That is a gorgeous plant, both the leaves and the blossoms are beautifully shaped and colored. Where did you get it? I haven’t seen any that healthy.

It was just our local, kind of discount grocery store - Freshco. It is owned by Sobey's. They don't have a deli or a bakery or a butcher - it's a place to stock up on staples and they have good quality, reasonably priced produce.

Ice cubes are an old wives tale. They say to do the same thing with orchids. Tropical plants don't like the cold, nor do they like ice cubes. Good advice to not over water....but ice....not good.

Keeping them alive has never been an issue--it's getting them to turn red again that's a trick!! I've even had mine until spring and planted them like annuals in my garden. They grow quite large--but no red. Back in the day when I was in charge of our church's enviornment I would lament: Poinsettias last FOREVER and Easter lilies die faster than you can look at them. Christmas season is short/Easter is long. Too bad white Poinsettias aren't popular for Easter!!!

I agree that ice cubes are not good, but the quantity of water is probably about right, so rather than 6 ice cubes, use the equivalent in Tbs of water.

..And allow it to drain thoroughly before replacing in the decorative paper pot. Every year I say I’m not buying one, but i always do.

You could look this up on line, but here goes...

Today's poinsettias are about as close to the wild ones as is modern sweet corn and maize. The original wild poinsettia grows as a large multi-stemmed DECIDUOUS shrub that blooms in late fall/early winter with small greenish yellow flowers and large colorful long lasting red bracts. In the past, growers struggled to get the plants in full color AND with green foliage for Christmas, no mean feat. Most planted a fern with the points, to hide the bare stems as the plants naturally lost their foliage, usually by New Years, but sometimes sooner. The other problem is that points are short day plants, they bloom as the days get shorter, much like mums. They require days with more dark hours than light hours. Any light, even from artificial sources, will delay blooming.

All this changed when the Eckes of Encinitas CA began to work toward what we know as the modern poinsettia. Today's plants are compact, stay mostly evergreen, and the bracts hold color til you get tired of them. They still are short day plants however, so if one wishes to 'rebloom' their plants for another Christmas they must be protected from ALL light over 12 hours daily for at least 8 weeks. Commercial growers typically cover their plants with 100% black shade cloth for the required period of bud set, then natural light. If your bracts are showing color by Thanksgiving, you're good to go.

As far as culture in the house, good light, an east, west, or south window and temps in the 60-80F range suits them. Water so the soil stays evenly moist but not soggy. The medium growers use today drains very well, so be sure to make holes in the bottom of the foil the plants come in, and don't allow pots to stand in water in a cachepot or saucer. And no ice cubes, please!

Yes I did get one to rebloom one time, though it was far from lovely. To do it, I put it in the dark part of the basement for a couple of months.

Learn how heavy it is after watering and don’t water again until it is considerably lighter no matter how dry the surface looks. When you do water, give it a good soak and be sure it drains completely. That foil can be a killer if it lets the pot sit in water.

tj

That’s a really pretty one, nekotish!

I always remove the foil and set them in pots. I‘ve learned it’s really important not to overwater them. Each year I get poinsettias from the nursery that are potted in large ”bowls” with a white pansy border. I haven’t gotten any yet; this one’s from last year.

We’re in Southern CA and it can get cold here at night, at least for us and the poinsettias! People here leave them out in cold, wet and/or wind. I bring ours in at night or when the weather’s bad. They’re too fragile and can look thrashed pretty quickly if not protected.

I tend to water poinsettias from the bottom by letting the pots sit in water to soak it up. IDK, it just seems to work well for me. I don’t water them until the pots feel light and the soil dry.

Bought two ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS poinsettias at Lowe's the other day. $14 each

BEAUTIFUL

Lovely.

How many correct ways are there to spell the name of the plant?

What color/s do you like? I like the classic red with pointed ”petals” (are they sepals?) but also the dusky pink.

Now I want to get one. Thanks for the tip, Glenda.

I never buy them because of my three cats. Once one of my cats ate part of a leaf and became hoarse. I like Xmas Cactuses better, and I have four blooming right now. My prize one is a big one from Aldi that I have had for years.

