Most People Make These 5 Poinsettia Mistakes at Christmas – Plant Experts Reveal Exactly How to Avoid Them
This festive favorite isn't really fussy when you know what not to do
Rachel Bull
For many, poinsettias are a fundamental part of the festive season. While there’s no denying they radiate seasonal cheer, poinsettias also have a reputation for being difficult to keep happy.
In reality, they’re less fussy than they’re often made out to be; but they are sensitive to their surroundings. Even when care feels attentive, small missteps in temperature, watering, or placement can quickly cause a poinsettia to wilt or drop its leaves. The fact is they can be difficult to revive, which is why so many are discarded once the holidays are over.
The 5 Most Common Poinsettia Mistakes
As photoperiodic plants, your poinsettia should be put in the dark to trigger blooming. However, you shouldn't solely rely on giving your poinsettia a period of darkness to watch it thrive through December.
Making any one of the below poinsettia mistakes will still cause this red houseplant to fade away.
1. Leaving Your Poinsettia in its Sleeve
When you purchase a poinsettia from a nursery or supermarket, or receive one as a gift, it will usually arrive in a plastic or paper sleeve. This temporary covering is designed to protect the plant from cold temperatures, wind, and physical damage during transport.
While the sleeve is essential for the journey home, leaving it in place indoors is a common poinsettia mistake that can quickly lead to problems. Once inside, sleeves restrict airflow around the foliage and trap moisture, creating a warm, humid microclimate that poinsettias simply aren’t designed to tolerate long-term.
'It would be best not to leave a poinsettia in a sleeve after you get it home, but it is best to have it in a sleeve for transport home,' says Lisa Eldred Steinkopf from The Houseplant Guru. 'If you leave it in the sleeve for too long, humidity will build up and it may start to grow mold. It also may deform the plant.'
Although poinsettias do appreciate moderate humidity, excess moisture combined with poor air circulation can encourage mold, mildew, and even common houseplant pests. For this reason, the sleeve should be removed as soon as the plant has acclimated indoors; ideally within an hour or two of arriving home.
Removing the sleeve is simple. Depending on the material, it can often be gently torn away, or carefully cut off with scissors, such as these from Walmart, to avoid damaging stems or bracts. If you’d like to dress up the plant for display, place the pot inside a decorative cachepot instead, ensuring there’s still room for airflow and drainage.
Lisa is a houseplant expert who runs her blog The Houseplant Guru with over a decade of professional experience at Steinkopf Nursery and Garden Center in Michigan. As a child, Lisa helped her grandma tend to African violets and other houseplants. Since then, Lisa has forged a career providing houseplant advice, holding lectures and writing for publications across the US.
2. Underwatering Your Poinsettia
Watering houseplants correctly can take some time to master because each houseplant has different water needs.
'Poinsettias are tropical indoor plants that are used to warm moist conditions. They love water, so keep them moderately moist at all time,' advises JP Varvarigos, plant expert from Wellington Florist. 'If they are thirsty, they will let you know by looking sad and wilted. If this happens give them a good soak and they usually will perk back up,' he adds.
You can use this moisture meter from Amazon to easily know for sure when your poinsettia is ready to be watered.
'Water your plant until water runs out of the drainage holes,' says Lisa. 'Poinsettias don't want to dry out completely. This will result in your poinsettia dropping leaves. If it is allowed to dry out completely, it may not recover,' she warns.
It also isn't ideal for poinsettias to sit in excess water. This may cause issues like houseplant root rot.
Top tip: use a planter with drainage holes, just like this one from Amazon, and a saucer to catch and remove excess water.
JP is a third generation florist with 22 years experience. He is owner of Wellington Florist and is knowledgeable about a range of indoor plants.
3. Putting Your Poinsettia Somewhere Cold
One of the most commonly overlooked factors in poinsettia care is temperature. Even short periods outside their comfort zone can cause rapid wilting and sudden leaf drop, making temperature control essential to keeping these plants healthy through winter.
