Plants that bloom in the coldest and darkest winter months can be counted on one hand. One of these "unique" is the most beautiful poinsettia (Euphorbia is the most beautiful, Christmas star). In winter, it blooms with small flower buttons, framed by bright bracts of red, pink, white tones. They give the plant a festive, recognizably "Christmas" look.

Poinsettia is usually bought on New Year's Eve or Christmas Eve as a temporary decoration. After flowering ends and the bracts fall off, the plant is disposed of. This happens because poinsettia is very capricious. For many unlucky flower growers, it rots already in the first months of being in the house, for others it never blooms again. The Christmas star needs special care, taking into account its tropical origin, clear periods of rest and growing season. In this case, it will delight you for many years, blooming anew every December. And it can bloom for 3-4 months! Therefore, it is still worth making friends with her and saving, despite the difficulties.

Poinsettia flowers are small, inconspicuous, but they are framed by bright colorful bracts

Poinsettia has a complex character. She is extremely thermophilic, prefers a temperature range of 12-25 ° C. Summer heat above 25 ° C is negative. It does not tolerate dry air, therefore, in winter, when the batteries are running, it has to be sprayed often. Any cold, draft can also be fatal for a Christmas star. Imagine: this flower in winter needs to be moved away from the window glass so that delicate leaves do not accidentally touch the cold surface. Here is such a sissy!

The finest poinsettia varieties

Poinsettia is usually acquired in winter, during the flowering period. You cannot buy it on the street, at temperatures below 5 ° C. Even a short stay in such conditions is often detrimental to poinsettia. After purchase, you cannot transfer an open plant in the cold. Wrap it in paper, cover with a cloth, and only then take it outside. Otherwise, the poinsettia will get frostbite, the consequences of which can be the most unpleasant: from the falling of the leaves to the death of the plant.

Poinsettia characteristics

Christmas star: care during the flowering period (December - February)

So, you bought a blooming poinsettia and brought it home. What's next? Follow simple steps:

1. Place the poinsettia on a light south, east, or west facing windowsill. In winter, a southern window sill is ideal for her, but with the obligatory shading from direct sunlight.

2. Maintain the temperature at 16-25 ° C. Do not open the vents to keep cold air out of the plant.

3. Provide high humidity. It is advisable that there are no hot batteries under the windowsill that reduce humidity. Dry air has a very bad effect on the plant, reducing its decorative properties (the leaves dry, turn yellow, fall off). Therefore, in winter, spray the poinsettia with warm, settled water 1-2 times a day. Alternatively, use other methods to increase humidity. For example, place the plant pot (including the pallet) in a wide extra pallet filled with damp expanded clay. Or get a humidifier.

4. Water the poinsettia as needed. She prefers moist soil, but without stagnant water and dampness. Watering should be carried out with warm, settled water only after the top layer of the soil has dried. The water from the pallet must be drained, otherwise the soil will become damp, and the roots will begin to rot.

5. A month after purchase, if the poinsettia continues to bloom, feed it with a complex fertilizer for home flowering plants. So you will prolong its beauty, add strength for further flowering.

Poinsettia with proper care can bloom up to 4 months!

Rest period (March-April)

After flowering, the bracts of the Christmas star fall off, and the leaves can partially fly around. The first sign of the end of flowering is the appearance of green leaves over the bracts. In this period:

1. Place the poinsettia in a shaded, cool place with a temperature of 12-15 ° C.

2. Prune the plant. It is enough to leave shoots 7-10 cm high on the poinsettia.

Poinsettia pruning allows you to form a compact, well-flowering bush in the future.

3. Keep watering to a minimum. Between watering, the earthen lump can dry out completely, this will only benefit the "sleeping" plant.

At rest, the home flower Christmas star should stay for 1.5-2 months.

Vegetation period (May - September)

With the arrival of heat, the poinsettia begins active growth: new shoots and leaves appear, and the root mass increases.

With the onset of warm and sunny days, the trimmed poinsettia bush begins to cover with young leaves

The plan for caring for a Christmas star during the growing season is as follows:

1. Transplant the poinsettia into new soil. It should be loose and permeable to moisture. The following composition is well suited: leafy soil, sod soil, peat, sand in a ratio of 2: 3: 1: 1. The pot can be taken slightly larger than the previous one. But remember that the larger the pot, the taller the poinsettia can grow. At home - up to 35-50 cm.

2. Place the plant pot on a warm, light-colored windowsill. Ideally, take it to the balcony or garden. The place of detention should be light, but shaded from direct midday rays. The hot sun can burn the delicate leaves. It is unacceptable to install a pot with a poinsettia in a draft.

3. Ensure the temperature of the poinsettia content is 16-25 ° C.

4. Water the plant sparingly, after drying the top layer of soil 2-3 cm thick. Drain off any water that spills through the tree holes into the sump. Root decay is possible with waterlogging!

5. As a top dressing in the spring-summer period, use universal fertilizers (with the same content of N, P, K) or fertilizers for decorative foliage (with a high N content). With its violent growth, poinsettia responds to the introduction of humus, bird droppings, humus.

6. Start forming poinsettia. As soon as the plant starts growing, choose 4-6 strongest shoots, cut the rest (cut off cuttings can be used for rooting). Thus, a compact, dense crown is formed and a decorative appearance of the flower is provided.

Preparing for flowering (late September - November)

In normal indoor conditions, without observing certain maintenance regimes, the poinsettia may be difficult to bloom. In order for the budding to take place, it is necessary to create conditions for the plant that are close to natural. In its homeland, Mexico, poinsettia blooms after 2 months of short daylight hours with a duration of 10 hours. When keeping poinsettia in living rooms, such conditions are provided artificially. There are several options for how to do this:

Option number 1 - protect the poinsettia from light

Beginning in late September, from 6 pm to 8 am, cover the poinsettia with a cardboard box or an opaque plastic bag.

Option number 2 - provide a natural change in darkness and light

In the fall, place the poinsettia in a heated greenhouse or non-living room with no artificial light. Naturally short daylight hours during this period will be sufficient for her.

Option # 3 - use light barrier

Unfortunately, in normal room conditions, the poinsettia on the windowsill will be illuminated by electrical appliances: lamps, TV screens, etc. Even a small amount of light that goes beyond the norms of short daylight hours can "knock down" the blooming of a Christmas star. If you decide to make your poinsettia bloom on the windowsill, then use blackout curtains as a screen from home light. After 6 pm, pull them tightly so that the poinsettia on the windowsill is in the dark.

All this time:

• water the poinsettia with warm, settled water after the soil dries out in half the pot;
• apply fertilizer for decorative flowering once a week.

At the end of November, after 2 months of short daylight hours, all manipulations can be stopped and the poinsettia can be placed on a light, warm windowsill. Very soon, buds will appear on it, followed by colorful bracts.

The beginning of flowering of poinsettia: buds and colored bracts appear on the apical cuttings Gradually, the bracts become larger, the flower buds open

Poinsettia is the most beautiful: video

How can the most beautiful poinsettia look like, how to care for it to preserve its decorative effect, how to make it bloom? All these questions are answered by the director of the garden center:

Poinsettia or the most beautiful euphorbia (Poinsettia) is a New Year and Christmas flower for residents of European countries. Rosettes of red leaves resemble beautiful stars. The plant amazes with its beauty, uniqueness, originality. Flowers appear in winter, for the holiday of Christmas. Blooming seems to connect to the miracle of birth, prompting people to decorate their homes, acquiring an amazing poinsettia. There are many Christmas legends about this amazing flower.

Bracts - leaves surrounding nondescript flowers - give a fabulous look, the rest of the usual leaves are green. The flowers are not particularly beautiful, nothing remarkable about them: these are small white flowers. It is the bracts, the bright leaves around the inflorescences, that give all the splendor to the plant. Crimson red is now not the only choice. Customers in stores are offered varieties with yellow, pink and spotted bracts.

Buying the most beautiful euphorbia in a store, people sometimes admire the flowering at home only once. The second time, it is difficult to make a flower bloom if you do not know the rules of caring for it. Choosing an unblown Christmas star, you get a chance to bloom as long as possible, even without knowledge of agricultural technology. But as it turned out, taking care of the pusansettia is not difficult if you observe some of the nuances. Trying to make the flower bloom again is a dream of every keen grower, which is quite realizable!

Caring for the poinsettia at home after purchase

Lighting for the christmas star

Flowering is an important period, poinsettia at this time requires an abundance of light. In winter, there is not enough light, the day is too short, additional lighting will be required. The south window is the best place for poinsettia. There is no need to be afraid that the sun will burn the Christmas star, in winter the rays are too weak for this. On the contrary, the plant sheds its leaves when there is a lack of light. Supplement the poinsettia with additional light sources if you notice that it looks painful.

Temperature regime in the care of poinsettia

Many are pleased with the long flowering of poinsettia. The Christmas star blooms in December and gives bright colors until the end of March. It is worth remembering that the cold is detrimental to the flower, you need to protect it from drafts and low temperatures. When buying, you need to take care of the safety of the plant: it is carefully packed and transported in a car.

