Homemade poinsettia can rightly be attributed to the most beautiful flowering plants. It is especially noteworthy that the period of its flowering occurs in winter. On New Year's Eve, houses are decorated with pots of flowering poinsettias. There is a belief that the plant brings wealth and prosperity to the house, so it is often given as a gift to friends and family. It is not easy to keep flowering, the plant is capricious and demanding on the conditions of detention.
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Description of the species
Under natural conditions, the plant is a shrub up to 4 m high. Its homeland is Mexico. Varieties bred for sale in pots are characterized by short stature, they reach 30-50 cm.
The maximum attention to poinsettias is attracted not by flowers that are small in size and pale in color, but by bright decorative buds of red, pink, white, yellow. The leaves have a juicy dark green color, a shiny surface with distinguishable veins. In shape, they resemble an oval with a pointed tip.
Blooming poinsettias of different types are used to create "living walls"
The flowering period occurs with a shortened daylight hours, it lasts no more than 6 weeks. Small flowers are arranged in rosettes, in place of which boxes with seeds are later formed. Rosettes of leaves in a contrasting color form bright bracts that are above the green foliage.
Their shape is similar to a star, for this plant is often called a Christmas star.
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Not all purchased plants take root at home, many of them die within a week. To purchase a worthy copy, consider the recommendations:
- The soil in the pot must be moist.
- With regular watering, the root system will be strong
- Well, when the plant has a lot of unopened buds, then the flowering period will last
If a flower is sold on the street at a temperature below 5 ° C, then it cannot be bought. Cold air is detrimental to the leaves and flowers of the poinsettia. It is allowed to carry the pot in winter only inside thick paper packaging and a textile cover.
The pot should contain at least 3 developed stems with leaves and flowers.
Healthy plants with a formed crown
The purchased flower at home is placed on a light windowsill at a temperature of 18-22 ° C. The adaptation period lasts 2-3 weeks, during this time the pot is not rearranged. After the adaptation period, the poinsettia can be transplanted.
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Plant care at home
It is difficult to extend the flowering period and keep the plant dormant, but the result fully justifies the effort. Here are the most important points in home care.
Choice of location and lighting intensity
A flowering plant prefers bright but diffused light. If a bright light falls on the leaves, then burns form on their surface. The room where the flower stands must be ventilated, but not create a draft. So that the roots receive enough oxygen, the soil is regularly loosened.
The correct location of the pot on the eastern windowsill
When flowering in winter, poinsettias need to extend daylight hours, for this, backlights are used. If this is not done, the plant may lose some of the foliage. To stimulate flowering during dormancy, the pot, on the contrary, is placed in a darkened room.
Optimal temperature and humidity
A typical room temperature range of 18-25°C is quite suitable for a Christmas star. In a hot room, additional humidification will be required. Traditional spraying results in leaf spotting. You can spray water only at a distance of 15-20 cm from the foliage.
houseplant humidifier
To increase the humidity of the air, a saucer with water, wet expanded clay is placed near the pot, or a special humidifier is used. Excessively dry air provokes the appearance and reproduction of the spider mite, which damages the leaves and stems.
After the plant has faded, it is kept cool at a temperature of 12-14 ° C. At the same time, the temperature drop should not be sharp, the poinsettia can get sick and throw off the foliage.
Irrigation and fertilization regime
The plant is classified as moisture-loving, but in the intervals between watering the soil should dry out from above. It experiences the greatest need for moisture during flowering. In dry air, water the plant 2-3 times a week.
Water that has accumulated in the pan must be removed. This will protect the root system from decay. During the dormant period, watering is carried out 1 time in 5-7 days, focusing on soil moisture.
Fertilization during the flowering period is not carried out. However, after the flowers fall, the plant requires complex top dressing with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. It is possible to use ready-made products for decorative leafy plants. When the plant begins to prepare for flowering, it also requires organic fertilizers: humus, bird droppings, humus. All fertilizers are applied once every 2 weeks.
