Most people regard poinsettias as disposable. They are bought or given as gifts around Christmas and expected to dry out and die about a week after New Years…if they last THAT long!

Well I received a white poinsettia for Christmas this year and have confiscated my sister’s white poinsettia – which was going down hill quickly. My goal is to grow both of these poinsettias in pots and have them healthy, happy and ready for next Christmas.

Repotted Poinsettia Plants

The first thing I did was replant them into new pots – they came in those really cheap plastic throw-away pots that were way too small for them. I put about an inch of gardening stones at the very bottom of the new pots. This helps with drainage. Then I added enough potting soil to allow the plants to sit high in the bigger pots. I wanted the roots to be no more than an inch or so from the rim of the new pot.

After carefully removing the plants from the old pots, making sure to retain as much of the original soil as possible, I gently sat them in the new soil and filled in around the sides. You want to keep the original soil around the roots – this will prevent the plant from going into shock.

I felt that the original soil was quite moist, so I did not water them into the new soil as I might normally do. I’ll watch them this week and if the soil seems dry, I’ll water. With poinsettias, you want to let the soil dry out before watering. Since I added the rocks to the bottom of the new pots, I’m not too worried about over watering, but I still have to be wary about it.

I’ve posted some photos of the plants in their new pots. Every few weeks I’ll post new photos and keep you updated on how they are doing.

If you save your poinsettias from year to year, please let me know. I’m open for all the pointers I can get!

Thanks and Happy New Year!