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  Follow these steps and you can have colorful poinsettias from year to year...  
  I kept an Irish poinsettia (green leaves) in my classroom for over 30 years. Although most people simply throw it out after the holidays, I keep mine all year.  
  When I retired, I decided to get it to re-bloom (red leaves).  All it took was a cool, dark spot, a closet and some perseverance.  
  Here's how:  
1 Holiday Season: Enjoy, providing water and sunlight for poinsettias through the holidays until they stop blooming.  
2 Post Holiday Season: Once the flowers (technically, they're bracts, but we'll call them flowers) are gone, allow the plants to dry out.  
3 Dormant Time: When they've entered dormancy, lay potted poinsettias on their sides in a cool, dark unheated basement until April.  They will only have to be checked periodically; if the woody stems start to shrivel, they'll need a little spritz of water. This may not be necessary.  
4 Spring: In April bring plants back into the main part of the house, trim about 2 inches from the end of each stem, place by a sunny window and water regularly, keeping soil moist but never soggy.  
5 Late Spring: Move poinsettias outdoors around Memorial Day or continue to keep them as houseplants over the summer.  
6 Fertilize: Fertilize once a month with one teaspoon per gallon of a complete fertilizer (20-20-20).  
7 Late Summer: Around Labor Day, check for insects, and if any are found, pick them off by hand or rinse the plants with a gentle stream of water to remove, then bring plants indoors. (If they're already indoors, then just keep doing what you've been doing.) Place by a sunny window and continue to water and fertilize monthly. Poinsettias do best if temperatures are kept between 70-75 degrees during the day and 60-65 degrees at night.  
8  Fall (Bright Days/Dark Nights): To form flower buds, poinsettias require about 15 hours of complete darkness daily. So for 40 days beginning Oct. keep them in a very bright, sunny spot from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, then move them into a dark closet from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. Do not skip this, even for one night, or buds may not form.  
9 Late Fall (Seeing  Some Red): By Nov. 10 you should notice the bracts' taking on a reddish hue. From this point on, keep plants in the main part of the house around the clock and continue to water and fertilize.  
10 Next Holiday Season: You should be seeing red (or white) in time for the holidays.  
 

Enjoy your renewed colorful poinsettias.

  
     
 

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