Poinsettia breeding. Conditions for growing poinsettia beautiful and caring for it at home
Poinsettia red, Euphorbia magnum opus, Christmas star is a plant made famous by the first US Ambassador to Mexico, Dr. Joel Poinsett. He was the first to take this spurge from his homeland and engaged in its cultivation and selection. Initially, it was a shrub up to three meters high. During the breeding work, hybrid varieties were bred, less than 30 cm high, for growing at home.
Description of the red poinsettia flower
Poinsettia cannot be called a completely unpretentious plant - this beauty possesses a capricious and quarrelsome character, but you can find an approach to it if you create the necessary conditions. The brightly colored leaves (mostly red) that appear on the tops of the stems of this spurge plant are mistakenly considered by many to be flowers, although poinsettia blooms rather inconspicuously.
The Christmas star, as the poinsettia is popularly called, is perceived by some as a temporary guest on the windowsill, but not because this plant dies shortly after purchase, but because the poinsettia no longer wants to “bloom” with its unusual colorful leaves next season. And this happens due to non-compliance with the light regime, or due to the lack of a rest period. So that this mexican beauty for a long time pleased you with her elegant look, try to “make friends” with her, and she will surely reciprocate.
At the moment, on the shelves of flower shops you can meet poinsettia not only with red leaves, but also with pink and yellow- care for different varieties is no different, so choose the color to your liking. Also, often, out of a desire to give the plant as much of a “New Year's” look as possible, it is sprinkled with sparkles, and this leads to the fact that the purchased flower quickly loses its decorative effect due to spots that have appeared on the leaves. 
Appearance
The leaf blades of the poinsettia are large, up to 15 centimeters in length, dark green in color, oval in shape with a pointed end. Sometimes there are pubescent leaves. At the top, brightly colored, multi-colored bracts are formed, shaped like leaves and mistakenly perceived as flowers. The flowers are yellow, small, collected in a rosette.
Poinsettia in nature
In the natural environment, you can find poinsettia with only one color of bracts - red. But when the shrub gained wide popularity as a houseplant, breeders achieved the formation of colors such as white, crimson, yellow, cream and combinations of these shades.
How to care for red poinsettia at home?
It is important to remember that the juice of this flower is poisonous. Do not allow it to get into the mucous membranes of the eyes or respiratory tract. If, nevertheless, this happened, then the affected area must be thoroughly washed with plenty of running water. If you have worked with punsettias, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly. It is recommended to keep it away from small children and pets.
Temperature regime
Dislikes drafts and low temperatures. Do not place near open windows, and if the purchase is made in the cold, then be sure to ensure that the plant is packed as best as possible. When the poinsettia blooms, the temperature in the room should not be less than 16 degrees. However, excessive warm and low air humidity also adversely affect it. Does not tolerate sudden temperature fluctuations. If something does not suit him, then the leaves begin to wither and fall off.
illumination
Keep out of direct sunlight. During the flowering period, good lighting is required. At this time, it is recommended to place it on windows located in the southeastern or southern part of the room. In warm weather, the flower can be moved to the balcony, but it requires a place that is protected from the direct rays of the sun, wind, and also a draft.
How to water
Watering should be done as the substrate dries out. In the warm season, watering should be more abundant. Do not use too cold water for irrigation. Do not allow waterlogging of the earth, as this will lead to the formation of rot on the roots. In the event that, after overflowing, the flower began to wither, it is urgent to transplant into a fresh substrate. Do not forget to thoroughly wash the root system first, using a solution of potassium permanganate for this. If it is hot and dry in summer, then it is recommended to moisten the poinsettia from a spray bottle with warm water.
How to transplant
The transplant is carried out in May. To do this, use a container of a slightly larger size. Don't forget a good drainage layer. A suitable soil mixture consists of soddy, leafy and humus earth, as well as sand, taken in a ratio of 3:2:3:1. A mixture of sod and leafy soil, sand and peat is also suitable. It is recommended to add a little humus. When the poinsettia is transplanted, they begin to water it, and after a while - to fertilize the soil.
rest period
In March or April, the plant begins a dormant period. Its duration is 1.5 months, and it ends in May. At this time, you need to trim the shoots to a height of 10 centimeters from the ground level in a pot. Put the plant in a dark place, and the temperature there should be from 12 to 16 degrees. Watering should be scarce.
How to get the poinsettia to bloom at Christmas?
