Remember this plant from last year?
It looks a little different now–and yet, I am expecting a bloom somewhere around the holidays or shortly thereafter.
Notice where this plant is located. It’s on a sunny southern windowsill. I have no idea how many foot candles of light it is getting but what’s important here is that it’s not in a closet or under a box–aren’t those the usual crazy places that you’re supposed to put these plants in order to force them to bloom? I ask you, if you were continually shoved in and out of a box, would you bloom? I sure wouldn’t!
The key to getting a poinsettia to bloom somewhat naturally is to keep it in a room that you don’t generally use in the evenings. That way it gets the 12-14 hours of darkness it needs to re-bloom naturally.
One other myth. Poinsettias are not poisonous. The sap might be irritating to some people. But the plant is not toxic. Other holiday plants like mistletoe and holly are far more toxic. So don’t be afraid to have them in your home.
Gardendaze 
They can be grown out under the eaves here. However, there are too many potted poinsettias about to accommodate in the landscape. Anyway, they get pruned back at the end of winter, and then bloom early in the following winter. They are sort of colorful, but are not very pretty if they do not get pruned.
I’ve seen photos of Mexican poinsettias shrubs. I don’t recall seeing them “wild” when I visited but then again they wouldn’t have been particularly showy at that point. But even when they are in bloom, they don’t look like what we have in our homes so I probably would have looked right by them for something more exotic looking. That’s how most of our “house plants” are in the wild, I find–you can look right past them if you aren’t careful because when we’ve bred to be “House Plants” are so exotic. It’s kind of crazy.
Karla
Thanks for debunking the poison myth.