How to Water a Poinsettia, and How Often

Water by touch, not by the calendar

Iowa State University Extension calls improper watering the main cause of poinsettia problems in the home, and Texas A&M AgriLife’s Bill McKinley calls overwatering one of the most common mistakes. The fix in both cases is the same: let the soil tell you.

• Iowa State checks the potting soil with a finger every day and waters when the surface is dry to the touch.
• NC State Extension in Clay County waters thoroughly when the top inch feels dry.
• University of Delaware Cooperative Extension lets the soil dry between waterings and watches the plant too: water when the soil feels dry or the leaves begin to droop a little.
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions waters when the surface is dry and says too much water can kill a poinsettia.

Delaware adds a warning about leaving it too long: a plant allowed to wilt drops its leaves early.

How to water it, step by step

1. Take it out of the sleeve. Most poinsettias are sold inside decorative foil or a pot cover. Iowa State, Utah State University Extension and Texas A&M all lift the plant out before watering. Delaware removes the foil or punches holes in its bottom.
2. Water in the sink. Iowa State waters until water runs out of the bottom of the pot. Utah State uses lukewarm water.
3. Let it drain. Utah State leaves the pot in the sink for 15 to 20 minutes before putting it back.
4. Empty what collects. Delaware sets the pot on a saucer and dumps any water still standing there after 3 or 4 hours; UF/IFAS drains the saucer whenever water collects.

The reason for all of this is the roots. Texas A&M’s McKinley says a plant watered and left in its waterproof cover sits in the water that drains down, and the roots rot. Delaware puts it plainly: poinsettias do not like wet feet.

More on poinsettias

• Poinsettia care — light, water, feeding, leaf color, repotting, and when a pot goes outside in your zone
• How to Water a Poinsettia, and How Often — this page
• Why Is My Poinsettia Dropping Leaves?
• Poinsettia Care After Christmas: Keep It and Rebloom It
• Poinsettia Tree Care: Keeping a Tree-Form Poinsettia
• Growing Poinsettias Outdoors by Zone (Zones 9–11)
• ZIP code zone finder — your exact USDA zone, to read the tables on these pages against

Too much water, or too little?

The two look alike at first, which is why checking the soil matters.

New Mexico State University Extension explains why both mistakes end in dropped leaves: the poinsettia sheds leaves to save water when it dries out, and overwatering rots the roots so that too little water reaches the leaves, which is the more likely of the two to kill it. Iowa State says root rot strikes when plants are watered too often and the soil stays saturated; the cure is prevention, letting the surface dry before the next watering.

Warm, dry rooms use more water

New Mexico State says a plant in a warm, dry, dim room dries out faster and is in the worst possible spot, and that grouping other plants nearby raises the humidity around it. NC State in Clay County suggests a tray of water and pebbles near the plant or a humidifier when the house is dry, and UF/IFAS says slightly humid air helps the color last. Keep it away from heat registers: Iowa State says warm, dry air blowing across the plant can make it drop leaves.

Common mistakes

• Watering through the foil. The water pools inside and the roots rot (Texas A&M, Iowa State).
• A little water every day. Iowa State waters only when the surface is dry, and then until it drains.
• Waiting for it to wilt. Delaware says a wilted plant drops its leaves early.
• A saucer that is never emptied. Delaware and UF/IFAS both drain it.

We found no Clemson or LSU AgCenter source on watering poinsettias that we could read. The Southern advice here is Texas A&M’s and UF/IFAS’s.