In order for flowering to begin just before Christmas, you need to prepare the flower already in the last days of September. The fact is that at home, flowering occurs at the end of the period of long nights. That is why it is recommended to artificially lengthen the nights at the beginning of the autumn period up to 14 or 15 hours a day. All that is needed is to cover the poinsettia with a dark bag or dense material at night, and you need to do this for 2 months in a row. In this case, the plant should spend 14 hours in the dark. If possible, just take the flower to a very dark place. However, keep in mind that the access of fresh air to the plant should not be blocked. In the daytime, he needs good lighting. If we neglect these manipulations, then the flowers will appear only at the end of the winter period.
Propagation of red poinsettia by cuttings
Trimmed tops will be an excellent planting material. The resulting cuttings are used for rooting.
- 7-10 cm in length and a few buds are enough for the cutting to become a new viable plant.
- Cut cuttings are slightly dried in the air for two hours to stop the release of juice.
- After that, aging in a root solution is desirable, which will become a good activation for the formation of roots.
- We take the ground for euphorbia, fall asleep in cups with drainage holes and “plant” the cuttings to a depth of 2-3 cm. Moisten the substrate, cover with cut plastic bottles. During rooting, do not allow the temperature to drop below twenty degrees Celsius.
Remember that the poinsettia is not a completely harmless plant; poisonous juice is released when pruned. Do not trim with bare hands, be sure to wear rubber gloves. All accessories are washed with warm water after work. Don't forget to wash your hands thoroughly. Do not let children touch the poinsettia, keep away from animals. Poison juice can cause poisoning. 
How to make a red poinsettia bloom Caring for a poinsettia after flowering
In order for the poinsettia to please with flowering many times, you just need to know the features of the life cycle of the plant in natural conditions. By simulating periods of dormancy and active growth, you can easily achieve beautiful flowering.
Do the following:
- Water with less water when the poinsettia has faded. Resetting leaves after flowering is normal, do not be afraid.
- When only bare branches remain, cut off all the tops. Most of the plant should be cut to a height of up to 10 centimeters;
- After pruning, a transplant is carried out without damaging the roots, along with an old clod of earth.
- In the summer, a dormant period begins, the poinsettia should rest and gain strength before the next flowering in December. She is placed in a dark cool place.
- At the end of the dormant period of 2-3 months, we put the poinsettia in a bright place, increase watering.
- Feed the Christmas star at the beginning of active leaf growth.
- Numerous processes are best removed, leaving only a few of the strongest. By the way, cut shoots can also be easily rooted.
- In September, responsible time begins. Beautiful flowers for Christmas will be obtained subject to the necessary conditions. Buds are laid in autumn, flowers appear in winter. Many flower growers have mixed feelings, they do not know what to do to make the flower bloom. In autumn, daylight hours remain long, while poinsettias need a short one. She should sleep 14 hours, 10 hours awake in bright light. Move it to a dark cabinet or cover it with a cover after 10 hours of exposure to light. Water moderately, without excess moisture.
- Two months of such conditions will ensure the further development of the flower. Bright bracts will bloom, after a while flowers will appear.
By fulfilling the conditions listed above, you will receive a blooming poinsettia for the New Year and Christmas holidays. 
What to do if it does not bloom?
The Christmas star is a capricious pet, which for the grower means the need to exclude any adverse effects on her, as they can postpone flowering indefinitely. Therefore, it is recommended to stimulate it. From the beginning of October, poinsettias arrange a blackout period for 8 weeks. To do this, cover the Christmas star with a blanket, box, opaque cap for 14 - 15 hours a day. The temperature regime is 15 - 16 degrees at night and 20 - 21 degrees during the day.
It is very important that neither sunlight nor artificial light falls on a closed plant, even for a short time. By the beginning of December, buds should already form on the shoots and the blackout should be removed. The plant is placed in a bright place and cared for as an adult and healthy during flowering. Despite the fact that poinsettia is quite difficult to grow due to its high susceptibility to the influence of adverse factors and because of the demands on the conditions of its maintenance, a grower who strictly follows all the recommendations on maintenance and care regimes will be able to observe its decorative flowering all winter and will understand why this spurge is called the most beautiful. 
Pests and diseases
Due to low humidity, spider mites can settle on the flower. It looks like a tiny red spider. It settles on the reverse side of the leaves and envelops them with a thin white cobweb. You can destroy it quite simply if you spray and wash the leaves (especially their reverse side). Systemic insecticides can also be used. For preventive purposes, the flower should be systematically sprayed with tepid water.
A scale insect or mealybug can also settle. With the timely start of pest control, getting rid of them is not so difficult. It is recommended to wipe the foliage with a sponge dipped in soapy water.
Then the plant needs to be rinsed under a warm shower, but do not forget to cover the soil with waterproof material (film). Processing is carried out 1 time per week until the pests are completely destroyed. If the lesion is severe, then you need to treat the poinsettia with specially designed products sold in a flower shop.
Settled thrips lead to the appearance of wavy oblong spots on the surface of the foliage, as well as to its twisting.
On the most beautiful poinsettia, gray rot may appear. Gray spots form on the lower branches and foliage. Remove rotted areas and treat with an antifungal agent.
A flower with red leaves that blooms in December has several names: Christmas tree, Star of Bethlehem, poinsettia, euphorbia, the most beautiful spurge. Those who purchased it could be convinced that by the beginning of summer it was dying. Is it possible to save this beautiful flower or is it intended only for the role of a long-lasting bouquet?
Botanical description
Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is the closest relative of Euphorbia, which grows in our gardens like malicious weeds. On the territory of Russia and neighboring countries, 160 species from this family were found.
Plant connoisseurs are aware of the unpleasant feature of all spurges - their shoots and leaves are filled with a caustic liquid that irritates the skin and eyes.
Poinsettia is no exception - despite the outward difference from the Euphorbia we are used to, the houseplant is also filled with poisonous juice. Therefore, it is not recommended to keep it in a house where there are children or animals. Work with poinsettia - cuttings, transplanting, cutting dried leaves - you have to wear rubber gloves.
Euphorbia pulcherrima is translated from Latin as "the most beautiful spurge". This is truly one of the most spectacular representatives of the genus. The flower grows wild in Mexico and Central America. There, poinsettias reach a height of 3 m, forming sprawling bushes.
Flower shops sell hybrid poinsettias that grow no more than 50 cm in height. In recent years, breeders have been able to obtain particularly compact varieties, up to only 20 cm high. This is the best option for small city apartments.
Any poinsettia, even the smallest one, is spectacular and attractive. She has large, dark green, ovate leaves with serrated edges on long petioles.
The main feature of the plant is the bracts. The bright plates at the ends of the shoots are special leaves that appear only during flowering.
Poinsettia in the photo:
In other plants, the bracts are small, inconspicuous, while in poinsettia this is the most spectacular part. Varieties have been bred with yellow, pink, white, purple and two-color bracts covered with white bloom, specks, contrasting edging, terry, corrugated, etc.
Poinsettia flowers are so inconspicuous that it is difficult to see them against the backdrop of a lush frame - small, yellow, collected in small inflorescences.
There are house signs associated with euphorbia. It is believed that if the Christmas Star flower withers, despite proper care, this indicates a tense atmosphere in the family. The Christmas tree subtly feels the emotions of the owners. Anger or resentment in the air undermines his health.
Euphorbia is a perennial evergreen plant. In room conditions, with the right content, it can live for many years without shedding leaves.
Poinsettia care at home
In European countries, it is customary to purchase a Red Star for Christmas and throw it away after a few months, when it fades. The most beautiful poinsettia is not capricious, but if you need to save the bush until next year, you will have to take care of it at home with skill.
Temperature and lighting
Despite its tropical origin, the most beautiful spurge is undemanding to heat, it can live at +15 degrees. Normal room temperature is perfect for him.
The purchased poinsettia must be placed on the east, west or south window. A special New Year's flower is not needed - it feels good with a short day.
The plant freely transfers movement from place to place, for several days it can be content with modest lighting. During the Christmas holidays, you can put it on the table or decorate a room with it. The poinsettia won't shed its leaves, it won't stop blooming. Then the bush must be transferred to the windowsill again.
Photo: Good care of the poinsettia will provide bright colors for Christmas
Watering and fertilizing
During flowering, the soil must be kept moist. It would be useful to put the flower on a wide tray filled with wet gravel - this will increase the humidity of the air. It is very important to find the right watering regimen. If the soil in the pot is not wet, but wet and damp, the roots will rot.
Every two weeks, the Christmas star is fed with a weakly concentrated solution of mineral fertilizer for euphorbia. If they are not on sale, you can buy any top dressing for decorative leafy plants.
Euphorbia is fertilized under the root or sprayed on the leaves. Busy owners can simply stick a stick of slowly dissolving fertilizer into the pot - this is enough for the whole winter.
rest period
At the end of January, the plant begins to prepare for a short rest. Flowering stops, the leaves turn yellow and dry, and then fall off.
Usually at this stage the flower is thrown out. If you want to keep it until next year, you need to cut off all the stems, leaving stumps 10-15 cm high, and put them in a dark, cool place.
Transfer
A month later, in April, the plant is taken out, transplanted into new soil, put on a bright window and watered so that it starts growing. The mixture for planting can be made independently.
Required:
- garden soil - 1 part;
- humus - 1 part;
- sand - 1 part.
You can buy ready-made soil in the store, which indicates that it is suitable for euphorbia.
Transfer order:
- remove the plant from the old pot;
- shake off the soil with your hand;
- put drainage on the bottom of the new pot and sprinkle it with a thin layer of soil;
- put the roots in a pot;
- fill up fresh soil to the previous height;
- compact by hand;
- water.
2-3 weeks after transplantation, the plant will be covered with young branches. As soon as the threat of night frost blows, it can be taken out to the balcony or garden. It is very good to dig a poinsettia right in a pot under a tree with a sparse crown so that it is in partial shade.
During the summer, euphorbia will throw out new branches. If desired, it can be formed - to give the shape of a cone, ball or pyramid. In the middle of summer, pruning is stopped so that flower buds have time to form.
Reproduction methods
Poinsettia can be propagated in two ways: cuttings and sowing seeds.
With vegetative propagation, branches are cut off at the end of spring, when young shoots begin to grow on old stems. Remove all leaves except for the top pair. Rooted in a room greenhouse, mixing peat and sand in equal proportions.
Euphorbia branches are filled with thick juice that interferes with rooting. To remove it, the cut shoot is placed for 15-20 minutes in a glass of clean water.
Rooting lasts about 20 days. The optimum temperature is + 25 ... + 28.
The poinsettia grows pretty fast. In autumn, the cuttings are planted in pots. They won't bloom this year. At the end of winter, when young specimens shed their leaves and prepare for rest, they are treated in the usual way - they cut the stems and take them away for a month in the dark. Then they take it out and keep it in normal conditions. By the end of autumn, the bushes will bloom for the first time.
Seeds are germinated in wide containers with a transparent lid, filled with loose peat soil. They are laid out with tweezers on a damp surface, lightly sprinkled with earth and close the lid.
The temperature must be maintained in the range of + 22 ... + 24 degrees.
The greenhouse is ventilated daily by removing the lid for a few minutes. Shoots will appear in about 10 days.
The box is immediately opened and exposed to the brightest window. When the real leaves grow, the seedlings dive into separate pots. Further care for poinsettia at home is the same as for ordinary indoor flowers. Plants are watered, fertilized and transferred to ever larger vessels. The root neck after each transplant should remain at ground level.
To get poinsettia seeds, you will need to carry out artificial pollination. Each inflorescence has female and male flowers, but they open at different times - this is how nature made sure that self-pollination does not occur.
For pollination, at least two flowering specimens are required. Pollen is transferred with a wet feather from one plant to another. Very often, pollination fails due to the fact that the flowers of the Christmas star are delicate, quickly fade and fall off.
Pests and diseases
Hybrid poinsettias are hardy plants that are well adapted to living indoors. But sometimes they get sick and damaged by pests.
Possible problems:
| Symptom | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves are falling | Lack of light, water or waterlogging | Adjust watering and lighting |
| The leaves are turning yellow | , lack or excess of moisture | Spray with Fitoverm, adjust watering, feed with complex fertilizer |
| The leaves are stained | fungal disease | Spray with any systemic fungicide (Skor, Topaz, etc.) |
| White cotton wool with dew drops or black sooty fungus appeared on petioles and stems | Wash off individual pests with cotton wool soaked in vodka, in case of mass damage, treat with Aktellik. Subsequently, spray the plants more often with clean water - the worm starts up due to excessively warm and dry air | |
| Leaves and shoots are covered with a gray bloom | Gray rot | Cut off the damaged parts, spray the plant with Fundazol |
How to make poinsettia bloom for Christmas?
Euphorbia blooms in December-February, which is why it is called the Christmas Star. For the plant to bloom for Christmas, you do not need to do anything. Nature itself makes it bloom at this time.
If the holiday is approaching, and the Christmas star does not bloom, it needs to be fed and put on the brightest window.
You can not turn on the backlight to stimulate flowering, artificially increasing the length of the day. Poinsettia is a tropical flower. A long day is stressful for her, so she may not bloom at all this year.
In winter, when it is cold and gloomy outside, we lack bright colors so much, and therefore we try to make up for this deficiency with the help of indoor plants, placing them in all corners of the house. Many green apartment dwellers rest in the winter to start growing in the spring, and there are those for whom winter is the best time to show themselves in all their glory. It is to such plants that the poinsettia belongs. This capricious beauty enjoys well-deserved popularity among flower growers, thanks to its colorful top leaves red, blue, purple , which do not lose their decorative effect for a long time. How to care for this flower at home.
Poinsettia cannot be called a completely unpretentious plant - this beauty possesses a capricious and quarrelsome character, but you can find an approach to it if you create the necessary conditions. The brightly colored leaves (mostly red) that appear on the tops of the stems of this spurge plant are mistakenly considered by many to be flowers, although poinsettia blooms rather inconspicuously.
The Christmas star, as the poinsettia is popularly called, is perceived by some as a temporary guest on the windowsill, but not because this plant dies shortly after purchase, but because the poinsettia no longer wants to “bloom” with its unusual colorful leaves next season. And this happens due to non-compliance with the light regime, or due to the lack of a rest period. So that this mexican beauty for a long time pleased you with her elegant look, try to “make friends” with her, and she will surely reciprocate.
Breeders achieve a wide variety of shades, but red for poinsettia is a classic. At the moment, on the shelves of flower shops you can meet poinsettia not only with red leaves, but also with pink and yellow- care for different varieties is no different, so choose the color to your liking. Also, often, out of a desire to give the plant as much of a “New Year's” look as possible, it is sprinkled with sparkles, and this leads to the fact that the purchased flower quickly loses its decorative effect due to spots that have appeared on the leaves.
Pruning and transplanting a Christmas star
Bringing the poinsettia home do not rush to transplant it immediately and put in a permanent place, to begin with, it must adapt to new conditions, and you will be able to follow the changes in the state of the new plant, and, if necessary, take action.
In the spring, the plant must be cut to half its height (approximately) and transplanted into fresh soil intended for growing euphorbia.
Video when and how to cut poinsettia
Watering
After flowering, you need to reduce watering and move the flower pot to a cooler place so that the plant does not start growing ahead of time. Poinsettia feels great in summer outdoors, in the shade.
Do not use cold water to water Poinsettias. Watering should be regular, but not excessive - as the topsoil dries out.
Top dressing and fertilizer
Poinsettias need to be fed with liquid fertilizers, adding them once a week to the water for irrigation. Also throughout the growing season, "Christmas star" must be fed with complex fertilizer. At home, a green pet should be placed in a bright place without direct sunlight and continue feeding.
Lighting and temperature in the house
Since the plant must spend 12-14 hours in the dark, then in the evening, with the onset of twilight (from 16-17 hours), it must be rearranged in a completely dark place or covered with a dark bucket or cardboard box The room should not be hot, the optimum temperature for poinsettia is no more than 20 degrees."Christmas star" is a "short day" plant, that is, in order to stimulate flowering (in this case, the coloring of the bracts), she needs to be in the dark for at least 12 hours a day.
The best option would be to cover the plant for a couple of months with an opaque cap or put the flower pot in the closet.
Reproduction of poinsettia
Reproduction of poinsettia is carried out by cuttings in spring and summer. Christmas Star - propagated mainly by cuttings, taken from a healthy plant in the warm season, starting from March. Cuttings must have at least five internodes, and root them in water or peat mixture under a bag with a cut corner. You can use a root formation stimulator (phytohormone) according to the instructions. Before the cut cuttings are put on rooting, it is necessary to wash off the milky juice with warm water, otherwise it will clog the vessels and prevent the roots from developing.
When working with this wonderful plant, do not forget about precautions, because the milky juice of all representatives of the euphorbia family is poisonous - if it comes into contact with the skin, it can cause irritation.
Diseases and pests
Members of the euphorbia family often susceptible to the development of root rot, especially if the room temperature is kept low for a long time, so the plants are often flooded even before purchase. Usually this problem is noticeable immediately: crumbling lower leaves, black spots on the tops of the shoots and signs of wilting. If the plant looks even slightly unhealthy, you should not buy it, because it is not known how much the root system could suffer.
Milkweed leaf damaged by pests Before bringing the plant into the house after the "summer holidays", it is advisable to treat it from pests with a suitable insecticide. poinsettia especially subject to attack by scale insects, which is quite difficult to deal with.
Video how to care for poinsettia at home
Evgeny Sedov
When hands grow from the right place, life is more fun :)
Content
Poinsettia is considered the most festive plant due to its flowering period - Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. The Star of Bethlehem flower (another name is Euphorbia) has been known since the time of the Aztecs, who used red pigment to dye textiles and create cosmetics.
Poinsettia care after purchase
Bright scarlet petals in harmony with lush green foliage create a unique ensemble that can decorate any home. It is worth noting that the Christmas star flower is a capricious plant, so even small changes in temperature can cause leaf fall. Proper care of the poinsettia after purchase will help maintain the viability of the flower so that it can please the household for a long time:
- A houseplant will certainly need acclimatization, so you should not rearrange spurge from one place to another. Give him time to get used to the new conditions.