Complex fertilizer for flowers
Bush pruning and propagation
Decorative bush after flowering must be pruned. If this is not done, the stems will stretch, the foliage will grow larger, but new shoots will not form. When pruning, each stem is shortened, leaving only 10-12 cm above the soil level.
Each segment must have at least 5 buds. In summer, the crown is formed by pinching. Cut stems can be used as cuttings for propagation.
They are shortened to 15 cm, cleaned from the lower leaves. The cut sites are washed to remove the juice, lubricated with a special agent that stimulates root growth.
Rooted cuttings are ready for planting in a separate pot
The processed cuttings are placed in plastic cups with prepared soil to a depth of about 3 cm. The surface of the cup is covered with a film. Their bottom should have several holes for excess water to escape.
Watering is done once a week, only moistening the soil. At a constant temperature of 15-21 degrees and sufficient lighting, the shoots take root in 1.5-2 months.
How to transplant and choose the right soil
The root system of poinsettia develops well in breathable loose substrates. Suitable soil acidity is 5.6-6.5. The best soil composition is a mixture of leafy and soddy soil in a ratio of 2:3.
A little peat and sand are added to the ground. A layer of drainage from large expanded clay is necessarily poured at the bottom of the pot.
Drainage will protect the roots from rotting
It is better to transplant a flower at the end of flowering, then the procedure is easier to tolerate. The best time for a transplant is April-May. In March, the flowers will fade, and the stems must be shortened by 1/3. After the appearance of new leaves, the poinsettia is ready for transplantation.
Here is the recommended sequence of actions:
- An earthen ball is removed from an old pot, trying not to damage the delicate roots.
- The pot is chosen 2-3 cm larger than the previous one in diameter. You can use ceramic, plastic, glass containers with a hole. Drainage is poured at the bottom with a layer of 2-3 cm.
- The flower is placed in a new pot and covered with a fresh substrate.
- In the process of transplanting, the plant can be divided into several new bushes. Each plot should have no more than 6 stems.
- A flower in a new pot should be placed in a warm room with high humidity. Watering and air humidification are required abundant, and top dressing is no longer applied. The new soil contains everything necessary for growth and development.
Difficulties in growing and possible diseases
With improper care, the flower can get sick. The most common problems are:
- The appearance of dark spots on the leaves is due to water ingress during spraying.
- The plant sheds foliage with regular drafts or uncomfortable low air temperatures.
- Bracts and flowers fall off if the root system rots in wet soil.
- The tips of the leaves turn brown, curl in a too dry room.
If at least one problem is observed, then it is necessary to adjust the conditions of detention, the irrigation regime.
A beautiful star attracts various pests. Dry and hot air provokes the appearance of thrips, spider mites, mealybugs. To get rid of pests, you need to wash each leaf with a solution of laundry soap and water.
The treated plant is rinsed with a shower to wash away soap residue and pests.
Spider mite on a poinsettia leaf
You can also use ready-made solutions of insecticides that effectively destroy pests. Prepare the solution according to the instructions on the label.
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Specialists have bred several types of Christmas stars, they differ in the color of the bracts, the shape of the leaves.
Here are the most common varieties:
The classic look is recognizable by the bright red color of the tops. Such flowers are popular in Europe, they include Poitnessia Eckespoint Freedom Red and Mars.
Freedom with red tops
A refined variety, whose popularity in Russia is constantly growing, with light tops. The bracts are white or light yellow in color, the size of the leaves is large, the surface is glossy. The brightest representatives of light poinsettia are Cortez White, Enduring White, Whitestar, Regina.
Blooming Cortez White
Pink bracts have varieties Amazon Peppermint, Strawberry and cream, Silverstar Marble, Peterstar. Their color intensity is different, Peterstar has the brightest tops.
Pink Peterstar in active flowering stage
Variegated varieties Silverstar Marble, Sonora, Sonora White, Monet Twilight, Marblestar, Jingle Bells Sonora have a multi-colored color of bracts. Veins can be white, light yellow, light green. Varieties are highly decorative.
Blooming Sonora with light yellow patches
POINSETTIA
Features of caring for a Christmas star.
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