Provide the plant at home with the usual room temperature - + 18-24 degrees. Poinsettia will also withstand temperatures of 14 degrees above zero, but will not be able to live in it for a long time. In spring and summer, after flowering, poinsettia needs coolness: + 16- + 18 degrees. This will be a kind of dormant period, thanks to which the flower will gain strength for a new flowering.

Watering and humidity

The Christmas star needs a lot of water, the lack of moisture is perceived as very painful. It is necessary to water the pounset with abundant water during the entire growing season. However, daily watering is not always required. You should check if the soil in the pot is dry. It is best to irrigate with standing water at room temperature.

It is important to create optimal conditions, the plant loves moisture, does not tolerate too dry air. Our apartments are heated in winter, so the humidity may not be enough. Poinsettia will be capricious - will throw off leaves, flowers. To avoid troubles, it is enough to buy an ordinary air humidifier, which is useful not only for the Christmas star, but also for human health.

How to feed poinsettia

Buy fertilizers for flowering and treat the beauty with additional nutrition. This will have a positive effect on the condition of the flower, allowing lush leaves and bracts to develop.

• Every two to three weeks during the period of active growth, in the fall, the plant is fed with solutions of complex mineral fertilizers.
• When the Christmas star forms the buds, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are used.

Poinsettia transplant

A transplant is required after flowering. The plant needs fresh soil and more space. The best time for transplanting is the spring months - March, April, May. After flowering, the poinsettia is cut short (more on that below) and transplanted into a looser pot.

Gardening shops sell special formulas for euphorbia, it is best to use them. The composition of the soil includes: leafy soil (2 parts), clay turf (3 parts), peat (1 part), sand (1 part). To ensure excellent absorbency and remove excess water, it is necessary to put an expanded clay layer on the bottom of the pot. The transplant capacity is taken small, slightly freer than the previous one.

How to properly crop a poinsettia photo

During transplantation, the plant can be injured; it is better to transplant it together with a lump of earth by the transshipment method, trying to preserve the integrity of the root system.

Another video will tell you how to trim the poinsettia after flowering at home:

Pruning the poinsettia is necessary for the correct formation of the bush, in order to avoid the formation of many stems, which will be very thin, take away the strength from the plant, which can lead not only to a lack of flowering, but even the death of the plant.

Reproduction of poinsettia by cuttings

Cut off tops will be an excellent planting material. The resulting cuttings are used for rooting.

Poinsettia propagation by cuttings photo and video

• 7-10 cm in length and a few buds are enough for the cutting to become a new viable plant.
• Cut cuttings are slightly air-dried for two hours to stop the release of juice.
• Afterwards, it is desirable to stand in a solution of the root, which will become a good activation for the formation of roots.
• We take soil for milkweed, put it 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 let the temperature drop below twenty degrees Celsius.

Remember that poinsettia is not a completely harmless plant; when pruned, poisonous juice is released. Do not trim work with bare hands, be sure to wear rubber gloves. All accessories are washed with warm water after work. Remember to wash your hands thoroughly. Do not let children touch the poinsettia, keep away from animals. Poisonous juice can cause poisoning.

How to make a poinsettia bloom Caring for a poinsettia after flowering

Poinsettia has sprouted new shoots after pruning and the photo will bloom soon

In order for poinsettia to please with flowering many times, you just need to know the features of the plant's life cycle in natural conditions. By simulating periods of rest and active growth, you can easily achieve beautiful flowering.

Do the following:

• Water with less water when the poinsettia has faded. Leaf shedding after flowering is normal, don't be intimidated.
• When only bare branches remain, all the tops are cut off. Most of the plant should be cut to a height of up to 10 centimeters;
• After pruning, transplant is carried out without damaging the roots, along with the old clod of earth.
• In the summer, a period of dormancy begins, the poinsettia should rest and gain strength before the future flowering in December. It is placed in a cool, dark place.
• At the end of the dormant period of 2-3 months, we put the poinsettia in a bright place, increase the watering.
• They feed the Christmas star at the beginning of active growth of the leaves.

• It is better to remove numerous processes, leaving only a few of the strongest ones. By the way, cut shoots can also be easily rooted.
• The crucial time begins in September. Beautiful flowers for Christmas will be obtained if the necessary conditions are met. Buds are laid in autumn, flowers appear in winter. Many growers have mixed feelings, they do not know what to do to make the flower bloom. In the fall, daylight hours remain long, while poinsettia needs 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 in the light. Water in moderation, 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 get a blooming poinsettia for the New Year and Christmas holidays.

How to care for poinsettia at home Poinsettia transplant video blooming poinsettia

The Christmas Star, also known as Poinsettia, is a deciduous, perennial, shrubby houseplant with the red flowers of the Euphorbiaceae group. Bracts give the plant a gorgeous look - large contrasting leaves at the very top of the shoots. These leaves can be pink, bright red, cream, yellow, and even mottled and bi-colored. They remain on poinsettia for only a few weeks.

The flowers of a room Christmas star themselves are rather inconspicuous - green-yellow, short in length. The family includes quite a few varieties, this is:

• poinsettia is the most beautiful;
• spherical poinsettia;
• poinsettia brilliant;
• poinsettia large-horned;
• poinsettia Mil.

At home, both annual and biennial plants are cultivated.

Flower Christmas star: description

The Christmas star is an indoor plant with a short daylight hours, so this plant blooms with a little light in the winter. The stems are branched, erect, the leaf is rich green or bicolor - with a cream frame, with an orange-red petiole. The flowers are green-yellow, small, collected in inflorescences. Flowering lasts 3-7 weeks.

The finest poinsettia (euphorbia) is a shrub from the euphorbia group that grows naturally in Mexico. If you break a leaf of this plant, then a white juice will come out, which can cause allergies and irritation of the skin.

To keep the previously purchased indoor poinsettia in its most attractive form before Christmas, place it on a sunny windowsill, organize a constant temperature (approximately 21 degrees during the day and at least 15 degrees at night). Water the plant as the soil dries so that water passes through the substrate and out of the drainage hole, but do not let the plant "float". Also, avoid drafts and any effect of cold (for example, touching a leaf to cold glass on a window), since the plant is quite vulnerable and quickly sheds foliage if there is any sign of discomfort.

Flower story christmas star

Beautiful Christmas poinsettia flower has a rather long history... The first connoisseurs of this plant were the Aztecs, who called this flower cuetlaxochitl. From his red flower beds, they obtained a natural dye for fabrics and cosmetics, and they used the white sap of the plant to treat fever.

The population of America saw the most beautiful euphorbia with the help of the botanist and Dr. J.R. Poinsett, (1778-1852). He was the first US ambassador to Mexico under the direction of President Madison. Poinsett's greatest passion was plants and botany. The first time he saw euphorbia in Mexico in 1827, Poinsett immediately sent samples to his greenhouse in Greenville, where he then began propagating the plant and sending samples to various botanical gardens. In 1831, this flower got into commercial production and quickly became popular under the name poinsettia (translated into Russian, the name stuck like poinsettia). The tradition of buying poinsettia for Christmas has passed from the States to Europe.

Christmas flower care

This houseplant prefers diffuse and bright lighting, without direct rays of the sun. In summer, poinsettia should be exposed to bright areas and fresh air (garden, loggia), protecting from direct sunlight, wind and rainfall. If it is not possible to rearrange the flower to fresh air in summer, then you need to periodically ventilate the room.

To make the plant bloom for the New Year, from the beginning of October, you need to maintain a light regime. With the onset of dusk, you need to cover the bush with a dark package that does not let the light through and remove it only in the morning or rearrange the flower in a dark place (the bush should be in the dark for 11-15 hours a day). This must be done for two months, after which the usual care takes place. Longer-term lighting, including artificial lighting, inhibits the formation of inflorescences and enhances foliage development... After a couple of weeks, after using the "short day" tactic, the bush forms the buds of the inflorescences. With the subsequent stay of the plant in this mode, bright bracts appear.

• The optimum temperature during rest is 11-15C.
• The air temperature in winter during flowering is at least 13-15C.
• The rest of the year, the plant does well at normal room temperatures of 17-24C.

Watering

Watered abundantly in the summer, as the top layer of the earth dries up. In winter, it is watered moderately, without creating strong moisture and overdrying the soil - it must be constantly slightly damp.

Rest time

Poinsettia has a pronounced rest time. After the descent of the bracts, the plant goes on a short rest (about 2 months). At this time you need significantly reduce watering(without letting the earth dry out completely), keep the poinsettia in a moderately warm room (11-15C).

Air humidity

The plant needs high humidity. The leaf of a flowering bush should be periodically sprayed with settled, soft and warm water. The poinsettia pot can be placed on a pallet with damp peat or expanded clay.

Top dressing

Periodic groundbaiting after the dormant time has passed will help the flowering begin. It is necessary to feed once every two weeks from spring to autumn with full-fledged mineral dressings of normal concentration.