- You should also ensure timely watering of the poinsettia. A beautiful plant does not tolerate drought, but can react negatively to too much soil moisture. It should be watered only when the top layer becomes hard and dry.
Poinsettia transplant and care
Touching spurge during flowering is strictly prohibited: it can lose its bracts. It is better to wait until spring, when only foliage remains on the trunk. In order for the plant to bloom again, the poinsettia transplant must follow the following rules:
- The new pot should be a few centimeters larger than the one in which the plant was grown.
- Carefully removing the poinsettia from the old container, plant it at the same depth.
- You can leave a layer of soil on the roots so that the Christmas flower with red leaves takes root faster.
- Then you need to loosen the soil and add water. It is better not to water the plant through a saucer, because the remaining liquid can cause root rot.
- Some gardeners recommend trimming the leaves before transplanting, but this is not necessary.
soil
High-quality land is the key to further flowering, so you should not collect it in the nearest park. It is better to buy fertile soil in a flower shop, paying attention to the composition. The soil for poinsettia must necessarily contain peat, leaf, clay-turf mix. Do not forget about the drainage layer, which helps prevent root rot.
How to cut a poinsettia
The main condition for the repeated flowering of a plant such as poinsettia is home care and timely circumcision. When the leaves begin to turn yellow at the flower, it's time to get rid of them. The poinsettia should be carefully cut with secateurs, retreating 17 cm from the soil level. This is necessary in order for the plant to bloom again and acquire the correct shape. After this procedure, the New Year's poinsettia flower goes into a dormant period, which lasts about 2 months. Throughout this time, do not fertilize the soil, and the amount of irrigation should be minimized.
How to propagate poinsettia at home
Euphorbia cannot reproduce by seeds in an apartment, so the hostess will have to make some efforts to get a second copy. The easiest way to propagate poinsettia at home is to cut the cuttings from the top. After that, the flower must be treated with charcoal, preventing the development of various diseases that prevent further reproduction. Do not water the plant before the procedure, it should remain moderately dry.
Reproduction by cuttings
The process of propagation of poinsettia by cuttings is distinguished by some features:
- After cutting off parts of the crown, you need to get rid of the poisonous juice by putting the shoots in warm water for half an hour.
- Cuttings should be planted in a pot with peat soil and watered well.
- You need to cover the flower with cling film and leave it in a well-lit place.
- Periodically, the soil must be ventilated so that the cuttings do not rot.
- Once every 3-4 days, you need to moisten the plant, not forgetting to spray the sprouts that have appeared.
- After that, the spurge can begin to feed.
- After a month, the polyethylene protection should be removed.
How to make it bloom
After a long flowering, the plant begins a dormant period. At this time, you need to minimize watering, exclude the introduction of top dressing. To make the poinsettia bloom again, you need to cut it in March or April. This will not only stimulate the growth of milkweed, but also make it more branchy. The temperature during the dormant period should not be higher than 20 ° C, otherwise the Christmas star may die.
Poinsettia care at home should also be competent. It is necessary to limit the access of light to the sprouts. This applies to both natural and artificial light sources. For the formation of flower buds, you need to keep the pot in the dark for at least 8 hours a day. You can cover it with a cardboard box that does not let the sun's rays through. This isolation should last 2-3 weeks. When the buds appear, the plant should be watered abundantly, continuing to fertilize.
Why do poinsettias turn yellow and fall leaves
During the dormant period, spurge begins to throw off foliage, and this is normal. However, if the poinsettia leaves turn yellow and fall off a few days after purchase, there must be good reasons for this:
- temperature difference. The indoor flower does not like the cold, so the pot cannot be leaned against the window and exposed to frost.
- The plant has been in plastic packaging for too long.
- The air is too dry.
- Poinsettias lack moisture or too much water.
- Prolonged absence of light (if this is not a dormant period).
- Invasion of pests.
Why don't the leaves turn red?
What makes a Christmas star blush? This is facilitated by a process called photoperiodism. The alternation of bright light with its absence causes the leaves of the plant to turn red (pink, white, depending on the purchase). What most people mistakenly think of as a flower is actually a bract that is found in the center of the leaf.
Why doesn't the poinsettia turn red? Most likely, the owner did not follow the rules of photoperiodism. In order for a beautiful flower to once again please the household with its beauty, all conditions should be provided. How to care for poinsettia to achieve redness? During the day, you need to expose the plant to sunlight, and in the evening - hide the pot in a dark place. It should be remembered that artificial lighting can also be harmful and disrupt the natural flowering process, so it is better to cover spurge with something.