'The poinsettia should be kept in a warm, stable environment between 60–70°F and away from any cold drafts or even hot drafts from heating units,' says Paris Lalicata, head of plant education and community at The Sill.
Native to the warm climates of Mexico, poinsettias are not cold-tolerant houseplants and can quickly suffer when exposed to temperatures below 50°F.
Chilly windowsills, drafty hallways, and sudden drops in temperature, such as positioning one near frequently opened doors, can all trigger stress responses, including leaf loss.
Cold damage is particularly difficult to reverse in tender plants like poinsettias, and once leaves begin to drop, recovery can be slow or unlikely. For this reason, maintaining a consistently warm environment is far more effective than trying to fix problems after they appear.
Using a simple room thermometer, like this one from Amazon, can help you monitor temperature fluctuations and ensure your poinsettia remains within its ideal range throughout the holidays.
Paris has been at The Sill for five years, looking after Plant Education and Community. She is a self-taught plant expert with over ten years of experience growing houseplants and is currently working on becoming a certified sustainable gardener. She maintains an indoor garden of over 200 plants in the north-east of the USA and is passionate about making plant care more digestible for budding plant parents.
4. Not Providing Sufficient Light for your Poinsettia
It's no secret that all plants need sufficient light levels to grow well, even indoor low light plants. It's important to understand just how much light your specific plant needs in order to know where to place it in your home.
'Poinsettias like bright light, such as an east or west exposure. I wouldn’t place it in a south exposure, so it doesn’t dry out as much,' explains Lisa.
Bright light out of direct sunlight is optimal for these plants. As Lisa mentions, a sunny south-facing position could cause your poinsettia to dry out more quickly. It also has the potential to cause leaf scorch.
When a poinsettia has too little light, it will start to drop leaves. If you aren't able to provide enough bright light for your poinsettia or have more shaded interiors, grow lights for houseplants can be useful. You could try this grow light from Amazon, for example.
5. Not Providing High Enough Humidity
As tropical plants, poinsettias naturally thrive in environments with moderate to high humidity. When grown in rooms with dry air – particularly during winter, when central heating is in constant use – they can quickly begin to show signs of stress.
Crispy leaf edges, curling foliage, and premature bract drop are all common indicators that humidity levels are too low.
'Since these plants prefer normal to higher humidity levels it would be ideal to incorporate a humidifier by the plant to keep it happy throughout the holidays,' says Paris. 'Especially during the winter months when heating units start to kick on and dry out the air.'
Humidifiers are widely available, such as this one from Walmart , that can be placed nearby without overwhelming the space.
For a lower-effort approach, grouping poinsettias with other houseplants can help create a more humid microclimate, while setting the pot on a humidity tray, like this one from Amazon, filled with water allows moisture to evaporate gently around the plant.
In smaller rooms, even simple adjustments can make a difference. Keeping poinsettias away from radiators, fireplaces, and heat vents helps prevent excessive drying, and misting the surrounding air (rather than the leaves themselves) can provide a short-term boost in humidity when needed.
Avoiding these poinsettia mistakes will keep this plant happy through the festive season and beyond. And interestingly, knowing where to place a poinsettia isn't just helpful to the health of your plant, but can also bring you positive Feng Shui.
You also need to choose carefully when selecting your poinsettia from the shop:
'When you buy a poinsettia, make sure you check the plant, especially the pot cover,' Lisa advises. 'If it is full of water, don’t buy the plant. You have no idea how long it has been standing in water and the roots may be compromised,' she adds.
Watering indoor plants is always tricky in winter, but a soil moisture meter helps to take the guesswork out of knowing when your plant needs its next drink.
Handcrafted from borosilicate glass, this gorgeous watering can would look just as good in use as it would styled on a plant shelf. It comes in three colors and is the ideal size for watering a poinsettia.
When your poinsettia is beginning to fade in spring, you can give it a boost with some specially formulated fertilizer.
