Poinsettias & Pets

Lets just put it out there, poinsettias are not poisonous, and munching on the occasional poinsettia leaf won't kill your pet. According to the American Association For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Poison Control web page, a nibble of a poinsettia will probably just produce gastrointestinal tract irritation, but no serious symptoms or harm. However, if your pet is elderly, ill or very young, take extra precautions. With some well thought out placement, poinsettias can still brighten up your pet friendly home.

Picking a Poinsettia

Look for plants with vivid, dark green foliage and fully colored flowers. The best choice is a well-balanced plant. When selecting your plant, be sure to view it from all sides. As with most plants, ideally, a poinsettia should be twice as tall as the container it comes in. Also, if possible, try to find plants with young flowers. You can distinguish them by the small margin of green on the tips of the bracts (flowers). Younger flowers will look better and last longer.

Poinsettia Plant Care

Even though it may look attractive, make sure that any decorative paper does not prevent drainage from watering. It is not advisable to let your poinsettia to sit in water. Locate your plant in a place that is protected from heat vents and cold drafts. Check the plant soil every few days and add water when the surface soil is dry to the touch. Poinsettias like an eastern facing window, or one that gets some morning light, but is protected from harsh afternoon light.

After the holidays, trim your poinsettia back to about six inches tall, and re-pot it in early summer. In order to keep the plant symmetrical, rotate it often so that all sides of the plant are exposed evenly to a bright but not hot light source. To encourage branching, pinch the plant back about half an inch every three weeks or so. Keep the plant well fertilized throughout the summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer.

Getting a Poinsettia to Bloom Year after Year

It is possible to keep your poinsettia all year long. Poinsettias are sensitive to how much light and dark they receive over the fall months. They use this to determine when to flower. In order for poinsettias to flower, they need 12 hours of total darkness each day starting in the beginning of October. If they don't receive that cycle of darkness and bright light each day, a poinsettia will not bloom. One advanced method to creating this light and dark cycle is to install grow lights, on a timer, in a windowless closet. Water the plant during the day, and let nature do the rest. This is quite an investment of time so to make this program worthwhile, you might want to buy a few more poinsettias, but what's the harm in that?

Power to the Flower

Nicole