Bright light but not direct sun, not too warm, allow the surface to dry between waterings, mist the foliage if the atmosphere is dry (eg from central heating).
My one from last year has survived well with lots of new leaves, and is producing red bracts now, but it's the first time. Normally they decline and die off sometime in the spring. I didn't do anything different so it's anybody's guess why this one seems happy.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
My point was, I didn't try! As usual I just stuck it on the spare bedroom windowsill when it started to fade and drop the bracts, watered it now and again with the other plants in there, and picked up the dead leaves that fell off. No feeding, no pruning, still in it's original pot and compost. At some point it started to grow new leaves (normally they don't and I chuck them in the compost bin) so I thought I'd do the "keeping in the dark" thing starting in September, but I forgot and it's making small red bracts anyway. Nowhere near as big as the bracts on new ones, but it looks nice.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I tried, and failed. Mine doubled in size between Christmas and October when I started putting it in a heavy duty black plastic bag for 14 hours a day of isolation in total darkness. By mid November one leaf the size of a fingernail had turned pale orange. I gave up. Almost every time it went into or came out of the bag a branch snapped off and I was fed up with an ugly black bag in the conservatory. It’s now left to its own devices and is clearly content to stay green and not change into its party clothes.
@BenCotto I read your previous thread on Poinsettia. Only a really good gardener would have the patience to grow them. Well done for giving it a go. What happens to them in the wild in order for them to flower from year to year is very difficult to copy.
I often tell my OH just trying this out as an experiment that is the fun of gardening.
Looking forward to my new garden with clay soil here in South Notts.
Thanks for that I have mixed success and I wasn’t sure whether a cold porch or a warm hallway was the right spot. I do know not to overwater after I killed one in 2 days by forgetting and soaking it twice.
A porch that isn't heated or double-glazed might get too cold at nights. I suppose terms like "warm" and "cool" are subjective, but Gardeners' World says
Grow your poinsettia in bright, indirect light, in a draught-free spot
with a temperature of around 13-15°C. Water sparingly, typically when
the surface of the compost has started to dry out. Mist regularly to
increase humidity and keep the colourful bracts looking their best for
longer.
Mine is kept a bit warmer than that (but not draught-free, we have the window open on nice days), so I think it'll be OK at what I consider to be normal winter indoor temperatures, in the range 16 to 20 C or so in the daytime, cooler at nights.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I bought a small poinsettia last year and after it had done its thing over winter i cut it down to about three inches and put it out in the greenhouse till the weather warmed up and then outside. It grew on and then after looking up information on the internet i put in total darkness for fourteen hours per day from September 1st and by early October red bracts had grown it is now a beautiful plant and very easy to regrow if careful.
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"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Only a really good gardener would have the patience to grow them. Well done for giving it a go. What happens to them in the wild in order for them to flower from year to year is very difficult to copy.
I often tell my OH just trying this out as an experiment that is the fun of gardening.
Gardening is so exciting I wet my plants.