmas...they have no hope in my house. :rolleyes:


Hahaha! Mine didn't even make it to Christmas. Glad I'm not the only one. My DMIL, who bought the plant for me, just shook her head and wondered how I could possibly kill something so quickly.

[sdWTMer]

I will be watching this thread! Thanks for asking.

:confused:

[Tammyla]

I hope this doesn't mean there is no hope for the poor thing. My mom has a super green-thumb and can't keep one alive, but I was hoping...the hive would have the secret.

[KristineIN]

Mine is look sad also, but someone gave it to me after Christmas, so I wasn't too worried. I found a good article on them. http://www.ecke.com/html/h_corp/corp_pntcare.html
You can get it to re-bloom next year.

HTH.
Kristine

[shanmar]

I consider poinsettias "disposable plants"! My mom manages to keep them alive, but I don't think she has ever gotten one to "bloom" again.

Good luck!

[Tammyla]

Ok, shanmar, now you are challenging me to save this plant. I'm shaking me head and laughing at myself, because the older lady behind me in line was sharing her Poinsettia knowledge. Now, I have to admit to not paying attention; and now I'm paying for it. My teen would love this, but I'm not sharing my shame.

[BarbaraL in OK]

Big tip: water it gently -- not too much.

Water it when the leaves start to look a little droopy, or when you lift the pot and it's noticeably light. Don't wait until the leaves curl! If it gets too dry before being watered, it'll drop leaves. Also, if it gets too much water, it'll drop leaves. The trick to me is to water gently, not too much.

As for light, I've had poinsettias stay happy in a bright room without direct sunlight, and in a sunroom with lots of direct sunlight but cold nights. The watering thing seems to be the trick. I can also put poinsettias outside in the summer and, if I keep them nicely watered, they are pretty happy in our hot, sometimes humid, sometimes windy and dry, summers. Tropical plants and all that!

[Jean in Wisc]

I've not tried to keep mine alive for the last few years, but I use to do it all the time. Light conditions and watering is essential. Even if they only have a few leaves that you can keep alive, they can survive.

I had one that I planted outside one summer. It grew and grew and grew all summer long. One night I realized it was suppose to freeze, and I put on a coat and started digging it out of the ground in a frenzy.

Bringing it out of the cold and into the warm house caused it to bloom. It was so big that I could not begin to reach all the way around the plant--and it bloomed and bloomed and bloomed. Oh, my!!!

Lots of forced pointsettias will not bloom a 2nd time--they just got too worn out with the forced blooming the first time around. It is worth a try, though.