I still have my poinsettia from Christmas, how long has anyone made one last after Christmas?

Don't know where you live but I am in the midwest U.S. and I keep mine until after all chance of freeze or frost has passed and some warmer weather is here and I put mine out on the patio. It gets huge through the summer and makes a beautiful plant for the patio. If you want it to flower, you have to go through several stages with it. I'm sorry I can't remember them, but it is something like putting them in the dark for a month and then bringing it back out. I don't do that step, but it is still pretty with the big green leaves and height it grows to. Good luck with yours.

I still have my poinsettia from Christmas, how long has anyone made one last after Christmas?
When the leaves start to fall in winter keep it a bit on the dry side remove any dying leaves and cut the stems down to above a bud, water as soon as the days get a little longer and you will soon see new shoots forming and your on your way.
Reply:Well...here in Belize they grow out in the landscape and some are pretty old.





To get your plant to bloom (form bracts) again you will need to keep it growing during the spring and summer months in full sun. Gradually acclimate it to being outside, by placing it in a shady spot and gradually bringing it in more sun. Provide it with plenty of moisture. Use a weak solution of fertilizer every time you water or use a monthly fertilization. In the fall bring it back inside - when the night temperatures drop into the upper forties. Place it in in the sunniest window you have. BUT you will also also have to keep the plant in total darkness for 12 to 14 hours every night beginning in September. The easiest way is to cover it with a bucket or a cardboard box. Some ppl put them in a closet every night. Even light from a porch or streetlight will keep it from coloring up again.





When it begins to show color again you can stop covering it.





This is a lot of effort and more than most people care to make for a poinsettia...but it can be a lot of fun!
Reply:Last Christmas our office was lined with poinsettias and all but 1 were thrown away. I kept one as a "love child" with another co-worker and took care of it for awhile. Then, I forgot about it and it was hardly watered ever and it finally died in July. Leaves never dropped. It became a running joke about the never dying poinsettia.
Reply:Why would you want to? After blooming they get leggy and ugly. It's pretty tricky to get them to flower again, and if you do there will be a lot of small flowers instead of the big flowers you see on them when you buy them. Also, they are so cheap.





It's January, chuck that poinsettia and go get yourself some nice forced spring bulbs or an amaryllis.
Reply:Mine usually drop their colored leaves in 3-8 weeks. (it varies).





I have friends who can keep them going for years. However, to get them to turn color the next winter is a tricky business, and it does involve keeping in a very dark place, with artificial lights on a timer to control how much light they get in a 24 hour period. And variation, and they don't turn.





If you just want to keep them as a living plant, and green, cut them back in the spring. Also - they will want the absolute sunniest possible window in your house. They need LOTS of sunlight to stay alive during their growing period. During the summer, you can prune back, and put them outside. They like that.
Reply:My mom has kept one alive over 2 yrs now.
Reply:A green fingered friend of mine has had one for about 5 years, but I think the red 'leaves' will only form again if it is in a room with no artificial light in the autumn.