Transfer

The plant is transplanted every year in the spring (usually in April). In March, the branches are cut off by a third (leaving 4-6 strong buds on the bush) and the bush is rearranged on a sunny windowsill in a warm room. Watered with lukewarm water... When the leaves are formed, the poinsettia is transplanted into a pot, a little more than the past.

The soil is slightly acidic (pH approximately 6). The substrate can be made from leafy and clayey-turf soil, sand and peat in a ratio of 2: 3: 1: 1. Good drainage will be required. After transplanting, the bush is rearranged in a warm place (about 21C) and begins to be well sprayed and watered. Soon, new shoots will begin to form on the plant. It is necessary to leave only a few (4-5 strongest) shoots, and cut off the rest. Cut shoots can be used as cuttings for flower propagation.

Maintain a compact and neat look in the shrub: make sure that the branches of the flower do not grow naked and very long. If this happens, then you can once again cut the shoots a little to make the bush lush.

Reproduction

Propagate the Christmas star in early summer or spring apical cuttings... The prepared cutting must have at least 5 internodes. When cutting off the cuttings, white juice is released - latex, it can be removed with blotting paper, after which the sections are covered with ground charcoal. If latex comes out very abundantly, then you need to place the cuttings for a short time in cool water, and then cover with charcoal. This protects the cuttings from rot, since the sap of the plant clogs the vessels, prevents the cut from tightening, which can infect the plant.

You need to root the cuttings in water or in a loose and moist substrate - sand and peat, taken in equal parts. For more active rooting, growth stimulants (for example, heteroauxin) can be used. The temperature is maintained at approximately 25-27C, the container with cuttings is periodically sprayed and ventilated. After the formation of roots (as a rule, after a month), young bushes are transplanted into small pots. The bush from the cutting is cut, this contributes to better branching.

Security measures

Poinsettia juice is poisonous and can cause violations such as:

• vomiting;
• contact dermatitis;
• diarrhea;
• stomach irritation.

In sensitive people, this shrub can cause pollen allergies. All manipulations with the plant must be done very carefully, preferably with gloves. Upon completion of work, hands should be well washed with soap.

Possible difficulties:

• Due to strong waterlogging of the earth, or with weak watering, foliage can wither or fall off.
• Thrips cause the formation of wavy oblong spots on the leaves and their twisting.
• Significant harm is caused to the flower by insects, which cover the leaves with honeydew.
• In low light, the leaves wither and fall off.
• Leaves may drop unexpectedly without signs of wilting in the wind or very cold temperatures.
• Drying and yellowing of the leaves and even the death of the bush are a sign of spider mite infestation.
• In very dry and hot indoor air, the edges of the leaves turn brown or yellow, and the flowers fall off.

Poinsettias can grow naturally at home only on the south side, in dry and hot rooms. The plant cannot withstand temperatures less than + 11-14 degrees... Poinsettia need a lot of moisture in summer and spring, but watering must be minimal in winter and autumn. Also, the plant does not tolerate changes in temperatures and drafts.

In order for the plant to bloom and the bracts to receive a bright color, the poinsettia must be grown under conditions similar to natural during flowering. It is very difficult to create these conditions for a plant, which are close to the climate of areas of natural growth. Therefore, people far from gardening prefer to acquire a plant every year in winter (at the stage of budding) and then throw it out when the flowering is over and bright bracts will fall off.

But many gardeners “do not raise their hand and do not allow the soul” to throw out the living faded bush, which brought them a lot of joy - since it will be able to bloom and grow further for a long time. If you also want to try to keep your Christmas star until next year out of kindness, for the sake of saving money and interest, then here are some tips on how to do it.

After the plant has bloomed, you need to shorten its branches in half and rearrange the bush in a dry room with a temperature of at least + 11-14 degrees for a couple of weeks with occasional watering. In May, the branches of the bush must be cut again(leaving about 16 cm in length from the ground), transplant the flower into a larger pot, rearrange it in a sunny and warm room and water it periodically.

Soon, shoots will begin to form on the bush, you need to leave only a few of the strongest ones, and remove the rest of the shoots.

Short daylight hours are an important factor for the formation of bright and beautiful bracts and the flowering of poinsettia. In December, inflorescences should form on the plant, then you can rearrange the flower on a sunny windowsill. If proper care has been taken, then at Christmas a grateful poinsettia will be even more magnificent than before, it will color the bracts and start flowering.

Whether you've grown your poinsettia with your own hands or bought a houseplant from the store, it will definitely be the center of attention at Christmas. Do not forget to place the container with the red flower in a beautiful planter and place the bush in a prominent place. You will probably decide to place your poinsettia in the middle of the festive table and surround it with candles or other festive paraphernalia. Traditionally, Christmas comes to any home with poinsettia.

The poinsettia flower in its prime is a very beautiful sight, but short-lived. It has long been considered a symbol of household wealth and comfort. This plant, originally from Mexico, is well known to plant breeders as euphorbia beautiful.

But among the people it is most often called “ christmas star". Because it is during the Christmas period that its bright flowers from the leaves begin to "light up" brightly on our windowsills.

Poinsettia care requires the creation of a supportive environment. Then it will not give you much trouble and will prolong its flowering. This beauty will always be an excellent gift for yourself and loved ones, and using the tips below, you can make a perennial out of her that delights with beauty every Christmas.

Varieties of poinsettia

The first thing you will be confronted with before buying is the choice of the variety. Here are its main varieties when grown at home:

• Oak Leaf is the first artificially bred variety, the shape of the leaves resembles that of oak;
• Cortez Burgundy - deep crimson leaves
• Cortez Red - its leaves are scarlet with dark green veins;
• Premium Red - classic poinsettia, the leaves are pointed, the middle of the flowers-bracts is yellow;
• Premium Miro - white-pink bracts, have some curl and compactness;
• Winter Rose White - delicate milky leaves, their compactness will remind you of a beautiful winter rose;
• White Star is another representative with white at the top of the leaves, they are elongated, pointed and resemble a star;
• Da Vinci - named after the painter, strikes with the gracefulness of pinkish foliage with red splashes;
• Jingle Bells - as if it creates a New Year's mood for everyone, its carmine leaves seem to be enveloped in white flakes.

In fact, there are many varieties of this beautiful indoor flower. From the most innocent whites to deep crimson shades. Choosing your own variety, you can easily get lost in all this variety.

Attention! When choosing a poinsettia, take a close look at it. The stems of the plant should be completely hidden by green leaves, and the bracts should be uniformly and correctly colored. The presence of a green color on the bracts most often indicates the poor condition of the plant.

To buy, you should give preference to heated stores. Unfortunately in open markets, there is a great chance to stumble upon a plant with frozen roots.

What to do after buying a poinsettia

So, the purchase is complete and you, satisfied, bring the poinsettia home. What to do next?

First, choose a well-lit windowsill for her. Keep in mind she does not tolerate drafts! While the poinsettia is acclimatizing, create a room temperature for it at 16-17 degrees.

The habituation process will last for about three weeks. After that, transplant it into the ground, after making good drainage, adding sand and vermiculite there.

This video shows you how to care for a plant after purchase, how to prune it, and how to make it bloom next year:

Pests and diseases of succulent

Of course, this beauty can also be ill. Any non-observance of the rules of caring for her can provoke the development of the disease. In poinsettia, the leaves may begin to turn yellow or pale, the foliage may fall off, the color may become less saturated.

All these "symptoms" indicate that you have waterlogged the soil, put the pot with the plant in a draft, or violated the rest period. All of this can be easily avoided by eliminating the root cause.

Of the pests, this beauty most often suffers from attack by thrips, spider mites and mealybugs... If you identify the problem in time, it will not be difficult to get rid of it. Wipe the plant with soapy water and rinse under a warm shower (but do not overmoisten the soil).

Poinsettia: home care

How to care for poinsettia? In practice, things look pretty complicated. We'll have to provide several conditions for this.

Plants placement

As mentioned above, poinsettia loves lighted places completely hidden from the draft.

In the summer, it is better to take her out into the open air, from this she will only feel better.

If this is not possible, you can simply ventilate the room often (without creating a draft, of course).

If the plant receives little light in winter, it will easily shed its foliage. Therefore, it is important to create additional light sources for it.

Temperature

The optimum and constant temperature for poinsettia is about 17-20 degrees. The extreme lower limit is permissible during the flowering period - 14 degrees. During the rest period, the border can move up to -12 degrees. In general, the main thing is that does not like the plant - this is a sharp fluctuation in temperature.

Particular attention should be paid to air humidity. Excessively dry air causes poinsettia to shed foliage.

Spray the leaves with warm water as often as possible. This will not only lead to her better "well-being", but also get rid of the spider mite.

Watering

In summer, the plant should be watered much more often than in winter, when it has faded.

It is imperative that you do not use cold tap water.

And to prevent excessive formation of moisture in the soil.

Otherwise, the roots can easily rot from this. It is optimal if the soil is of medium humidity.

