The best way to get your poinsettia plant to turn red is to place the poinsettia plant in total darkness for 14 hours everyday.
Do this 8 weeks before you want to display it as the Poinsettia Plant does need total darkness for 14 hours to bloom and turn red.
In the day, the poinsettia plant needs bright light, but the poinsettia plant should be placed in complete darkness every evening.
When leaves fall off your poinsettia plants it's usually caused by over watering the poinsettia plant.
Too much water can cause the poinsettia plants to drop their leaves and cause the poinsettia plant to die as well.
Only water the Poinsettia plant when the soil gets dry and don't over water the poinsettia.
Misting the Poinsettia plant daily can also help the poinsettia plant thrive.
Improper watering is usually the cause for the leaf drop on the poinsettia.
Over-watering your Poinsettia plant will cause the lower leaves to turn yellow and drop.
Poinsettia Plants that are allowed to get too dry will wilt and also drop leaves.
The water needs of a poinsettia can be determined with your finger.
To make your poinsettia plant last longer you should make sure the poinsettia plant has at least 14 hours of complete darkness each night, have enough water, mist the poinsettia daily, and use a light proof bag over the plant.
The complete darkness is needed so that the poinsettia plant blooms.
You can use ice cubes to water your poinsettias with.
When using ice cubes to water poinsettias you should make sure the ice cubes are evenly distributed daily around the surface of the pot in which the poinsettia plant is growing.
Poinsettia plants do like some rain but not a lot of rain.
It's okay to leave the poinsettia plant out in the rain if it's not pouring down as in if it's just lightly raining but if it's raining really hard then the poinsettia plant may get too much water.
Poinsettias do like water but the poinsettias do not like to be wet all the time.
You should only water the poinsettia plant when the soil becomes dry or starts to become dry and avoid over watering it as it can kill it off.
Just feel the soil and if it becomes dry to the touch then water it but if it's still wet then the poinsettia does not need any more water.
You should always mist the poinsettia plants daily to ensure they thrive.
Keep the poinsettia plants in a warm room and mist them with a spray of water daily and they will last longer and thrive much better.
You should pinch the poinsettia plant once the poinsettia roots reach the edge of the pot which usually occurs 12-14 days after transplanting the poinsettia.
You pinch the poinsettia plant to leaf count based on the number of bracts desired (i.e. leave 6-7 leaves to ensure a plant with 6 bracts).
Poinsettias do come back every year, year after year as long as you take proper care of the Poinsettia plant.
Potted Poinsettias can be placed outside during warm weather as long as the weather is above freezing.
If the weather is freezing or below freezing the potted poinsettias should be brought indoors to protect them from freezing temperatures which can kill the plant.
A Poinsettia needs and requires at least 6 hours of indirect sunlight in the day.
Poinsettias like sun and not much shade.
When growing Poinsettias you need to allow the Poinsettias to have a minimum of 6 hours of indirect sunlight everyday.
Poinsettia plants also need to be protected from freezing and frost and they prefer temperatures of 55 F to 65 F at night and 65 F to 70 F in the day.
The most common bug that Poinsettias get is the Whitefly bug as they are very attracted to the Poinsettia plants.
Poinsettias do sometimes get bugs which are known as Whitefly and are small white bugs that are attracted to the Poinsettia plants.
The Whitefly can damage the Poinsettia so you need to get rid of the bugs if they do get attracted to your Poinsettia.
You can get rid of the bugs on the Poinsettia by mixing 2 tablespoons of mild dish washing detergent with 1 gallon of lukewarm water.
Then pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray a small, inconspicuous section of the Poinsettia to get rid of the bugs on the Poinsettia.
I've had a few bugs on a few of my indoor poinsettias but mostly I have the problem outdoors but the dish detergent solution works to get rid of the bugs.