I gave up on them. I can never get mine to last to Christmas. The leaves start falling off.

^^^ oh, yes, here too. Forgot that the leaves drop.

Actually, the 2 ice cubes for orchids was recommended to me by a friend with two greenhouses full of orchids who has won multiple awards for them, and I’m sticking with that advice.

Saw these (mostly) rounded bracts today st Longwood and snapped a pic for those curious about the variety.

For those interested in a few ”pro” suggestions, here you go! To keep your plant pretty for as long as possible, it needs to be located where the temperatures are coolish and the sunlight plentiful. Avoid direct drafts from an open door or heating vents. Remove the plant from the foil pot cover as it should never sit in accumulated water. As said above, water thoroughly but infrequently. No plants should be given tiny sips to the surface as the means of watering.

After the new year, allow your plant to go dormant naturally by reducing watering greatly. The leaves should begin to fall off and you can pretty much ignore it for a couple of months, watering just enough to keep it alive. In March or April, cut the stems back to 6 inches, place the plant in a sunny location and resume watering. The first few times, take the pot to the sink and submerge it in tepid water until no more bubbles are visible, allow to drain fully and return it to its sunny location. Commence with your normal fertilization routine, starting with conservative doses at first.

I suggest that the new emergent growth be pinched to promote branching; that and plenty of sunlight will prevent stretching.

In mid September, you MUST provide artificially short days for thirteen or fourteen UNINTERRUPTED hours of total darkness. But you can’t put it into a dark dungeon and forget about it! uninterrupted for fourteen hours of darkness, followed by ten hours of bright sunlight for normal happy growing. Reduce or eliminate fertilization at this time and be watchful about watering frequency. Your poinsettia is now shifting into flowering gear.

Greenhouse growers use shades and black shade cloth, set on timers. We can cover the plant with a box, take it to a closet for the night, pull the blinds in a darkened, unused room for the magic ten hours. Once it begins to flower, you can allow it to be a normal part of your household, keeping in mind that they do best in a bright location. The brachts should turn red as the flowering stage continues. If they don’t, it’s because you have done something wrong, usually with the light duration. Or, as in the case of a careless student greenhouse manager at Va. Tech, the nights were interrupted in the big poinsettia greenhouse (full of Hort Club fundraiser poinsettias grown by that year’s propagation classes) by turning on the lights when he walked through to get to where the night blooming cereus were getting ready to burst open and he wanted pictures.

It’s pretty challenging to sell all green poinsettias for the holidays, They didn’t color up until Valentines’ Day. Great.

floral, there is only one correct way to pronounce poinsettia. Those who misspell it as poinsetta are most likely to mispronounce it. But I don’t care much and would never bother to correct anyone.

African Violets like one or two ice cubes daily. Don't know about other plants.

I'm trying to get a pot with two orchids in it to bloom a second time. The pink one has given me buds and three blooms. A larger plant that had white blooms is budding and ...we'll see. I give the pot about a teaspoon of water a few times a week and very dilute orchid food maybe every 10-14 days.

The maidenhair fern that I thought was dead came back after I sprayed it for bugs. Now it's nice and full. Only needs water alternate days. The pot is in a second, larger container with pea gravel in the bottom. I can tell by weight when it's thirsty.

I have an enclosed tent system set up with grow lights and timer so can make them re-bloom every year. They usually take 6-8 weeks inside the tent before full bloom, then I would take them out to display in the house.

These plants on the floor were re-blooming couple years ago,

Wow @palisades_! We have one of those tents that we start our tomatoes in, then it sits empty for the rest of the year. As impressed as I am that you get them to "re-bloom" I am more impressed with how lush and healthy they are.

Nekotish, give it a try next year. When I close the zippers the tent is totally dark, so it’s easy to control the light/dark periods for them to bloom. Mine would not be as good as those come from the nurseries but they are good enough for me. While inside the tent, I water them with very diluted Miracle Grow Bloom Booster and rice water sometimes when I cook rice.

Btw, the poinsettia that you’ve got is named Christmas Mouse with round leaves and bracts, that has been available few years ago. I often enjoy to go see Poinsettia trials yearly to check out new varieties.

You can also use the tent to force mums to bloom before autumn.