Top dressing

Poinsettia requires fertilizing with mineral fertilizers every two weeks from spring to autumn. In the summer, it is also necessary to feed the composition of the mineral fertilizer plus mullein solution.

During flowering, mineral fertilizing is not applied... It is enough to use potash fertilizer.

Transfer

In the spring of every year the finest poinsettia needs a transplant. Around March, the stems need to be cut by a third and left in a warm room. It is important in this case that the sun's rays fall there. Drizzle with warm water.

And after the appearance of the leaves, you should immediately transplant the flower into a pot larger than the last one. After transplanting, the room temperature must be maintained at an optimum 20 degrees. Water and spray the poinsettia regularly with lukewarm water.

After the emergence of shoots leave only the five or six strongest of them. The rest of the shoots are removed and can be used as cuttings for further propagation.

Pruning

Since poinsettia grows pretty quickly, after flowering it must be cut off... To prevent unnecessarily large sizes. The poinsettia flower is cut, leaving a height of about 10 cm from the ground.

Reproduction

Reproduction of poinsettia occurs by cuttings in the spring-summer period.

Since there is milky juice inside the plant, the cuttings must first be placed in warm water to drain.

After that, take them out, dry them and root them in a soil consisting of a mixture of peat and sand.

For planting cuttings, two-liter pots are perfect, in each of which you can place two cuttings.

Advice! Many people advise dipping poinsettia cuttings in the root to accelerate growth. If you also want to speed up the process, you can take advantage of this experience.

The poinsettia cuttings are deepened by no more than 1 cm to prevent decay. The temperature is increased, the approximate range is 24-28 degrees. Also, vessels with cuttings will need regular airing and spraying.

Poinsettia after flowering

After the flowering phase, poinsettia inevitably comes rest time.

March-April the beauty does not bloom at all, green leaves appear all over the bracts. Even in such a period, she requires attention to herself:

1. Place her to a shaded place where it will be cool (12-15 degrees)
2. Spend pruning... Shoots 10 cm high will be enough
3. Cut watering to a minimum... You can even let the ground dry out a little from watering to watering.

In this state, the flower will stay for about one and a half or two months.

In fact, caring for a capricious poinsettia is not so difficult. The main thing is to observe favorable conditions for her.

Having done everything right, you will increase its decorative ability several times, and the pots of dense green vegetation with bright flowers will become the object of universal attention and admiration.

The poinsettia flower in its prime is a very beautiful sight, but short-lived. It has long been considered a symbol of household wealth and comfort. This plant, originally from Mexico, is well known to plant breeders as euphorbia beautiful.

But among the people it is most often called "". Because it is during the Christmas period that its bright flowers from the leaves begin to "light up" brightly on our windowsills.

Poinsettia care requires the creation of a supportive environment. Then it will not give you much trouble and will prolong its flowering. This beauty will always be an excellent gift for yourself and loved ones, and using the tips below, you can make a perennial out of her that delights with beauty every Christmas.

Varieties of poinsettia

The first thing you will be confronted with before buying is the choice of the variety. Here are its main varieties when grown at home:

• • Oak Leaf is the first artificially bred variety, the shape of the leaves resembles that of oak;

• • Cortez Burgundy - deep crimson leaves

• • Cortez Red - its leaves are scarlet with dark green veins;

• • Premium Red - classic poinsettia, the leaves are pointed, the middle of the flowers-bracts is yellow;

• • Premium Miro - white-pink bracts, have some curl and compactness;

• • Winter Rose White - delicate milky leaves, their compactness will remind you of a beautiful winter rose;

• • White Star is another representative with white at the top of the leaves, they are elongated, pointed and resemble a star;

• • Da Vinci - named after the painter, strikes with the gracefulness of pinkish foliage with red splashes;

• Jingle Bells - as if it creates a New Year's mood for everyone, its carmine leaves seem to be enveloped in white flakes.

In fact, there are many varieties of this beautiful indoor flower. From the most innocent whites to deep crimson shades. Choosing your own variety, you can easily get lost in all this variety.

Attention! When choosing a poinsettia, take a close look at it. The stems of the plant should be completely hidden by green leaves, and the bracts should be uniformly and correctly colored. The presence of a green color on the bracts most often indicates the poor condition of the plant.

To buy, you should give preference to heated stores. Unfortunately in open markets, there is a great chance to stumble upon a plant with frozen roots.

What to do after buying a poinsettia

So, the purchase is complete and you, satisfied, bring the poinsettia home. What to do next?

First, choose a well-lit windowsill for her. Keep in mind she does not tolerate drafts! While the poinsettia is acclimatizing, create a room temperature for it at 16-17 degrees.

The habituation process will last for about three weeks. After that, transplant it into the ground, after making good drainage, adding sand and vermiculite there.

This video shows you how to care for a plant after purchase, how to prune it, and how to make it bloom next year:

Pests and diseases of succulent

Of course, this beauty can also be ill. Any non-observance of the rules of caring for her can provoke the development of the disease. In poinsettia, the leaves may begin to turn yellow or pale, the foliage may fall off, the color may become less saturated.

All these "symptoms" indicate that you have waterlogged the soil, put the pot with the plant in a draft, or violated the rest period. All of this can be easily avoided by eliminating the root cause.

Of the pests, this beauty most often suffers from attack by thrips, spider mites and mealybugs... If you identify the problem in time, it will not be difficult to get rid of it. Wipe the plant with soapy water and rinse under a warm shower (but do not overmoisten the soil).

Poinsettia: home care

How to care for poinsettia? In practice, things look pretty complicated. We'll have to provide several conditions for this.

Plants placement

As mentioned above, poinsettia loves lighted places completely hidden from the draft.

In the summer, it is better to take her out into the open air, from this she will only feel better.

If this is not possible, you can simply ventilate the room often (without creating a draft, of course).

If the plant receives little light in winter, it will easily shed its foliage. Therefore, it is important to create additional light sources for it.

Temperature

The optimum and constant temperature for poinsettia is about 17-20 degrees. The extreme lower limit is permissible during the flowering period - 14 degrees. During the rest period, the border can move up to -12 degrees. In general, the main thing is that does not like the plant - this is a sharp fluctuation in temperature.

Particular attention should be paid to air humidity. Excessively dry air causes poinsettia to shed foliage.

Spray the leaves with warm water as often as possible. This will not only lead to her better "well-being", but also get rid of the spider mite.

Watering

In summer, the plant should be watered much more often than in winter, when it has faded.

It is imperative that you do not use cold tap water.

And to prevent excessive formation of moisture in the soil.

Otherwise, the roots can easily rot from this. It is optimal if the soil is of medium humidity.

Top dressing

Poinsettia requires fertilizing with mineral fertilizers every two weeks from spring to autumn. In the summer, it is also necessary to feed the composition of the mineral fertilizer plus mullein solution.

During flowering, mineral fertilizing is not applied... It is enough to use potash fertilizer.

Transfer

In the spring of every year the finest poinsettia needs a transplant. Around March, the stems need to be cut by a third and left in a warm room. It is important in this case that the sun's rays fall there. Drizzle with warm water.

And after the appearance of the leaves, you should immediately transplant the flower into a pot larger than the last one. After transplanting, the room temperature must be maintained at an optimum 20 degrees. Water and spray the poinsettia regularly with lukewarm water.

After the emergence of shoots leave only the five or six strongest of them. The rest of the shoots are removed and can be used as cuttings for further propagation.

Pruning

Since poinsettia grows pretty quickly, after flowering it must be cut off... To prevent unnecessarily large sizes. The poinsettia flower is cut, leaving a height of about 10 cm from the ground.

Reproduction

Reproduction of poinsettia occurs by cuttings in the spring-summer period.

Since there is milky juice inside the plant, the cuttings must first be placed in warm water to drain.

After that, take them out, dry them and root them in a soil consisting of a mixture of peat and sand.

For planting cuttings, two-liter pots are perfect, in each of which you can place two cuttings.

Advice! Many people advise dipping poinsettia cuttings in the root to accelerate growth. If you also want to speed up the process, you can take advantage of this experience.

The poinsettia cuttings are deepened by no more than 1 cm to prevent decay. The temperature is increased, the approximate range is 24-28 degrees. Also, vessels with cuttings will need regular airing and spraying.

Poinsettia after flowering

After the flowering phase, poinsettia inevitably comes rest time.

March-April the beauty does not bloom at all, green leaves appear all over the bracts. Even in such a period, she requires attention to herself:

1. Place her to a shaded place where it will be cool (12-15 degrees)
2. Spend pruning... Shoots 10 cm high will be enough
3. Cut watering to a minimum... You can even let the ground dry out a little from watering to watering.

In this state, the flower will stay for about one and a half or two months.

In fact, caring for a capricious poinsettia is not so difficult. The main thing is to observe favorable conditions for her.

Having done everything right, you will increase its decorative ability several times, and the pots of dense green vegetation with bright flowers will become the object of universal attention and admiration.

