How do I get Poinsettia plants to flower?

I have two poinsettia plants about 18 inches high which I have kept going since last Christmas. They look quite bushy,green and healthy but how do I get them to flower for this year and what temperature should I keep them in? Thank you.

How do I get Poinsettia plants to flower?
They are tropical plants and like it warm. They also do not like a lot of dirrect sunlight, but do like it bright. Down in FL they grow all year long.... Good luck!!
Reply:I thought it was just the leaves turning red and not actually flowers,a dark place is best to get them to turn red.
Reply:Dena lisa gave you the best information but not a very accurate timetable. Start giving them 14 hours of total darkness on COLUMBUS DAY (or right now!) Continue for 8-10 weeks, giving them as much sun as possible during the day. Once the bracts begin to color up, you can discontinue the dark treatment. You will have lovely blooms for Christmas!

On ST. PATRICK'S DAY, cut off the bracts.

On MEMORIAL DAY re-pot the plant in a larger container and place it outdoors for the summer.

On the 4TH OF JULY cut the entire plant back by 6". (Where you have cut it, it will branch, giving you many more flowers).

on LABOR DAY bring it back indoors.

Feed it year-round, every two weeks, with an all-purpose fertilizer.



Points are really easy to care for, as you found, and as they get older and larger they can be really spectacular for the holidays. Follow the above directions and you will have specimens that you might easily pay $50 or more for! Good luck!
Reply:Starting October 1st. cover the plant each late afternoon giving it at least 12 hours of total darkness. After 12 hours, the next morning, take off the box or whatever you are using for cover. The plant still needs the bright light during the day for regular metabolic processes. After 6-10 weeks the plant should have developed the chemical messengers to start color initiation.
Reply:warm but people suggest putting them in a black bin bag. seemly this helps.
Reply:You need to start 3 months in advance...



Despite their wintertime popularity, these tropical beauties hail from Mexico, and can’t take any kind of a chill. Don’t even think about leaving a poinsettia outside in cold weather! Now, if you have plants still alive from last year, start providing them with total darkness for 14 hours every night. And I mean TOTAL! No nightlights, streetlights—nothin’! Put the plants in a closet or under a box around 6pm and bring them back into the light at 8am the next morning. During their period of darkness, they must be kept at a temperature between 60 and 70 degrees (F., of course). During the day, they should receive six to eight hours of BRIGHT sunlight and enjoy temperatures in the mid-70s. Feed and water as you would any actively growing houseplant.



After about 8 weeks of this nonsense, you should see that distinctive red color emerging on the top leaves (unless, of course, you have one of those new yellow, pink or white plants). And yes—those are leaves; the flowers are the little yellow things in the center. Continue covering the plant at night until the colors are nice and deep—then just enjoy!



To keep it going for NEXT year, prune the plant back to around eight inches in early Spring when the colors start to fade, put it in a sunny window, feed it lightly, and then put it outside around June. Feed and water it over summer, bring in back inside at the beginning of September, repot it and start all over again
Reply:wait until the winter and stuff
Reply:Congratulations to you - its great to keep them alive so long

I too have the same query but a friend of mine has said that you just put a blck bin bag over them for a few days and hey presto the leaves will go red - they do not produce a flower its the leaves that change to that great red colour - fingers crossed it works
Reply:Plenty of light put them in a window for a while
Reply:It is not the temperature, but the shortened daylight that causes poinsettias to "bloom". To bloom, the poinsettia needs to be kept in complete dark from 5:00pm to 8:30am. Temperature should be at least 55 but no more than 70. Even small amounts of light during the dark hours will keep it from blooming, including light coming in from a street light.
Reply:put away the Christmas decorations. If you are lucky, they will last until Valentines Day. After bringing them home, keep them in a sunny room.. Ideal temperature range is 60 - 70 degrees. They do not like drafts and they do not like being placed near high heat like a furnace vent or fireplace.



Water thoroughly, then let the soil dry between watering. Poinsettias are forgiving. If they begin to dry out, water them and they bounce right back. If the leaves turn lighter green, give more sunshine and......they bounce right back.



During the summer, you can move your plant outdoors to a sunny location. Plant it directly into your garden or into a container. Give it a good trimming, into a nice rounded shape. Apply general purpose fertilizer every two to three weeks.



Bring the plant indoors before the first frost. Poinsettias can not withstand frost. Check carefully to be sure you did not bring in any "critters" in with your plant.



Did you know? Poinsettias can grow up to 10 feet. But, to grow them this big you will need a few years in a tropical climate that does not experience frosts.





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Forcing Poinsettias

Forcing Poinsettias to bloom is a difficult task. Many have tried, but few succeed. But, if you have kept them around and healthy all year, you've just gotta give it a try.



The concept is simple enough. Any time from late September to October first, you need to put the plant in total darkness for 12-14 hours a day. Here is where it's tricky. Any small light can upset the process. During the day, it should get six hours or more of sunlight. Continue this process daily until early November, then bring it out into the room. Now with a little luck (some will say a lot of luck) and your personal green thumb, it will be in full bloom during the Christmas holiday.



Tip: A black plastic bag works well. Place the plant in the bag and use a twist tie. Each morning, remove the twist tie and carefully lower the bag to the floor.
Reply:They are a short-day plant, which calls for greenhouse conditions, as even a glimmer of light during the darkness period could throw off their blooming. They require months of prep and care to bring them into blooming. They are a throwaway plant, beyond the ability of care that most people would be able to give. To me, they're more trouble than they're worth. No matter how good a job you do with them, they would never rival a professionally grown plant. So I say, chuck the thing and if you want one, pay a greenhouse operator his/her well-earned money to supply these bothersome plants each year, and spend your time doing something constructive, like taking care of worthwhile plants, or spending time with a loved one. Can you tell that I don't care for poinsettias?
Reply:The plant is a health risk and should be kept out of the home.



Being a Euphorbia - Poinsettia's carry the same carcinogenic substances as the rest of the species.



Its in the latex type sap.
Reply:babe this is way too complicated of an endeavor to address here. I heard about it once on a radio show and was amazed.....I would sware they talked about placing them in a closet, that they had to have a certain amount of total darkness in order to flower......which didn't make sense to me as I have seen them blooming beautifully all over southern california....huge tree ones too. I would purchase a Sunset Western Gardening Book, you can look up the flower and its requirements for your area.
Reply:I have a Poinsettia plant from last Christmas too. It is now big and bushy too since I have put it into a bigger pot. I think the leaves turn red around December. They are a pretty resiliant plants. Temperature wise they should be above 50degrees. Mine was outside until there were frost warnings so I brought it in. But, don't worry about the leaves turning red, they will come this winter. Just give it time. Good luck.
Reply:they require short days and cool temp.I set mine in the ground after christmas i have several that are 3 years old,but they do freeze easily.
Reply:Poinsettia plants have very tiny flowers like little pin heads. The red leaves are just that- Leaves. You can get them to turn red by restricting the amount of daylight. Put them in cardboard boxes for several hours per day, very time consuming and not worth the effort.
Reply:Our's has been flowering for months already, it's in the hall, so probably a bit drafty and cooler than the rest of the house, and it gets watered around once a week.

Maybe we're just lucky though!
Reply:They should flower naturally in time for Christmas. The bracts become red when the plants have received a certain number of hours of darkness. I keep mine in the bedroom at room temperature which never falls below 20 degrees although I imagine that they could withstand less than this. Christmas is around about the time when the plants will receive enough hours of darkness for the bracts to turn red. Well mine worked last year anyhow ! Hope this helps.