If you only want to care for your poinsettia for one season anyway, you don't have to worry about cutting back the houseplant. However, if you want to try to get the plant to bloom the following year, you will have to use scissors to cut it. What you need to consider when cutting back the poinsettia.
How do I cut a poinsettia correctly?
Answer: To properly prune a poinsettia, remove rotten, dry and diseased shoots after flowering. Halve all stems and trim cross-growing branches. Wear gloves and use the stems as cut flowers for the vase if necessary.
Reasons to cut poinsettias
- Remove rotten, dry and diseased shoots
- Prune plants before the summer break
- Keeping the poinsettia in shape
- stimulate the formation of new shoots
- Cut stems for the vase
Cut the poinsettia into shape
In an unfavorable location that is too dark, the shoots of the poinsettia tend to become bald. They become long and thin, what the gardener calls horny. Feel free to cut off these shoots so that the houseplant retains a compact shape.
By cutting back, you encourage the poinsettia to develop new shoots. The plant then appears bushier and often has more shoots with colored bracts.
Cut back poinsettia after flowering
If you want to care for the poinsettia for several years, you should cut it back after it has bloomed before putting it outside over the summer. Be sure to remove all old flowers.
To do this, shorten all stems by half. You can also cut out branches that grow sideways completely.
When pruning, you can cut woody parts of the plant.
Cut dried or rotten stems
If the poinsettia is watered too much or too little, the shoots can wilt or rot.
Dry poinsettias should be dipped in a water bath for a short time. The plant then usually recovers. If the stems remain dry, cut them off.
This also applies to rotten stems caused by waterlogging or too frequent watering. Allow the potting soil to dry out for a few days to allow the poinsettia to recover.
Cut poinsettia for the vase
Poinsettias are not only great as potted plants at Christmas. The bracts can also be cut as cut flowers for the vase. To ensure that the stems last longer, they are held over a burning candle or lighter for a short time after cutting. This closes the interface and the plant sap can no longer flow out.
Poinsettias look particularly pretty in a vase together with branches of corkscrew hazelnuts or a fir tree.
Cut the poinsettia only with gloves
The milky sap of the poinsettia is poisonous. It can cause skin irritation on the skin. Therefore, always cut poinsettias with gloves (€9.00 on Amazon).
If juice accidentally gets on your skin, wash it off immediately under cold water.
Tip
After cutting, it takes some time for the new growth to become noticeable. After about two weeks, the first new shoot tips should appear.