The poinsettia flower (poinsettia) belongs to a small class of perennial ornamental indoor plants that bloom in December. In Europe and the countries of America, where Christmas is considered the main holiday of the year, the lush flowering of a beautiful bush on the eve of the holidays comes in handy. Due to its unusually spectacular appearance (brightly colored bracts form a star shape) and flowering time, poinsettia is considered a symbol of Catholic Christmas not only in European countries and the United States, but also here in Russia. It is often called the Christmas or Bethlehem star. In this article, we will tell you how to properly care for poinsettia at home so that it will delight you with flowering every year.

Blooming poinsettia, along with traditional conifers, is the main decoration of the room and the festive table on the eve of the New Year holidays. Often it is presented as a gift to loved ones for Christmas and New Year. What is this flower?

Poinsettia (Latin Poinsettia) is a plant from the genus Euphorbia of the Euphorbia family. Translated from Latin it sounds like this: Euphorbia pulcherrima. The tropics of Central America are considered the birthplace of the flower - it was in southern Mexico that it was first discovered. Mexico's first American minister with a passion for botany, Joel Roberts Poinsett, admired the beauty of the beautiful milkweed and cultivated it in his greenhouse. The flower got its name in his honor. In 1828, Poinsettia was brought to the United States, where it was successfully grown in greenhouses and botanical gardens. A couple of years later, the Christmas star has already appeared in Europe, where it quickly spread as a decoration for Christmas. In Russia, the most beautiful Euphorbia began to be used to decorate the interior for the New Year holidays not so long ago, at the end of the 20th century.

In natural conditions, the Poissettia reaches 3-4 meters in height.

In the wild, the most beautiful Euphorbia grows in the form of an evergreen perennial shrub and reaches enormous sizes - up to three to four meters in height. It grows in hot dry places, where moisture gets only periodically. Its dark green, jagged leaves are ovoid, elliptical in shape. Their length reaches 10 - 15 cm. Poinsettia blooms with small yellowish-beige flowers, which are collected in inflorescences in the form of rosettes. Before flowering, brightly colored bracts appear on the plant around each rosette with flowers, which last up to several months and provide a luxurious appearance of this shrub.

Under indoor conditions, this flower does not grow above 30 - 40 cm. The length of the bracts is up to 10 - 15 cm, the width is 6 - 8 cm, the diameter of the peduncle is 20 - 30 cm. In wild species of poinsettia, the bracts are only red. The bright red bracts, towering over the dark green foliage, are considered classics of the genre. Breeders have developed varieties with bracts of other shades. Often, flower growers grow hybrids in indoor conditions, in which the bracts are pink, white, burgundy, yellow, and even bicolored and variegated.

Is poinsettia poisonous?

A distinctive feature of all milkweed plants is the presence of milky sap in its tissues. Some people think this juice is poisonous. But this is not the case. To get poisoned, a person or an animal needs to eat 500 pieces of this plant at once. The only threat when the juice of a flower gets on the skin is the risk of dermatitis in people who have an individual intolerance to the milky juice secreted by all plants of the euphorbia family. If you are one of them, work with gloves and wash your hands thoroughly after any contact with the plant. Scientists have long proven the harmlessness of poinsettia to human and domestic animal health.

It is a well-known fact that the ancient Aztecs used poinsettia's milky juice to make medicines for fever, and dyes for fabric and cosmetics were made from the bright petals of the bracts.

Varieties

Let's introduce you to some of the poinsettia varieties.

Most Poissettia varieties have a red bract.

Bright red bracts are characteristic of the following varieties: Sonora, Olympia, Galaktika, Annette Hegg Dark, Angelica, Barbara Eck Suprem, Goldfeinger, Emperor, Capri, Coco Red, Cortez, Xenia Red, Millennium, Premium Red.

In the Winter Rose variety, the scarlet bracts are unusually wrapped, which makes this poinsettia look like a rose.

The Champion variety has a paler red bracts, while the Red Jester variety has dark streaks on the red stipules. Pure scarlet bracts are found in the Red Diamond and Svoboda varieties.

Gentle pink bracts have the following poinsettia varieties: Annette Hegg Pink, Da Vinci, Dorothy, Festival Rose.

Pure white bracts are of the following varieties: Annette Hegg White, Sonora White, White Star, Cortez White.

The white bracts of the Regina variety have green veins.

Cream-colored bracts adorn the following poinsettia varieties: Marble, Regina, Pink Ribbon, White Freedom.

The Maren variety impresses with a milky pink-tinged flower garden, while the Silver Marble is characterized by pink stipules with a white border. The variety "Strawberry with cream" has pink - purple bracts with jagged edges.

How to choose a poinsettia

It is sometimes extremely difficult for beginners to achieve flowering of Poinsettia in indoor conditions. Therefore, if you want to please your loved ones with an unusual gift on Christmas, consider purchasing a plant ready to bloom at a flower shop. And after the holidays, try to preserve it for many years.

Make a purchase in advance, at least a month before the holidays. It is better to choose a specimen from unpackaged plants, which you can clearly see from all sides. It should not have withered, twisted or diseased leaves. Take a good look at the back of the leaves for insect pests. The potting soil should not be damp to the touch. If so, the plant may have been improperly maintained and the root system is affected by gray mold.

The flower should look healthy and attractive. It should be smooth, beautiful, leafy on all sides. The stem should be evenly covered with dark green leaves. Pay attention not to the bracts, but to the flower buds. It is better if they have not yet opened - then the flower will bloom longer. Bracts should be free of pollen. If the leaves are yellowish in color and with pollen, it means that the flowering has already begun, perhaps, soon the Christmas star will shed its outfit. The temperature in the store room must be above 15 degrees, otherwise the roots of the plant may be frozen. You'd better refuse to buy suspicious copies.

When you choose a plant that is suitable in all respects, try to create favorable conditions for it during transportation. When the air temperature outside is below 15 degrees, and in winter there may be sub-zero temperatures, the flower must be carefully wrapped in thick paper, placed in a spacious box or bag - fragile poinsettia leaves may be damaged in tight packaging, and the decorative effect of the flower will suffer. At home, immediately remove the wrapping from the flower.

We remind you that during the cold season it is absolutely forbidden to buy poinsettia in the subway, in the markets or in unheated shops.

How to care for poinsettia after purchase?

If you bought a Christmas star just before the New Year holidays, then it is better to postpone the transfer. For several days, the pot should not be touched at all and rearranged from place to place - let the flower acclimatize in new conditions, preferably not far from the south window. Yes, and you should not transplant a flower during flowering - it can lose its elegant bracts. You will have to suffer with the transplant until spring. Begin to lightly feed the poinsettia with potash and phosphate fertilizers, designed for flowering houseplants, every two weeks, until it blooms. Remember to water the blooming star sparingly and keep the room at a comfortable temperature and high humidity.

If you purchased a poinsettia in early autumn, then in a couple of three weeks it will completely get used to its new place of residence and it can and should be transplanted into a beautiful pot with nutritious soil. Because the substrate in which the flower for sale was grown does not usually contain sufficient nutrients and is not suitable for long-term growing of plants in it.

Poinsettia home care

Location and lighting of the flower

Poinsettia loves bright, but soft, diffused light. Choose windows facing west or east for her. But place the pot not on the windowsill, but on a table or shelf near it, since direct sunlight is unacceptable for the leaves. In summer, it is possible to take the flower pot out into the open air, just protect the flower from direct sunlight, drafts, precipitation and wind.

Poinsettia doesn't like hitting direct sunlight best

In winter, it is not advisable that the delicate poinsettia leaves touch the cold window glass. You can not place the pot in front of an open window - low temperatures and drafts will have a detrimental effect on the health of the plant. For normal lighting in winter, the rest for poinsettia is usually six to eight hours. However, in regions with very short daylight hours, less than 6 hours a day, the plant will have to organize additional illumination using a phyto lamp or fluorescent lamp. If you take care of additional lighting of the flower in January, you can slightly extend its flowering.

Temperature

The optimal temperature in the room for poinsettia during the year is considered to be 20 - 25 grams. Too high a temperature of the content of the flower can negatively affect the formation of the peduncle in the future. Although, in winter, during the flowering period, it is enough to maintain a temperature of 18 - 20 grams. At temperatures below 15 gr. the plant can get sick and die. Remember this when you open the window in winter to ventilate the room. The flower does not tolerate drafts, it does not like sharp fluctuations in temperature. Therefore, you should not put a pot with a plant near heating appliances and non-insulated window frames.

Humidity

Like all tropical plants, poinsettia thrives in high humidity. You should especially monitor the humidity indicators in summer, when it is hot indoors and outdoors, and in winter, when heating devices are operating at maximum. It is advisable to spray the air around the plant with warm water daily, while not getting on the leaves, so as not to spoil their appearance by the appearance of spots. During the dormant period, from February to March, air spraying can be stopped, and from April, that is, from the moment new shoots appear, spraying must be resumed.

You can increase the humidity in the room by placing the flower pot in a tray of wet pebbles. A wide container of water installed near the plant and a damp towel on heating devices will also help.

