Can Poinsettias Live Outside in the Winter? Plan for Your Holiday Decor Accordingly

Poinsettias are beautiful, richly colored flowering plants that are commonly sold and gifted around the winter holiday season. Although poinsettias are known for sprucing up the home, can they be potted next to your other outdoor plants throughout winter? Or do you have to keep them indoors?

If you find yourself suddenly in possession of a potted poinsettia, you're in luck. Keep reading to learn about poinsettia care during the winter season, as well as whether or not that includes allowing your poinsettia to grow outdoors in your garden.

If the temperature where you live never drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, you may safely keep your poinsettia outdoors, according to Gardener's Path. The United States Department of Agriculture offers a Plant Hardiness Zone Map that helps gardeners and growers discern where plants may safely be grown.

Per Gardener's Path, poinsettias can thrive outdoors in Zones 9, 10, and 11, which coincides with regions such as the Pacific Northwest, portions of the Gulf Coast, and areas of the southeastern U.S.

If you live in one of these zones and the weather forecast predicts temperatures approaching 50 degrees or below, it is best to bring your poinsettia indoors.

Poinsettias are so sensitive to cold weather that if one of the plant leaves graces a cold window where temperatures outdoors are below 50 degrees, you risk losing the leaf altogether, according to HGTV.

Therefore, it might be impossible to prepare a poinsettia for outdoor temperatures that dip below 50 degrees. Instead, it is safest to keep your poinsettia exposed to ample sunlight indoors and away from cold windows at night so that it can properly flourish.

The frequency with which you must water your poinsettias depends on how much sunlight they receive and how quickly the soil dries out. According to Iowa State University's Extension program, Yard and Garden, the soil must be checked by hand daily.

According to horticulture educator Julie Weisenhorn of the University of Minnesota Extension program, the soil in which the poinsettia is planted must be kept moist.

Per Weisenhorn, poinsettias should be watered as soon as the soil feels slightly dry — or when the pot feels lighter than usual. It is important to note that poinsettias should be removed from their decorative foil before watering.

Poinsettias should also never be overwatered, lest they sit in excess water so the plant rots and eventually dies. Per HGTV, a great tip is to keep gravel at the bottom of the pot to ensure the roots are kept dry.

You might also want to keep a humidifier in place to ensure the poinsettia soil remains moist but not excessively damp to the point of rotting.

Ultimately, whether the poinsettia is watered weekly or a few days more or less frequently, you must ensure the soil does not get too dry — or excessively damp.