Basically, in our latitudes, the poinsettia is purely a houseplant. It is not hardy and must therefore be protected from frost in winter. After the flowering period, you can plant poinsettias in the garden over the summer. What you need to consider.
When and how should you plant a poinsettia?
Poinsettias should be planted outdoors after flowering and only when temperatures are consistently above 5 degrees. Choose a warm, partially shaded, wind-protected location with well-drained soil. Only water when the top layer of soil is dry and avoid waterlogging.
When can you plant the poinsettia?
Since poinsettias cannot tolerate any frost, you can only plant them outdoors after flowering when it is warm enough. Under no circumstances should temperatures fall below five degrees.
If you want to make the poinsettia bloom again for the next Christmas, plant it in the pot straight away. Then the roots will remain undamaged when you bring it back into the house.
By autumn at the latest it will be time to dig up the poinsettia again.
A good place in the garden
For the poinsettia to grow well in the garden, the location should meet a few conditions:
- warm
- partly shaded
- sheltered from the wind
- permeable soil
- not too humus-rich substrate
It's good to get him a spot under trees and bushes that give him some shade in the direct midday sun.
Proper care in the garden
Before planting the poinsettia in the garden, remove all withered leaves and cut off any remaining bracts.
Poinsettias prefer it dry to moist. However, you still need to water occasionally in hot summers, always when the top soil has dried out. The poinsettia cannot tolerate waterlogging at all. Make sure that rainwater can drain away easily.
You don't have to fertilize the poinsettia in the garden. There are enough nutrients in the substrate so that the plant is adequately supplied.
Transplant into a pot before winter
As soon as the days get cooler, the poinsettia is dug up and potted in a flower pot with loose substrate.
So that it develops its eye-catching bracts, you need to keep it darker for several weeks. As a short-day plant, the poinsettia needs a phase in which it receives less than twelve hours of light per day.
Tip
In their homeland in the tropical deciduous forests of Central and South America, poinsettias grow up to four meters high. They only bear a few branches and often bloom for many months.