Watering

Watering the poinsettia in spring-summer-autumn should be regularly watered with soft, settled water at room temperature. It is necessary that the water moistens the entire earthen lump in the pot. Drain excess water from the pan twenty minutes after watering. Do the next watering no earlier than the topsoil dries up from the previous watering. But also do not allow the soil in the pot to dry out completely - you will lose all the leaves. If you see that poinsettia leaves begin to wilt between waterings, urgently pour a little water on it. And then water as usual, at the right time - perhaps the interval between waterings was too long, or the room was too hot and dry. In summer, it is better to water the flower more often, but in moderation, so that the water does not linger in the soil for a long time. During flowering, in winter, it is important to water the poinsettia with warm water, the temperature of which is a couple of degrees higher than the indoor air temperature. Otherwise, the flower may shed its beautiful leaves.

Soil and pot

The plant will live in a pot for 2-3 years, so it should be spacious

For poinsettia, a loose nutrient mixture of turf, leafy soil, sand and peat in equal amounts is suitable. The acidity should be close to neutral. Choose a pot that is spacious so that the plant grows in it for at least two to three years, the same in height and width. A pot that is too large can retain excess moisture, and with frequent watering and poor drainage, the roots can rot.

Top dressing

They begin to feed the plant in the spring, after the end of the dormant period or a month after transplanting into new soil. Enough once every three weeks. Use complex liquid or granular mineral fertilizers for indoor flowers. So until the fall. In preparation for flowering, in early autumn, you can add potassium and phosphorus salts. During and after flowering, during dormancy, it is not necessary to feed the poinsettia.

Transfer

Poinsettia is transplanted every two to three years in the spring, at the end of April, by transferring an earthen coma into a new pot, two to three cm larger in size.A layer of drainage material, for example, expanded clay, should be laid on the bottom, then a part of the prepared fresh soil should be poured. Place an earthen lump with a flower in the center of the pot, being careful not to scatter it or damage the fragile roots of a tropical star. If you do damage the roots or see that the poinsettia has dead roots, trim them off with a clean tool. Treat the cut sites with activated carbon. Fill the empty spaces with soil so that no voids form in the pot, so that all the roots are in the ground, but there is enough space on top for watering. Moisten the soil thoroughly after planting.

Video: how to trim and transplant poinsettia in spring

All operations with poinsettia are best done with gloves, since the milky sap of the plant in sensitive people can cause allergies or dermatitis. You shouldn't taste it either. Believe me - it is bitter and not tasty!

Dormant period

Quite often, after flowering, the poinsettia is simply thrown away in order to get a new one by next Christmas, as we throw away a live tree after the New Year. This is more typical of the inhabitants of America and Europe. Our growers try to preserve the tropical beauty, and after flowering, they properly look after the Christmas star all year round, so that by the next New Year's holidays it will again enchant the owners with its splendor.

Poinsettia bloom ends in late January - February. Then comes a period of rest. We learn about this by the young green leaves above her bracts. The bracts themselves wither and fall off, the poinsettia falls asleep.

Your actions:

Cut the stems of the plant to 15 cm in height, leaving four to five buds on each. Cut off excess shoots, give your bush the desired correct shape.
Move the flower pot to a cool room with a temperature of 16 - 18 grams. Reduce watering to once every 10 days, but make sure that the earthy ball does not dry out completely. Stop feeding.

The resting period for poinsettia usually lasts one and a half to two months. When you see that new shoots have begun to grow, take the flower to a warm, bright place. Start caring for him according to the rules described above. If the time for transplanting has come, it's time to transplant the plant into a new nutrient substrate. The bush will begin to grow actively, young shoots will appear. The flower can be in the shape of a tree or a bush, you choose. In the first case, you should leave only one trunk, and in the second, leave two or three of the most powerful stems. Leave five to six strong young shoots on each stem. Delete the rest. Powder the sections with crushed charcoal. As young shoots grow, their tops are pinched - then the poinsettia will begin to bush better. After a month and a half, start feeding poinsettia with complex fertilizers for decorative deciduous indoor plants. In August, usually the last time they pinch the grown shoots so that they have no more than five leaves. If your poinsettia was outdoors in the summer, then it is brought into the room - at night the air temperature drops sharply. In the fall, watering is slightly reduced, they begin to feed with fertilizers with potassium and phosphorus.

Blooming Christmas Veil

How to make poinsettia bloom for Christmas at home? In early September, carefully examine your bush. Leave only strong shoots and remove weak ones. For the normal formation of flower buds, the Christmas star needs a short day of light, no more than 10 hours. For at least 14 hours, the flower must be in complete darkness for the successful laying of flower buds. And the short day period should last about one and a half to two months. Therefore, from the end of September to December, the flower is artificially shaded, for example, from 6 pm to 8 am with a dark bag or cardboard box. Otherwise, poinsettia will continue to form normal leaves rather than bracts. At the same time, they are trying to reduce the temperature of the flower content to 18 - 20 grams. These moments are very important for the formation of buds and bright coloration of future bracts.

Bracts acquire a bright red color closer to New Year's holidays

Poinsettia flowering time

In a couple of months, at the end of November, small greenish formations, similar to small buttons, will appear on the tips of the shoots of the plant. Watch the development of the buds and you will see that they become more noticeable every day. Throughout autumn and December, the leaves of the bracts also grow - they are arranged spirally. It's time to return the pot to its original, warm and bright place. Closer to the New Year holidays, the bracts acquire a bright color, most often red, which gives the indoor flower a chic festive look. Some unknowingly consider these bright and unusually beautiful bracts to be poinsettia flowers. In January, the bracts reach their maximum size and brightness, after which they begin to fade and fall off. The plant enters a dormant period again. If you organize a high-quality wintering for your star, she will properly rest, regain her strength and next year she will thank you with a gorgeous flowering.

Reproduction

In the wild, the reproduction of Euphorbia occurs with the help of seeds.

In indoor floriculture, for the propagation of poinsettia, plant cuttings are usually used - both apical and stem. You can use the shoots left after pruning the plant. Rooting is possible at any time of the year. But young shoots, obtained in the spring, after the end of the dormant period of the flower, take root best of all - at this time new buds are formed and the shoots grow and develop rapidly.

At home, poinsettia is propagated by cuttings.

Ideally, the cutting should have five internodes. The bottom cut is made under the knot, it should be oblique. The lower leaves are removed. Milky juice must be washed off, then dried with a clean napkin so that the vessels of the shoots are not clogged. Cuttings are rooted in pots with a drainage layer and a soil mixture of high peat and sand. Cuttings are planted in a moist substrate to a depth of 2 cm. It is advisable to use the drug Kornevin for rooting. Cover the pot with plastic wrap or a cut off top of a plastic bottle and place it in a warm, bright place. It is possible on the insulated windowsill. Rooting temperature should be in the range of 22 - 25 grams. periodically the greenhouse is moistened and ventilated. If rooting occurs in summer, protect your seedlings from direct sunlight. After a month, the cuttings should have roots. After another couple of weeks, they can be transplanted into separate pots with a diameter of 8 cm in nutritious loose soil of leafy earth, peat and sand. To prevent young seedlings from stretching, pinch their tops. Next, take care of them as for adult plants.

Poinsettia diseases

The health of your Christmas star is directly dependent on the conditions in which it is kept. All problems - from elementary neglect of the rules of caring for poinsettia at home. Let's take a look at some of them.

• If a gray bloom resembling mold appears on the inflorescences and stems of the plant, and the leaves are covered with brown spots, then your Christmas star is most likely sick with gray rot. The disease was provoked by high humidity and excessive watering. To eliminate gray rot, the following chemicals are used: Skor, Celandine or Fundazol;
• If the leaves on the poinsettia turn brown-black, begin to curl, wither and die off, most likely, the plant has become infected with Fusarium.
• If the shoots and leaves of the poinsettia are covered with a white bloom, most likely the plant is sick with powdery mildew. At the first signs of a disease, treat all parts of the flower with Topaz or Fitosporin-M fungicides;

• If the poinsettia leaves turned yellow and began to fall off, then the reason may be a violation of the temperature regime. The flower does not tolerate sharp fluctuations in temperature, drafts, at temperatures below 15 grams. its roots freeze;
• Poinsettia leaves also turn yellow in poor lighting, with waterlogging of the soil, when it dries out, with low humidity of the ambient air. To avoid this problem - maintain the temperature regime, spray the plant, water regularly and moderately, provide bright, but diffused lighting - and everything will go back to normal;
• If traces of burns appear on the leaves or the color of the bracts begins to fade, then the reason may be that the plant is exposed to direct rays of the sun. Change the place of residence of the flower, move it to a more shaded place, or shade the bush with a curtain or blinds;
• Root decay will occur due to constant waterlogging of the soil in the pot or poor drainage. You may be forgetting to remove excess moisture from the sump after watering abundantly. Remove the plant from the pot, examine the roots. If only some areas of the root are affected, remove them with a sharp, clean tool, treat with some fungicide and transplant the flower into a new pot with loose nutrient soil and good drainage. Water sparingly, remove excess water from the pan on time;
• Poinsettia does not tolerate cold at all. Even a short stay in the frost will have a detrimental effect on a perfectly healthy plant - the leaves will begin to fall off, and soon the roots will begin to die off;
• If the flower has too small bracts or they change color, then this is due to a lack of lighting during the formation of buds and the complete color of the bracts;
• If you bought a beautiful plant, and upon arrival home it has thrown off all the leaves, then the most likely reason lies in the hypothermia of the poinsettia. Remember, maybe you bought a flower in a dubious place - in the subway, in the market. Or the temperature regime for keeping flowers was not observed in the store. Or you packaged the plant poorly while transporting it home.

