Judy, The University of Illinois site is a very good general rule of thumb. However, there are two points I wish to clarify. The Poinsettia is a member of the Euphorbia family which is characterized by a sticky milky sap, this has caused some concern as being a toxic fluid. While I am no expert on the toxicity of the Poinsettia, I can tell you that is does cause an allergic reaction in some individuals, me being one. So I would advise if you are unsure of your allergic potential, please be cautious when cutting back your Poinsettia. Do not get the sap near your eyes or your mouth. When you cut your plant back, cut 1/4 inch above an outward facing bud. Buds are in the axils of the leaves so by now most florist grown poinsettias have lost their lower leaves, you will have to look for where the old leaves were on the stem. One other thing, most modern cultivars are treated with growth regulators to increase stem thickness and reduce stem elongation, thus increasing the size of the bracts. All of this is done under very controlled conditions which have been developed for many years in the industry, it is a challenge to reflower a Poinsettia and well worth the experience. Growers start with cuttings so most plants you purchase are only one year old, unless the grower is catering to the large plant market. Go through the challenge and you will understand how difficult it is for a grower to bring in a seasonal crop on time and all uniform. Carl ----- Original Message ----- From: "Judy Lamken" <kilkee@attbi.com> To: <NJ-MEMORIES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 8:26 PM Subject: Re: [NJ-Memories] Pointsettia > Ellen, > > One of the best resources can be found at > http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/poinsettia/reflowering.html > Reading that is a lot easier than having me tell you what I do with mine. > > Judy > > ELLEN542@aol.com wrote: > > >Can anybody tell me how to preserve my beautiful pointsettias till next year. > > Somebody told me one time but I forget. I think a brown grocery bag is > >involved. > > > >Ellen > > > > > >============================== > >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > > > > > > > > > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >