You may even wish to keep the plant and bring it on to flower again next Christmas. To enjoy the poinsettias' beauty over a longer period, you need to apply fertilizer to the soil. This was unheard of a few years ago with the old varieties. Begin feeding your plant a complete fertilizer two weeks after you bring it home. Apply this to the soil at the rate of one teaspoon per gallon of water.
Poinsettias do best in a sunny location away from heat sources or cold drafts.
They need a uniformly moist soil at all times and a night temperature of 65 to 70 degrees. After the garden soil warms up in late May, move your plant outside. Cut the stems back to 3 to 5 inches from the soil. Repot the plant using a soil containing at least 25 percent organic matter. Sink the pot in a sunny location with well-drained soil.