Nudge poinsettias, holiday cacti into bloom

Princettia Sparkling Rouge poinsettia has red bracts with a pink splash pattern. COURTESY PHOTO | WWW.MELINDAMYERS.COM
Princettia Sparkling Rouge poinsettia has red bracts with a pink splash pattern. COURTESY PHOTO | WWW.MELINDAMYERS.COM

Colorful poinsettias and flowering Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus fill garden centers and homes during the holiday season. If you saved your plants from last year, it is time to get started forcing them into bloom for the upcoming holidays.

Starting between late September and early October, cover or move your plants into a dark location for 14 hours each night. This treatment is needed to initiat…