Video
Did you find an error in the text? Select it, press Ctrl + Enter and we'll fix it!In winter, a beautiful poinsettia, a Christmas star, appears on the shelves of flower shops. We’ll talk about home care today, because many after the purchase simply don’t know what to do with the flower, as a result, the plant often dies.
Poinsettia is a beautiful or Bethlehem star - a tropical plant, the Euphorbiaceae family. It is also called the most beautiful euphorbia. In the wild, lovely bushes reach gigantic sizes, grow up to three meters high.
Although the plant blooms with inconspicuous flowers, it has become a symbol of the Christmas and New Year holidays because of the bracts, brightly colored red. Winter flowering has made the plant very popular in Russia, where there is not enough rich colors at this time.
How to grow poinsettia at home
The plant looks beautiful on the windowsill against the background of snow-covered trees, you can see the beauty for four whole months. Moreover, poinsettias with leaves of pink, burgundy, and white are now bred.
A properly grown, well-groomed and timely cut plant will bloom once a year. Many complain after purchase that the flower quickly loses its decorative effect, sometimes along with the leaves. Below we will look at why this happens. Now we will learn in more detail what to do with the plant so that it becomes an ornament, and not the cause of a headache.
Poinsettia, how to care, photo
To some, the care of a tropical miniature shrub is very difficult. Some even throw away the flower when it begins to shed its leaves, thinking that it is dead. You just need to know a few features when growing poinsettias. Then you can easily achieve annual flowering and even propagate the plant.
What to do with poinsettia after purchase
We usually buy a flower in winter, at the beginning of its flowering. All plants are sold in special transport soil and small pots. This soil in its composition is very poor for a flowering plant. But, precisely because it is impossible to touch a flower during such a period, we do not transplant it, we do not cut it, we do not carry out such actions at all.
The plant brought from the store just needs to be placed on a bright windowsill in a cool room, just do not make a draft.
Most likely, when fading, the poinsettia will shed its foliage, the quality of the soil and the change in the microclimate will affect. But you should not be afraid of this, later it will begin to give new shoots and bloom.
I want to talk a little about choosing a flower. First of all, look deep into the bracts, where the flowers are. We need to assess their condition, they should not be fully opened to the stamens, do not buy a plant with wrinkled, dried flowers, which means that the plant is already fading.
We look at the condition of the shoots, they should be evenly colored, without spots and sit tightly in the ground.
Poinsettia Lighting
Tropical plant with a short flowering day. That is, poinsettia blooms only in winter, when it starts to get dark early in our country. Many do not know this feature and turn on bright lighting next to the flower, thus confusing it.
In normal mode, the flower needs bright light, but not in direct sunlight, otherwise all the decorative effect will go away and in general the flower may get burned.
Most often, the plant is planted on the southeastern windows, so that it has enough light, it is illuminated with lamps. At the same time, it must be remembered that daylight hours cannot be artificially increased by them, otherwise they will not bloom.
Temperature regime
During the flowering period, we reduce the temperature to +14 - +18, most importantly, not lower than +12. In normal times, you can keep +18 - +24, in no case overheat the flower.
Poinsettia reacts sharply to a sharp temperature drop and can even shed foliage, completely refuse to bloom.
When the poinsettia fades and "hibernates", then the temperature and lighting should be reduced. You can rearrange it in a cool shaded room.
Watering
The plant is very afraid of dampness, overflowing is worse for it than a temperature jump. You can not arrange a strict watering regime, for example, twice a week. Humidity and temperature conditions are different in every season. Yes, and a lot depends on the composition of the soil, one dries faster, the other holds moisture longer.
Before watering the poinsettia, check the soil, with your fingers we go deep into the pot as far as possible. At a depth of two centimeters, the soil is still wet, we cancel watering, we wait until it dries completely.
We water the plant with slightly warm water, always filtered or melted. It is better to water from a watering can, a kettle with a spout. We pour water until it begins to seep into the pan. Then pour out the excess from the pan.
top dressing
The poinsettia blooms during the winter, with a dormant period in the spring. Therefore, it is necessary to feed it in the same way as other winter-flowering plants, for example,.
We start top dressing in May and fertilize every two weeks throughout the winter months, we finish in March-April, we focus on the flowering of the plant.
As a top dressing, we use a special ready-made mixture of fertilizers for milkweed. We bring in wet soil, it is better to combine with watering.
What to do after flowering
It is very important to provide the room beauty with the right rest after flowering. The plant expends a lot of energy, especially if it blooms for a long time. Often after that even loses foliage.
I already wrote above, there is no need to be afraid of this, the phenomenon is quite normal. We simply cut off the shoots and remove the pot from a bright place in partial shade. We also reduce watering, we remove top dressing completely. In this state of rest, the plant will be six weeks, the time from March to May.
Poinsettia how to prune a plant
The plant needs pruning after each flowering. The fact is that beautiful red, white, pale pink leaves are formed only on young shoots. In addition, by doing pruning, we subsequently get a more lush bush.
Pruning is carried out at the end of flowering and leaf shedding. Then, with the help of a pruner, we cut off all the shoots, leaving 15 cm above the soil. The main thing is that we have one or two internodes left.
Then, after a while, you will see many young shoots begin to appear. The crown should not be thickened, so we leave no more than five of the strongest processes, cut out the rest. Yes, they can be used as planting material if you need to propagate the plant.
Reproduction of poinsettia
The flower is propagated at home only by cuttings. We cut out the cuttings that grow back after pruning. Requirements for them - strong shoots are needed, 15 cm long, with well-developed leaves.
During reproduction, there is one subtlety, you already know, all plants from this family on the cut secrete a thick white liquid, by the way, poisonous. It dries very quickly and therefore rooting is not always successful.
Then we take a small plastic cup, fill it with soil and just stick the cutting. We water and close the bag, accelerating rooting, in a year the plant can already bloom. We add perlite, coarse river sand to the soil for rooting, so that it is as loose as possible and retains moisture.
It is reasonable to cut the cuttings not only after pruning, but also the apical cuttings. The main thing is not to do this during flowering.
Under cover, water the cuttings frequently to keep the soil moist. After a month, we remove the greenhouse and keep the plant in its usual position, in the fall it should already be transplanted into a real pot.
How to transplant a poinsettia
The plant is usually transplanted when the roots become crowded, often two to three years pass. To do this, take a pot a couple of centimeters wider than the previous one and prepare the soil.
For the soil we will need:
- Two pieces of leafy land
- Part of the peat
- Three pieces of sod land
- Part of coarse river sand
In general, it is easier to buy ready-made soil mixture in the store. We also need pebbles or expanded clay for the drainage layer. We prepare the pot, make drainage, fill the soil, a few centimeters, then by transshipment we move the flower to a new pot, fill the voids with soil.
The transplant is done at the end of the dormant period, when shoot growth is activated, at this time it is easier for the plant to move to a new place.
How to stimulate flowering
The most important thing for us is to achieve flowering so that beautiful leaves appear on top of the shoots.
Starting from October, every evening, at about 5 p.m., we cover the plant with a dark bag, a box, or transfer it to a closet. After 14 hours, it turns out 7 in the morning, we pull it out to its original place.
Such a regimen will be important for our beauty for about two months, only then, when the kidneys are laid, we will return everything to normal conditions. And soon you will notice the appearance of decorative bracts.
Causes of poinsettia diseases
Most often, we observe leaf fall, this is completely normal, at the end of flowering, but it can be a sign of improper care:
- The plant is too hot
- Frozen while you were transporting it
- The flower lacks light
- Draft
Spots, raids, even holes may appear on the leaves, the latter may indicate too high acidity. If the salt content is increased, then you will see a whitish coating on the leaves.
Brown spots often appear along the edges of the leaves, this happens from improper watering, a sharp change in temperature, or unbalanced top dressing.
The plant has a chance to “catch” more serious diseases:
- root rot
- stem rot
- Gray rot
- brown rot
- Marbling of the leaves
For different types of rot, special fungicides can be used, for example, foundationazole. Processing takes place strictly according to the instructions, if the disease is noticed on time, then the plant can be quickly saved, but with the marbling that pests provoke, it will not be possible to expect success, the plant will have to be destroyed.
Sometimes the leaves are covered with a white coating, but not because of an excess of salt. This is powdery mildew, which is easily removed by treatment with a phytosporin solution.
Of the pests on the plant, we can also meet a large number of insects:
- whitefly
- thrips
- Mealybug
- spider mite
- Shchitovki
You can quickly get rid of all of them by treating the plant with a special insecticide, the main thing is to notice the settlements in time, to prevent them from causing severe harm to the plant.
Poinsettia drops leaves in December, what to do
In early December, the plant begins to bloom. But it is at this time that the flower can surprise and throw off the leaves. Most often this is due to climate change (if the flower is brought from the store).
It is worth checking the ambient temperature, rather the poinsettias are just hot. Everything is in order with the temperature, so we look at the condition of the soil, there can also be such a reaction to improper watering.
Try to move the flower, maybe it is in a too dark corner. Just do not immediately need sharp contrasts, a fragile plant reacts to them very painfully.
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