Holiday plants like poinsettias are known for their bright, colorful bracts. They look nice as winter decorations, but it can be hard to keep them alive and making them grow. Sunlight is one of the most important things you can do to take care of a poinsettia. Read on to find out how much sunlight poinsettias really need to stay healthy and bloom brightly.
Light Requirements for Poinsettias
Poinsettias are native to southern Mexico and Central America, where they grow as flowering shrubs that bloom all year. Poinsettias need certain photoperiods, or light exposures, to bloom and make their distinctive red, pink, or white bracts.
Poinsettias are short-day plants, meaning they bloom in response to decreasing day lengths. As daylight hours shorten in the fall, poinsettias start to set buds which develop into the colorful bracts. In their native climates, poinsettias experience 10-12 hours of daylight during summer. This drops down to 12 hours or less of daylight around October to trigger blooming.
When growing poinsettias as houseplants, it’s important to replicate their natural light conditions. Here are the recommended sunlight requirements:
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6 to 8 hours of bright, indirect light a day—This lets poinsettias bloom properly without the bracts dying or getting too hot. East, south or west-facing windows are ideal.
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Stay out of direct sunlight. The bracts can get burned in direct sunlight, which can make them fade and fall off early. Filtered sun from a sheer curtain works well.
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No fewer than 8 hours of darkness – Long nights are needed to form buds and colorful bracts. Keep poinsettias in complete darkness from 5pm to 8am daily.
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Avoid drafts or excessive heat – Cold drafts or excessive heat from heating vents can dry out the bracts and cause leaf drop.
Optimizing Sunlight Indoors
The right balance of light and darkness can be challenging to provide indoors. Here are some tips for giving your poinsettia the sunlight it needs:
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Place your poinsettia near an east or west-facing window. These locations provide gentle morning or afternoon sun without intense midday rays.
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Use sheer curtains to softly filter direct sunlight streaming in from south-facing windows. Close heavier drapes or blinds at night.
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Turn plants weekly so all sides receive equal light exposure. This prevents lopsided growth toward the light source.
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Provide supplemental lighting with grow lights if your home lacks sufficient natural light. LED grow light bulbs easily screw into regular fixtures
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Keep poinsettias out of low light areas like hallways or far from windows. Without enough light, blooms will fail to form properly.
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Avoid placing poinsettias near heat sources like appliances, fireplaces or heating vents which can dry and damage the colorful bracts.
Signs of Insufficient Light
It’s easy to tell if your poinsettia is getting too much or not enough sunlight. Here’s what to look for:
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Loss of color or greening of bracts – This indicates the plant isn’t getting the requisite hours of uninterrupted darkness needed to bloom.
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Leggy growth – When reaching or stretching for light, poinsettia stems become long and spindly with sparse foliage.
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Drooping or wilting – Insufficient light leads to weak, underdeveloped stems unable to support the weight of leaves and bracts.
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Failure to bloom – Without around 6 hours of adequate sunlight daily, poinsettia buds won’t form at all.
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Bract scorching – Too much direct sun burns or bleaches the colorful bracts to a faded brownish red.
Moving Plants Outside
Once blooming finishes in late winter or early spring, you can move your poinsettia outdoors if your climate is suitable. Poinsettias make excellent landscape plants in USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11.
When transitioning a poinsettia outside, gradually introduce it to more intense sunlight:
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Start by placing it in dappled or partial shade protected from harsh midday sun.
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Slowly increase light exposure over 7-10 days to acclimate the plant.
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Only set poinsettias in full sun once adapted to outdoor conditions.
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Provide shade in zones 8 and warmer if planting in full sun.
With the right balance of sunlight tailored to their photoperiodic needs, poinsettias can thrive as cheerful seasonal bloomers or attractive garden shrubs. Pay close attention to your plant’s light exposure and make adjustments as needed to keep those colorful bracts vibrant. With proper care, you can enjoy poinsettias long after the holiday season ends!
Frequently Asked Questions
How much sunlight does a poinsettia need per day?
Poinsettias require around 6-8 hours of bright, indirect sunlight daily to bloom properly. This can be provided via an east, west or lightly filtered south-facing window. Complete darkness for at least 8 hours is also needed.
Where should I place my poinsettia?
The best spots are near east, west or lightly shaded south-facing windows. This provides gentle morning or afternoon sun. Avoid direct southern exposure which can scorch the bracts.
Do poinsettias need direct sun?
No, poinsettias should never be placed in direct sunlight. Their bracts will fade and burn if exposed to intense, direct rays. Filtered or indirect sunlight works best.
What causes poinsettias to turn green?
Insufficient darkness is usually the culprit when poinsettia bracts turn from red to green. The plants require long, uninterrupted nights to form colorful blooms. Make sure poinsettias get 14 hours of total darkness daily.
How do I know if my poinsettia has too much sun?
Signs of excess sunlight include faded, bleached or dried bracts, yellowed foliage and leaf scorching or burn. Bracts may turn green from lack of darkness. Moving plants away from direct sun or intense heat resolves these issues.
When should I move my poinsettia outside?
Wait until any risk of frost has passed and nighttime temperatures stay above 55°F before placing poinsettias outdoors. Gradually introduce the plants to full sun over 7-10 days. Provide afternoon shade in zones 8 and warmer.
Poinsettias come in many colors
You can find poinsettias around the holidays to fit into almost any decorative scheme. They range from creamy white to pink to the traditional bright red. Some types of bracts have patterns that are red and white, pink and white, green and white, and even bright orange.
Flower forms vary as well with some looking similar to a rose. You will also find unusually colored poinsettias such as blue or purple in garden centers. These are cream-colored varieties that are spray painted. They are sometimes sprinkled with glitter.
- Light inside: Put the plant in a south, east, or west window that gets a lot of sunlight.
- Outdoor light: Part sun, 4 to 6 hours daily.
- Temperature:Indoor temperatures of 65 to 70 degrees F are ideal. Poinsettias shouldn’t be put in places where the temperature changes or where they might dry out, like near fireplaces, fans, space heaters, cold drafts, heat ducts, and so on. If temperatures drop below 50 degrees F, poinsettias will begin to die. Freezing temperatures will kill poinsettias.
- Keep soil moist.
- You should water the plant when the soil feels dry to the touch or when you lift the pot and feel that it is not heavy. Never allow poinsettias to get so dry that they wilt. Remove from decorative foil or outer pot before watering. Make sure the pot your plant is in can drain well. Place the plant in a sink and give it a lot of water. Let it drain all the way. Never allow poinsettia pots to sit in excess water. Constant wetness will rot plant roots.
- This holiday season, you don’t need to fertilize your poinsettia.
- You should feed your plant when you see new growth, like green leaves, stems, and bracts.
- Fertilize with an all-purpose household plant fertilizer. Mix with water it at half the recommended strength. Every three to four weeks, feed your poinsettia to keep it healthy and give it the nutrients it needs for new growth.
In late spring or early summer, transplant your poinsettia into a larger container (about 2 to 4 inches bigger than the original pot) or a part-sun garden bed.
- Use a soil mix with a lot of organic matter, like peat moss, in pots. Make sure your new pot has good drainage.
- Plant in a garden bed that gets four to five hours of sun a day and has soil that drains well. Adding things like peat moss or compost to the soil will help it grow. Which will help keep the soil moist and give the roots a good place to grow.
- Water your poinsettia thoroughly after transplanting.