It has become a good tradition to bring a poinsettia bush with bright scarlet large bracts, which are often mistaken for flowers, at Christmas. Real flowers are small, collected in complex umbrellas, and are surrounded by spectacular bracts, reminiscent of radiant stars of various colors: scarlet, orange, cream, white. In this post, I’ll show you how to care for your poinsettia so that a new Christmas Star will bloom in your home every Christmas.
Euphorbia beautiful, or poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Douglas Melmer
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Euphorbia is the most beautiful, or poinsettia (beautiful euphorbiaa) is a plant of the genus Euphorbia of the Euphorbia family. The homeland of the plant is tropical Mexico and Central America.
Flowering period
Poinsettia blooms from December to February. During the flowering period, the plant is placed in a bright and warm place (not lower than +16 ° C), moderate soil and air humidity is maintained.
You can not both fill and dry out the earthen lump. Lack of light causes troubles for poinsettia – colored bracts begin to fall off.
Poinsettia at rest
After flowering, the plant begins a dormant period that lasts until the end of March. At the same time, some of the leaves fall off, but it should be so, this is normal. After flowering, the stems of the poinsettia are cut, leaving only 10 cm. Watering is greatly reduced, practically the poinsettia is kept on dry rations, in a dark place at a temperature of +12 .. + 14 ° C.
Poinsettia transshipment
At the end of March, dormant buds start to grow. Prior to this, the plant is transferred into a larger pot, with fresh neutral soil and good drainage, placed on a light warm (+22 .. + 25 ° C) windowsill, watering and spraying is started more often. 4-5 strong shoots are left on the plant, and the rest are removed.
Poinsettia is fed every 2 weeks with complex mineral fertilizer for growth, since August – fertilizer for flowering.
Poinsettia cuttings
When 6-7 leaves appear on the growing shoots of the poinsettia, they are cut into cuttings 10-12 cm long, put in warm water for several minutes so that the milky juice stops flowing, which clogs the vessels and makes rooting difficult. Poinsettia cuttings are planted in small pots with a mixture of peat and sand.
It is best to place them in an aquarium that replaces a mini-greenhouse, where it is easy to maintain an air temperature of about + 24 ° C, as well as sufficient humidity by spraying the cuttings and watering them regularly.
Roots are formed in 20-25 days. In summer, young poinsettia specimens are transferred into pots with a diameter of 9 cm, in August, the tips of the shoots are pinched to form 2-3 stems.
The same conditions are created for the mother plant (it should be warm and humid). Its growing strong shoots are cut off again and thus complete the formation of a beautiful poinsettia bush, which will surely bloom by December.
Preparing poinsettia for flowering
For the abundant flowering of poinsettia, you need a 12-hour daylight hours until mid-September. From the beginning of October, for 8 weeks with a short 12-hour day, flower buds are laid, but during the rest of the day (from 20 to 8 in the morning), the plant must be provided with complete darkness.
To do this, cover it with a plastic bucket or black paper cap. At this time, the air temperature is maintained within +20 .. + 22 ° С, the poinsettia is regularly watered and sprayed.
Immediately before the poinsettia blooms, the temperature is reduced to + 16 ° C to enhance the color intensity of the bracts and harden the plant.
Cut poinsettia can stand in a vase for up to 2 weeks if fresh sections are dipped in hot water (+ 60 ° C) and immediately put the stems in a vase of cold water.
This gorgeous perennial plant brings extraordinary beauty in the middle of winter and creates a great mood!
