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Caring for Holiday Houseplants

Poinsettia blooms

Poinsettia are beautiful holiday plants, but if you’re given one as a host or hostess or pick up one in the store, how do you care for it after the holidays?  

According to Richard Jauron and Cindy Haynes, horticulture experts with Iowa State University, it’s simple until you want it to bloom for next winter and then it gets complicated. 

“Basically at home, you’d have to put it in a closet around 5 in the afternoon and then leave them there until 8 in the morning… and then you do that for at least 8 weeks. That tends to be sort of problematic for most people,” says Jauron.

Haynes says that it’s okay to compost poinsettias, but if you water them and give them adequate sunlight, they can look lovely until around Valentine’s day.

During this hour on Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Jauron and Haynes about holiday plants. District Forester Mark Vitsoh also joins the conversation with some advice about cutting your own fresh, Christmas tree. 

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HorticultureHort DayHort Day
Lindsey Moon is IPR's Senior Digital Producer
Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa