We plant Christmas Pointsettias on the east side of the house for early morning sun and deep shade afternoons, with lots of fertlizer, normal water cycles, and have beautiful red plants for the next Christmas. We keep trimming back and shaping until early May and then let them go at it. They will not tolerate a frost so you
must keep them covered with a
thick blanket during frost alerts. If nipped by frost, trim back to a couple feet above the ground and they should come back next year, but they are done for the current year. A hard freeze for several days in a row will probably kill them to the roots, but cut way back and see if anything comes back in the spring. A few years ago we dug up a 7 year old plant with a root ball as large as a carving pumpkin. It was a beautiful plant but it just kept getting too big for the garden space.
If done right, a $5.00 Home Depot plant this year should grow into a 3 to 4 foot bush next year.
