Any tips for looking after a Poinsettia?
Question:I bought the plant last December. Recetly I transferred it to a bigger pot and now the leaves are begining to die. Please help
Answers:
Poinsettias are a bit of a pain. They are technically a tropical to sub-tropical plant and are all raised in controlled environments. Frosts will kill them back, but they may recover. Too much water, and they wilt and die. Too much dry heat and the wither and burn.
Ideally, they grow best in well drained, loamy soil along the coastal regions where frosts seldom occur and the damp air is appreciated by the stems and leaves.
Your poinsettia is probably getting too much water. It may also be getting too little or too much fertilizer. Transplanted from the pots that they come in, poinsettias may not fair well. They are best planted outside, against a wall or fence that will protect them against breaking in high winds, but get a goodly amount of daily sunshine.
I would let yours dry out a bit to see if that helps. It may just be going through transplant shock. A shot of liquid "vitamin B-1" sometimes helps in keeping that from happening.
If you badly disturbed the root system, that would do it in. If it has been drowning in water, it's probably finished.
Wish I could be more positive, but of the many poinsettias I have transplanted, only a few have survived. They get "forced" into showing their lovely red leaf bracts by growers and are not all that healthy after we buy them. If you really love this type of plant, you might consult with your local nursery to see if you can get some poinsettias that have been commercially grown for longer life.
Here you go.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/poinsettia/...
HGTV website: hgtv.com and look up "'Paul James the gardener guy"'. You plant should be getting put in the closet for several hours every day at this point If I remember right.
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