Late Bloomer

In December of 2023, prior to my first Christmas in Mexico, I bought a poinsettia plant for the apartment.  After it was done blooming, I cut it back severely and repotted it.  It grew back lush and green.  

I have read that in order to get the plant to rebloom it needs to have 12 hours of total darkness for six to eight weeks.  I tried that when I lived in Ohio, and the most I ever got was a few little red bracts.  (The red "petals" of a flowering poinsettia are actually modified leaves.)

Last autumn, I put the plant in the spare bedroom so that it would be in the dark at night.  However, I was not very disciplined about closing the blinds and the door each night.  So, it was not getting total darkness.

Shortly before Christmas I saw that it was forming the little yellow knobs that are the actual flowers, and tiny red leaves were sprouting around them.

My poinsettia is now in full bloom.  It may not be as showy as what you would buy in the store at Christmas, but it far surpasses my attempts in the past.

The "flowers" are probably going to last quite a while longer.  When they finally fade, I will cut the plant back a bit and repot it again.  We will see if I can get it to blossom again next Christmas.