Plant care and cultivation

My Poinsettia Is Wilting - Causes and What to Do

 
Particia Yovane
By Particia Yovane. December 28, 2022
My Poinsettia Is Wilting - Causes and What to Do

With its cheerful red bracts and delicate yellow flowers framed by velvety green leaves, this plant is an undeniable symbol of Christmas. We are talking about Euphorbia pulcherrima, also known as poinsettia. Poinsettias can be a challenging flower to care for, which is why people often believe they are seasonal plants, when they can actually bloom for several years if properly cared for. As with any plant, it is best to watch for signs that it is not doing well so you can care for it as soon as possible. Wilted leaves on a poinsettia are definitely a bad sign, and the sooner you act, the better.

The following article from thedailyECO explains why your poinsettia has wilted leaves and what you can do about it.

You may also be interested in: How to Bring a Poinsettia Back to Life

Contents

  1. Causes of withered leaves in poinsettias
  2. What to do if my poinsettia has wilted leaves?
  3. How to care for a Poinsettia?

Causes of withered leaves in poinsettias

There are several reasons why your poinsettias may have wilted leaves, the most common are:

  • The plant has suffered from lack or excess of water. In general, poinsettias should be watered once or twice a week. However, depending on the plant's environment, this may be different for your plant. It is best to water only when the substrate is completely dry.

  • It is also possible that your poinsettia has wilted leaves because it is poorly placed and too exposed to drafts. These plants usually do better indoors because they can not tolerate gusts of wind or constant drafts that dry them out too much.

  • A poinsettia with wilted leaves may also be due to a location with too little light or an environment that is too dry. In fact, it is common for these plants to dry out because they are located near heat sources such as a heater.

  • Another reason for a poinsettia with wilted leaves that may later become wrinkled or dry is if the plant is in a room with smoke or dirty air, to which the plant is also extremely sensitive.

  • Finally, sometimes wilted leaves on your poinsettia have nothing to do with care, but with its natural cycle. Remember that the plant loses its flowers and leaves after flowering, which usually occurs in February in the Northern Hemisphere. If you see that your poinsettia loses its leaves on these dates, do not worry.
My Poinsettia Is Wilting - Causes and What to Do - Causes of withered leaves in poinsettias

What to do if my poinsettia has wilted leaves?

There are a variety of ways to treat an ailing poinsettia, depending on what has caused it. Here are some tips on what to do if your poinsettia has wilted leaves:

Wilted leaves due to excessive dryness

If your poinsettia has wilted leaves due to excessive dryness in the environment, as usually happens in homes where the heat is on for many hours, we must try to rehydrate the plant.

The first step is to keep the plant away from drafts, smoke-filled rooms, and artificial heat sources, as these are the most drying environments.

Then take a spray bottle or water sprayer and lightly spray the green leaves, but never the red bracts, which should not get wet. This will give the plant some moisture to recover. You can repeat this process every 24 or 48 hours without overdoing it.

Wilted leaves due to excessive watering

Poinsettia needs a substrate with optimal drainage, as well as a pot with holes through which excess water can drain. If your pot does not meet these requirements, or you have watered it too much, excess moisture will accumulate and can kill the plant.

It is best to water the plant from a plate under the pot. When doing this, use the technique of immersion watering, which you need to leave for about 15–20 minutes and then remove so that the moisture does not accumulate.

If you see that the leaves of the poinsettia have fallen off and the soil has become soggy, you need to transplant the plant and change the substrate, removing the soggy substrate and using a new one.

Put the plant in a new pot with good drainage and water it only after a few days, when you see that it has already recovered from the excess water.

Wilted leaves due to other reasons

In some cases, you might not know why your poinsettia has wilted leaves. In very severe cases, it is necessary to make a very aggressive pruning, leaving only a third of the stems of the plant, leaving one node at a time, and treat the cut wounds with healing paste.

The latter is very important to avoid diseases on the plant. Moreover, you can make this paste at home with little effort and in a very ecological and inexpensive way. It is also essential that you thoroughly disinfect the cutting tool before use and make sure that it is properly sharpened.

How to care for a Poinsettia?

Here are some important tips to help you enjoy your plant long after Christmas:

  • Watering: about every 72 hours, when the substrate dries out and from the plate. Never let poinsettias become so dry that they wither.

  • Location: protected from wind currents and heat sources. Remember that temperatures below freezing kill poinsettias.

  • Light: if the plant is indoors, move it to a south, east or west window where it will receive bright daylight.

  • Fertilizing: start fertilizing your plant as soon as you see new growth (new green leaves, stems, bracts). You can use an all-purpose household plant fertilizer. It's best to mix it with water at half the recommended strength.

  • Transplant: transplant your poinsettia to a larger container in late spring or early summer. Use a soil mix with a good amount of organic material such as peat moss in pots. Make sure your new pot has good drainage.

If you want to read similar articles to My Poinsettia Is Wilting - Causes and What to Do, we recommend you visit our Plant care and cultivation category.

Write a comment

Add an image
Click to attach a photo related to your comment
What did you think of this article?
1 of 2
My Poinsettia Is Wilting - Causes and What to Do