Pests

Video: Secrets of Poinsettia Care

We introduced you to another tropical beauty - poinsettia or Christmas star. Caring for her is not so difficult, every novice florist can grow this bush. But only very patient and responsible lovers of exotic will help this miracle - the plant bloom on the eve of Christmas and New Year and become a decoration of the festive table. We are confident that by following our recommendations, you will become the owner of a luxurious DIY-grown Christmas star.

Poinsettia starts to appear on sale closer to Christmas. This flower is associated with the Christmas and New Year holidays. This is due to the fact that the purple flowers of the poinsettia appear just at this time of the year. Hence the second name of the most beautiful Poinsettia was born - "Christmas Star". Moreover, its inflorescences are so similar to bright stars. This plant is also called the "Christmas miracle", "the star of Bethlehem", "the most beautiful milkweed."

Poinsettia belongs to the euphorbia family. Natural places of its growth - Mexico, Guatemala and other parts of Central America. There, the flower can be found on the moist shady slopes of the mountains. Poinsetia was known to the ancient Aztecs. They used the dye extracted from the scarlet bracts for their war paint and tissue dyeing, and the milky juice was used for medicinal purposes.

• In the wild, the plant grows up to 3 meters in height, but it can be half as much. The growth form of poinsettia is shrub.
• The leaves are dark green, oval, pointed at the end; in some species, have a slight pubescence. They grow quite large, up to 10-15 cm in length.
• What many mistake for poinsettia flowers are just bracts. The flowers themselves are small, yellow, collected in an outlet.
• In a wild plant, bracts are red. The selection of the flower made it possible to obtain other colors: white, yellow and two-tone. It is the bracts that make the poinsettia so decorative.
• Flowering occurs from December to February, after which the plant is most often thrown away, using it as a one-time bouquet.

Popular varieties

Growing and flowering conditions

Even if you buy a plant for only a few months and are not going to preserve it, it needs to create comfortable conditions in the house. Some people feel sorry for throwing out a flower and they decide to extend its life and get a second bloom already at home. Let's talk about how to achieve this.

For the "Christmas miracle" to bloom, certain conditions must be created, namely, to provide short daylight hours. It is recommended to do this starting in mid-October. This is not difficult to achieve, but regularity is needed. Every day, the plant is harvested in a dark place, starting from 18-00 to 8-00 in the morning.

It can be a closet or just a closed cabinet. You can do it differently by providing the plant with darkness under a black dense bag. This procedure promotes the formation of flower buds. The period of short daylight hours should last 2.5 months.

In December, flower buds will begin to develop, and the bracts will gradually change their shade. They stop darkening the "Star of Bethlehem", reduce feeding and put the flower pot in a bright, warm place with a temperature of 20 ° C, providing it with regular watering with warm water. Now this symbol of Christmas will definitely delight everyone with its elegant look.

Poinsettia has faded, what to do

The "Christmas star" blooms in early March. If you want to keep it until the next flowering, watering is gradually reduced, the flower dries up and sheds its leaves and goes into a dormant stage.

The shoots are cut to half the length and the pot with the plant is removed to a cool, dark place (for example, a basement), where they are kept at a temperature of 10 ° C. It is necessary to water the poinsettia rarely and sparingly so that the earthen lump does not dry out completely. The rest period lasts 1.5-2 months.

Poinsettia (Christmas star): home care

Not everyone knows how to provide an exotic plant like poinsettia with proper care. Meanwhile, there is nothing difficult in this, especially if there is information on how to properly handle it.

Poinsettia enters the house on the eve of the Christmas holidays in its most active stage - at the time of flowering. The bush must be well formed and have a large number of leaves. Bracts should be brightly colored, do not take greenish ones.

Helpful advice! When choosing a plant, examine it and buy a copy on which no traces of pollen are still visible - such a flower will last longer in a festive decoration.

Check how healthy the plant is: whether it has dry or twisted leaves, dark spots, traces of pests, mechanical damage. Do not buy a flooded plant, it may have rotten roots. It is better to choose an adult bush, which is 2-3 times larger than the pot - such a plant looks more spectacular. When transporting the poinsettia, it must be well packed to protect it from the cold.

Give the flower time to adapt to your home. Postpone the transplant until spring, when the plant has finished blooming. Place it on a bright window and keep it at a temperature of 18-20 °. If the temperature is below 14 ° C, the bush will die. In order to bloom longer, it is recommended to organize a backlight.

The first days after buying the "Christmas star" it is better not to water it, but to spray its leaves, trying not to get on the bracts. A little later, watering resumed

The backlight near the plant is left for the entire time of its flowering. A fluorescent lamp or a special plant lamp is suitable for this. It is necessary to avoid drafts in the care, temperature drops, proximity to heating devices - all this will negatively affect the poinsettia.

On a note! To increase the humidity of the air, the flower itself and the air around it are sprayed every day from a fine spray, avoiding the ingress of water droplets on the bracts.

Watering in the winter should be moderate. You need to wait until the top layer of earth in the pot dries out and only then water the flower. It is advisable to defend water for irrigation for at least 2 days. The soil in the pot is poured to the bottom, the excess water from the pan is drained after a few minutes.

This is important to know! If you dry out the earthen lump and the poinsettia leaves have lost their elasticity, you cannot water it abundantly. First, moisten the soil moderately, and after a while, water the flower again.

In May, after a dormant phase, the poinsettia begins to be watered, increasing the volume of water with each watering. This will stimulate the growth of green mass. The higher the air temperature in summer, the more often the plant is watered.

Fertilization for the "Christmas star" begins after exiting the dormant period and continues until the next resting phase begins. Thus, the period when poinsettia is fertilized lasts 10 months a year - from May to February.

Fertilizer is applied every two weeks immediately after watering. Mineral complexes, organic matter, fertilizers based on vermicompost are used as top dressing. They can be alternated with each other.

How to grow poinsettia: video

Poinsettia pruning is carried out once a year, before the plant is sent to rest. The signal to start the procedure is wilting and loss of leaves. Unknowingly, it may seem that the plant is dying, but this is not true.

Each shoot is shortened so that from 3 to 5 dormant buds remain on it. In the future, young stems with an abundance of new leaves will grow again from them, the bush will be updated, compact in shape. To form a strong bush, 5-6 shoots are left on it, no more. So that the plant does not grow excessively over the summer, you can pinch the crown from time to time, but only until August. Then the laying of future inflorescences already begins.

Until the dormant period is over, there is no point in replanting poinsettia. It must be transplanted before active growth begins. Start the procedure as soon as new leaves appear on the shoots. The soil must have neutral acidity, the following components are taken for it:

• 3 parts of loam or sod land;
• 2 pieces of leafy land;
• 1 part peat;
• 1 part sand.

On a note! The sand should be coarse, small grains of sand make the soil less breathable.

In order not to disturb the roots of the flower with a transplant, make it by transferring an earthen coma, carefully shaking off pieces of soil from the lowest roots and from the top layer. The new pot should be a couple of centimeters larger in diameter and height.

Be sure to put expanded clay drainage on the bottom. Then a little earth is poured in and the plant is placed vertically in a new container. Little by little, earth is added near the walls, filling the pot to the top. At the final stage, the soil needs to be lightly compacted and watered.

Spring cropping and transplanting poinsettia: video

Poinsettia is capable of propagating by seeds and vegetatively. At home, the seed method is practically not used due to its inexpediency. In the natural habitat, the seeds of the plant are carried by the wind, after which new specimens appear on the mountain slopes. It is very difficult to achieve seed germination by artificial means, therefore flower growers propagate poinsettia by cuttings.

The youngest shoots are selected for cutting cuttings. It is best to cut off the top of the head up to 7 cm with 3-5 developed kidneys. The cut is made directly under the knot. The cuttings should be washed in warm water so that the milky juice does not form a film that interferes with the formation of roots, and then placed in a growth stimulant solution for 12 hours. Before planting, the cut is treated with crushed coal in order to prevent decay.

• In a container with a substrate, the cutting is buried no more than 1 centimeter.
• The soil for planting should be loose and fertile, have a drainage layer underneath.
• The container is placed in a bright and warm place inaccessible to the bright sun and covered with a film, creating a greenhouse effect.
• The soil is regularly moistened by spraying, and the shelter is raised in order to ventilate the seedlings.

