Sorry to say BUT !! I'm with your boss and around end Feb, after much enjoyment and weeks of sentiment and worry because the plants are NOT performing as they should, I have to admit, these plants are so cheap these days, I'd rather purchase a nice healthy one the following Christmas, I love a challenge as much as anyone, but for me, these are a challenge too far.
My knowledge of these plants are, they need to be kept JUST alive in no more, that is after Feb, give just enough water to keep the leaf going, then come April / May keep the watering regime the same BUT cut back all the leggy growth and remove any stems that have lost there leaves and are dead or dying. allow the plant to recover from this sort of shock treatment.
After a few week, begin to give more water, try a half strength INDOOR plant feed and allow the plant to grow away as normal.
You need to give your plant a good prune as it has gone leggy for want / need of good EVEN light. Your picture shows tall bare stems with a few leaves, and little greenery on the top, this indicates the that the plant is reaching way up trying to reach light, They don't like to be set in BRIGHT sunlight in front of a window BUT set in a place where even light is able to shine across the room to the plant.
Round about July, / August, the plants are given around 20 hours of darkness in a cool (NOT COLD) place, in a loft or cupboard where ALL light is blacked out, each day about 4 hours sun or good light is offered, this treatment helps the BRACKS / FLOWERS to turn bright red /yellow or now-a-days pink depending on the colour of the plant you bought.
The RED flowers that we like are actually NOT flowers, the are leaves that turn Red, they are called Bracks, anyway, once you are happy the plant is short, full of foliage and you see the red showing, you can bring the plant into the room as we do at Christmas, set it in the correct light and temp, NOT beside a heater, away from gas fumes as in boilers or central heating units, these fumes are like a poison to these plants. continue to water but don't water the foliage, water from under the pot by setting the pot into a saucer of water and after an hour, the plant / compost should have taken up enough water, drain the pot and place back where you know it is happy.
WARNING : when handling these plants wear gloves as they release a white sap, it causes irritation to the skin and IF you rub your eyes while this sap is on your hands, you could end up needing hospital treatment depending on your reaction.
Hope this helps you a bit and you have great success come Christmas and show the plant off with huge pride.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.
