Question
I have had a poinsettia plant for a year and now the white flies are killing it.  Besides putting Murphys Oil with water to the soil, can I spray the leaves too?  How do you get a poinsettia to flower again? Thanks

Answer
Amanda, this is a common question, personally I prefer to buy new poinsettia's each holiday; they are keepable however and if you are in a zone 8-10, they can be moved outside and they will grow as big as 4-5 feet; the problem however, is that in order for them to bloom again in the fall, they need to be put through a rather strange conditioning; that is that from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. they need to be in continuous darkness, without even a trace of light (otherwise they will not bloom). The whitefly problem is a tough one; white flies are difficult to control, because they fly up when the plant is sprayed and then just land again after the spray dissipates, and continue their assault; I don't know why you are applying murphys oil to the soil? you need to buy a horticultural oil based insectiside (ie. Ultra Fine Oil) and spray at half strength the entire plant, this will deter the fllies, then relocate the pot (assuming it is in a pot)and cut back the stems to about 4 inches (after the plant has recuperated from the insect problem), this will encourage new growth. Poinsettias like just enough watering between drying out, and a water soluable fertilizer (miracle grow) once a month; be careful not to over water and make sure there is sufficent drainage....as I said, they can be saved, but not without significant effort, Good Luck! Nick