The roots appear in about a month. From this moment, the growth of the aerial part of the plant begins. As they grow, the bushes are transplanted into a large container, and the growing shoots are pinched, forming a compact lush crown at the poinsettia.

Poinsettia are characterized by many diseases common to all plants, but there are also specific diseases. What is the problem with the "Christmas miracle"?

Of the pests on poinsettia, there are: thrips, scale insects, aphids, worms, whiteflies, mushroom gnats. The earlier pests are noticed, the easier it is to get rid of them. It is necessary to carry out the treatment with soapy water 2-3 times with an interval of 7 days.

Against the scale insect and the worm, you can spray the bush with mineral oil - under the oil film, the pests will suffocate. If these measures do not help, insecticides such as "Atkara", "Commander", "Iskra" and others are used.

Growing problems

Problems with the appearance and health of the plant can be caused by improper care.

If the leaves turn yellow at the edges, after which they turn brown and fall off, the problem is in the salinity of the soil. Watering with too hard water and rare transplants leads to this, due to which harmful impurities accumulate in the substrate. Water for irrigation must be defended, or melt and rainwater must be used.

The reason can also be too dry air in the room, waterlogging or drying out of the soil, lack of lighting, too sharp temperature drop. In addition to the above, natural causes lead to yellowing and leaf fall - when at the end of February the plant prepares for rest, it throws off its leaves and goes into a dormant stage.

To change the color of the bracts, the poinsettia must be kept in a short daylight regime for 2 months. How to do this - we described above. Without this, its leaves will remain green, alas.

It happens that the bracts turn red, but in places they remain green, have an uneven color - this is caused by temperature changes during the staining period. Maintain a stable temperature regime, do not open the window on the window where the poinsettia stands, do not transfer it from one room to another.

In addition to natural causes, when the plant prepares to rest, leaf wilting can occur with insufficient watering. It is enough to saturate the earth with moisture and the leaves will fill up, regain their turgor.

By wilting the leaves, poinsettia can react to a sharp temperature drop, burn the roots with fertilizer (feed only in moist soil). In general, the flower reacts negatively to all sudden changes. Keep it at the same temperature, water it properly, give it plenty of light and you will be fine.

It is believed that if the purchased poinsettia in the house immediately turned yellow and began to die, this means that someone has damaged the apartment owners or jinxed them. Euphorbia is the most beautiful - a very sensitive flower, one might say - "capricious". That is why he reads any negative information and heavy energy. In the event that the brought plant, on the contrary, grows and glows with beauty, the omen interprets this as the presence of complete well-being in the house.

From the point of view of Feng Shui, poinsettias are the place in the bedroom of the newlyweds. Then the marriage will be happy and the spouses will soon have offspring. This plant will protect newlyweds from betrayal, and will give the wife exciting sexuality and feminine charm. The husband simply will not need to look at other women.

Since the flower is most often presented on New Year's holidays, it is associated with the miracle of Christmas and a bright, cheerful New Year's feast, which means that it is already able to cheer up and delight with its tropical beauty.

Following European fashion, our compatriots sometimes adopt many of their customs and traditions. Among them there are, of course, controversial trends, but there are also things that can only be admired. One such tradition is the poinsettia, or Christmas star, blossoming at the end of December, a flower that delights the eye for three to four months. In our today's review, we will describe in detail everything that is associated with this most interesting plant: from planting to forcing for a particular holiday.

Let's start with the name, because many do not even suspect how this flower is called correctly. Its biological name is translated from Latin as "the most beautiful euphorbia." In everyday life, the plant is called "poinsettia", and more romantically it is called the "Christmas" or "Bethlehem star".

Many people know why the flower is called a Christmas star. The fact is that the beginning of its flowering coincides with Christmas among Protestants and Catholics.

Reference! The flowers of the poinsettia are small and inconspicuous, the brightly colored stipules give all the beauty to the plant.

Thanks to breeders, today there are varieties of the Christmas Star, in which stipules can have a wide variety of colors: from white and cream to apricot and dark red.

The homeland of poinsettia is the countries of Central America and Mexico, this circumstance must be taken into account when caring for a flower at home, since the origin has left a strong imprint on the character of the Christmas star. If in nature this shrub reaches a height of up to three meters, then in a city apartment it barely reaches forty-five centimeters.

The home flower Christmas star, the photo of which you see below, is very moody.

The features of its cultivation are as follows:

1. A resident of the tropics is accustomed to a shortened daylight hours, so it is advisable to provide her with an alternate change of day and night every 12 hours. At the same time, poinsettia does not really like bright light, the poet needs some shading.
2. It is thermophilic, but not heat-resistant, so the optimum temperature for it is 12-25 degrees Celsius. At temperatures outside these limits, the plant easily dies. Even the touch of cold glass leaves in winter can be fatal for poinsettia.
3. Like all tropical plants, poinsettia is very fond of humid air. Unfortunately, in our houses, especially in winter with the batteries turned on, it is very dry, therefore artificial humidification of the room will be required to create optimal conditions.

Growing and caring

We will start the story about the care of poinsettia from the moment of its flowering. It was during this period that many flower lovers acquire the Christmas star.

At this time, caring for her is very simple, you just need to remember to follow simple conditions during the Christmas and New Year holidays:

• water the plant regularly, avoiding drying out of the soil or stagnant water;
• maintain high humidity;
• shade from the bright winter sun;
• feed after a month of flowering with complex fertilizer.

Rest phase

The hardest part begins at the end of flowering. The plant enters a dormant phase, leaves and flowers fall off. At this point, you need to reduce the number of waterings to once a month and prune the plant.

In addition to reducing the volume of water, the poinsettia must be placed in the corner of the room with diffused lighting. In this case, it is desirable to lower the temperature to a level of 13-15 degrees. In this state, the Christmas star should spend one and a half to two months.

Pruning and propagating a Christmas star

The important thing is how to trim the poinsettia. It is necessary to remove all unnecessary, leaving 4-5 good shoots no more than 15 centimeters long, 3-5 buds on each. This number of stems will be enough to form a fur crown by next Christmas.

Cut off shoots can be successfully used for propagation by cuttings. Poinsettia takes root easily directly in water poured into an opaque vessel. The best method of rooting would be to plant in soil with good texture.

In any case, rooting is carried out at temperatures of 20-23 degrees Celsius, and plants transplanted into pots for the first time - at 16-18. The planting of a Christmas flower is already carried out in the fall. 4-5 shoots are planted in a permanent container for optimal bush density. A new plant will bloom only after a year.

Reproduction at home can also be carried out by seed, but this business is very troublesome and interesting only to advanced flower growers or breeders.

Plant transplant

After the poinsettia has rested for a couple of months, it is taken out of its dormant state. To do this, you need to transplant the Christmas star and resume watering.

How to transplant a plant? It is required to carefully remove it from the old dishes, and, without breaking the soil lump, place it in a pot with a large volume. After that, the plant with the new soil is watered, and after two weeks they are fed. Then, throughout the summer, the moisture of the soil coma is monitored and the poinsettia is fed once a month.

The transplanted flower can be kept in the garden under the shade of trees, where the poinsettia feels great. When nighttime temperatures drop, the Christmas Star should be returned to a warm room.

Preparing for flowering

The most important stage for a plant occurs in September and October. Around this time, it is necessary to carry out a simple procedure. It is very important to know how to care for the flower to bloom.

In fact, everything is very simple. It is necessary to provide short daylight hours for the poinsettia. To do this, for about two months, you need to completely deprive the star of light for 14 hours every day, from about 6 pm to 8 am.

This can be achieved in several ways:

1. Transfer the flower to a dark room.
2. Cover with an opaque cap.
3. Withstand indoors without artificial light in natural light.

Even a short-term lengthening of daylight hours can knock the inherent rhythm, which will lead to the fact that then the plant does not turn red.

At the beginning of December, all shading games are stopped and the flower is returned to natural light at this time. At the same time, the buds will begin to wake up and by Christmas the plant will bloom.

Video - the secrets of the poinsettia care

Signs for home

Doubtful people tend to see in all natural phenomena some of the most important signs of fate. Whether it is true or not, you decide, dear readers. But the Christmas star has its own signs for the home, which we will mention to make our story even more complete.

1. In case of family discord or latent negativity in relation to others in one of the household, a release of negative energy occurs, from which the Christmas star begins to fade. If the care of the plant is correct, but it still withers, urgently solve family problems.
2. They say that poinsettia senses which room it needs to be in. This manifests itself in an increased interest in the flower on the part of pets. Cats or dogs may chew on leaves, push a pot, or react in a different way to the plant. Move the flower to another room, where animals will no longer pay attention to the Christmas star - this is where it belongs.
3. God forbid, poinsettia turned yellow - there is definitely an evil eye or damage. Bless the house urgently!
4. Placed in a newlywed room, poinsettia can strengthen marriage and promote offspring.

Believe in these signs or not is everyone's personal business. It is important that the Christmas star is a very beautiful plant and is capable of making any house a little warmer and more comfortable with its appearance.

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