Poinsettia Advice

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Hello All,

I was given a Poinsettia for the Christmas holiday. I thought I’d try for once to keep it, with the thought of how awesome it would be grow it more and then re-gift it next holiday as an even bigger Poinsettia.

I really don’t know exactly how to take the best care of it, but I put it in a much larger container with new soil, and have it sitting under a 2’x2’ Mars Hydro TS 600w LED Grow Light, that I plug in before going to bed. The lamp gets quite hot and I don’t like it on when I’m not home. Id say it’s on 10-12 hours, unplugging it when I wake up.

Very recently I’ve noticed a leaf with weird circles inside of a reddish brown colored spot, next to a another leaf that looks like it’s turning reddish on the edge . A small amount of leaves have some yellow and green going on , I noticed underneath there’s some very small leaves that are yellow and curled up. I’ve had two small yellow leaves fall off. Anybody have any idea if this is a disease or advise on what I might be doing wrong?

I will say that I experimented with adding a some crystallized All Purpose Miracle Gro almost two months ago. I do know that it’s possible to over fertilize , and cause leaf tips to burn etc so I used (half of a half, of a teaspoon dissolved in a cup of water, followed by another cup of just water). I felt it was an incredibly small dose.

My Poinsettia does have new growth, it’s continuing to grow, but when I look at pictures online of a Poinsettia their leaves are extremely dark green, mine are not, plus I also am very curious about the spots, some yellowing, and the leaves not being very dark green.

I’m hoping for some advisement on the best type of soil too , or whatever I can do to get this plant to explode with new growth so I can gift a Megasettia. I feel like I have great lighting equipment, my soil, I got from Walmart - not many choices in the winter (Back to the Roots All Purpose Potting Mix Premium Blend with earthworm castings & root boosting mycorrhizae. Nitrogen 0.18% Phosphate 0.04% Potash 0.04%. The little white things in the soil was from the previous pot it was in, I took it out when the soil was dry it came out all in one piece in the shape of the previous small container , then added more of the soil I bought. I sorta don’t like my soil because it seems like it has a lot of wood pieces and other objects that it’s not like soft and mushy like other soils.

I’ve attached some photos. Appreciate any advisement! Thank You!
1C06E231-A81A-4A28-83A7-EEA12D525C98.jpeg
63FB1F87-9B5C-46D7-B342-6966DA451F75.jpeg
F43B6D6C-BAA9-4908-B881-D7469F182F40.jpeg
D1F00EBD-FC36-4293-B61B-109D19984BCB.jpeg
 
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From the pics it appears that your plant is in early stage chlorosis which is why the leaves are not a darker green. I would feed it with a good all purpose fertilizer.
 
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Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) can be a challenging house plant to maintain year-round.

It should receive full sun and be watered regularly with good drainage. Let plants soil partly dry before the next irrigation. If the plant is currently in low light, move it gradually into brighter light or do so during overcast weather, so as to avoid sun-scorch from a sudden shift in intensity.

You mentioned that you have fertilized it. Miracle-gro used according to manufacturer's directions may be fine, but you might experiment with reducing the dosage by half or more. I fertilize my container plants once a month at a concentration that is only a little more than half of the recommended dose. I am quite satisfied with my plants' growth rates.

Note: Euphorbia pulcherrima blooms photoperiodically. It is a long-night plant. To get it to re-bloom during the holidays may involve keeping it in complete darkness for a set number of hours a night starting in mid-Autumn. There are various protocols for this and the timing and amount of darkness likely varies by cultivar. To get a plant to behave like a commercial poinsettia may also involve regimens of growth regulators and other methods note often or easily practiced by amateur plant enthusiasts. Another interesting fact is that many Poinsettia are purposely indected with a 'desirable' phytoplasma bacteria that causes branching and dwarfism. You wouldn't have to infect it, but it may already be so.
 
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Hello All,

I was given a Poinsettia for the Christmas holiday. I thought I’d try for once to keep it, with the thought of how awesome it would be grow it more and then re-gift it next holiday as an even bigger Poinsettia.

I really don’t know exactly how to take the best care of it, but I put it in a much larger container with new soil, and have it sitting under a 2’x2’ Mars Hydro TS 600w LED Grow Light, that I plug in before going to bed. The lamp gets quite hot and I don’t like it on when I’m not home. Id say it’s on 10-12 hours, unplugging it when I wake up.

Very recently I’ve noticed a leaf with weird circles inside of a reddish brown colored spot, next to a another leaf that looks like it’s turning reddish on the edge . A small amount of leaves have some yellow and green going on , I noticed underneath there’s some very small leaves that are yellow and curled up. I’ve had two small yellow leaves fall off. Anybody have any idea if this is a disease or advise on what I might be doing wrong?

I will say that I experimented with adding a some crystallized All Purpose Miracle Gro almost two months ago. I do know that it’s possible to over fertilize , and cause leaf tips to burn etc so I used (half of a half, of a teaspoon dissolved in a cup of water, followed by another cup of just water). I felt it was an incredibly small dose.

My Poinsettia does have new growth, it’s continuing to grow, but when I look at pictures online of a Poinsettia their leaves are extremely dark green, mine are not, plus I also am very curious about the spots, some yellowing, and the leaves not being very dark green.

I’m hoping for some advisement on the best type of soil too , or whatever I can do to get this plant to explode with new growth so I can gift a Megasettia. I feel like I have great lighting equipment, my soil, I got from Walmart - not many choices in the winter (Back to the Roots All Purpose Potting Mix Premium Blend with earthworm castings & root boosting mycorrhizae. Nitrogen 0.18% Phosphate 0.04% Potash 0.04%. The little white things in the soil was from the previous pot it was in, I took it out when the soil was dry it came out all in one piece in the shape of the previous small container , then added more of the soil I bought. I sorta don’t like my soil because it seems like it has a lot of wood pieces and other objects that it’s not like soft and mushy like other soils.

I’ve attached some photos. Appreciate any advisement! Thank You!
View attachment 87695View attachment 87696View attachment 87697View attachment 87698

Complete and comprehensive guide is available here. Kingly have a look and i hope you will get to know everything from this resource.

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) Indoor Care Guide​


Video guide is also available here:
 

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