Q: I have kept and gotten poinsettias to recolor every year for a long time, using a dark basement and timer grow light. This year I have a new challenge–someone gave me a poinsettia tree about 4′ tall–bright red with lots of bracts. I have read all comments on your web site about how to treat poinsettias and am already doing all of your suggestions. But I could find nothing about the tree form. I would like to keep this one for many years as it is so beautiful and get it to recolor–I know how to do this–but what special treatment does it need? I am curious as to how long it takes to grow one this big, and I am sure it was very expensive.

A: I don’t think it needs any more special treatment than you know how to do. A couple of trimmings during the growing season to keep the top in proportion to the bottom would probably be sufficient.