Now in flower shops there is such a selection of ornamental plants, including exotic ones, from the tropics that it is just right to get lost. But buying a flower that you like is still half the battle, you want to extend its life as long as possible after the purchase. And for this you need information: about care, transplantation, features and requirements of the plant. Fortunately, there are no problems with this at present either.
Basic information about poinsettia
Poinsetia is an ornamental plant native to Mexico and Central America. Generally speaking, in natural conditions it is an evergreen shrub from the euphorbia family up to 3 m high. In the middle lane, it is grown at home, in pots. Poinsettia at home rarely grows above 50 cm. This plant has other names, such as: euphorbia, the most beautiful or most beautiful spurge, Christmas or Bethlehem star. In European countries and America, this flower is considered one of the symbols of Christmas: it is widely used to decorate festive tables, temples, and shopping center halls. From pots withblooming poinsettias are used to build impressive pyramid-trees; this spurge is indispensable in various festive flower arrangements and Christmas wreaths.
The plant received such flattering names and specific applications due to its spectacular appearance during the flowering period. No, his flowers are just completely inconspicuous, small, yellowish-green, but the bright rim of leaves around them, designed to attract insects for pollination, is beyond praise. These leaves are called bracts, they are located around the inflorescences in the form of a star, and this unusual plant blooms on Catholic Christmas - hence its name. Poinsettia (photo below) is an elegant and festive plant thanks to its bright stars against the background of elongated jagged leaves of rich dark green color.
Poinsettia varieties
There are several dozen different types of poinsettia. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, many varieties of literally all conceivable shades have been bred: white, cream, lemon, all shades of pink and red, orange, blue. There are also bicolor bracts - with veins and interspersed, with a gentle "spray". There are varieties with an unusual arrangement of bracts, creating a terry effect. If you are interested in poinsettia, photos of many varieties are easy to find in reference books. True, making a choice between varieties is not an easy task, this flower is so good and unusual.
It is clear that connoisseurs and lovers of indoor plants,those who have acquired this flower will certainly want to know how to make the poinsettia bloom just for Christmas. And since Russian flower growers are unlikely to want to throw this plant away after flowering, as they sometimes do in the West, other information will not be superfluous: about care, reproduction, watering, transplanting. Well, let's get started.
Flower care
When buying a poinsettia in a store, you should take into account the fact that she does not like large temperature changes. This plant is tropical, temperatures below 12ºС are generally fatal for it. So the first thing to do is to make sure that the flower is not damaged during transportation home. At home, a flower must be settled somewhere. This is where information will come in handy that although he loves bright lighting, it should be diffused, so it is better to protect him from the direct sun at least through a curtain. Drafts of poinsettia are contraindicated, in this she is capricious.
As for watering, in summer it needs plentiful, and spraying is regular, the flower loves humidity. In autumn and winter, you can water the plant moderately, and during rest after flowering - even less often. With sharp fluctuations in temperature, the leaves of the poinsettia may turn yellow and fall off, and this must also be remembered. She will not feel comfortable even at an elevated temperature in the room - more than 25ºС.
Features of flowering poinsettia
If the owner of the plant thinks in time about how to make the poinsettia bloom by the end of December so that it, along with Christmas tree garlands, serves as a decoration for the house, it will certainly work out, soas there are specific instructions. The fact is that under natural conditions, the poinsettia is preparing for flowering with a short light day and a long night. Therefore, it is necessary to simulate these conditions for her artificially. At the end of September, with the onset of evening, you need to completely protect the plant from artificial lighting, covering it with dark polyethylene, some kind of opaque container, or simply transferring it to a completely dark place. In total, during the day, the flower should be out of the light for about 12 hours or a little more.
This mode, close to the real conditions of plant development, contributes to the fact that the poinsettia first forms flower buds, and then releases bright bracts. The darkening should be as complete as possible, otherwise the bracts will not be evenly colored, and spots will appear on them. Usually eight weeks of this maintenance is enough for the plant to bloom for the New Year holidays, and you can move on to the usual maintenance of the plant.
In general, this is an interesting experience for lovers of home ornamental plants: not only to provide the flower with proper care, but also to know how to make the poinsettia bloom exactly when the owner wants.
Resting period
Blossoming poinsettia pleases with its spectacular bright stars of the hosts throughout January and part of February. Then she needs rest. When the bracts withered, and the lower leaves began to naturally fall off, you need to cut off all the stems, leaving only a third of the height of the bush in the pot, and put it in a dark place. Watering should be done in such a wayso that the earth does not dry out at all - that is, rarely. In April, the rested indoor poinsettia is ready for the new season. They put it on the most illuminated and warm windowsill, waiting for the appearance of fresh shoots and watering it with slightly warmed soft water.
Transfer
In the spring, after new leaves have appeared, the plant can be transplanted into a larger pot with good drainage and loose soil. How to care for poinsettias after transplantation? Provide her with abundant watering and spraying, cut the shoots for branching and forming a bush of the desired shape. 10-12 days after transplantation, the plant should be fed with mineral fertilizer, and feeding should be repeated every two weeks until autumn. We already know how to make poinsettias bloom for next Christmas.
Reproduction
If you really fell in love with poinsettia, its reproduction is quite real. This is done by cuttings. Usually, at least 3 of the strongest shoots are left on the bush, and the rest must be cut off. It is from them that you can cut cuttings with 4-5 leaves. By the way, when trimming a poinsettia, it must be remembered that its juice, like all spurges, can cause skin irritation. So it's best to wear gloves. This milky juice should be washed off with warm water from the cuts until it ceases to stand out. After that, the cuttings are rooted either in water or immediately in loose soil. It is better to arrange a greenhouse for them, covering it with a transparent container, watering and spraying daily. After a month, you can usuallyplant plants in pots, but they are unlikely to bloom in the same year, it takes time for young poinsettias to get stronger.
Interesting facts
There is information that the poinsettia was known to the Aztecs, who used its juice for medicinal purposes. From its leaves, they also extracted a dye for fabrics. Several legends are associated with poinsettia, the essence of which is that children lovingly brought this modest plant as a gift to the baby Christ, and only then it suddenly bloomed with bright flowers.
The plant was brought to Europe from America by travelers in the 19th century, and there it became popular due to its peculiarity of blooming in winter, in the very cold. The name of the flower was given in honor of the American ambassador to Mexico, J. R. Poinsett. He, in addition to politics, was also fond of botany, traveled a lot and searched for and collected unusual plants.
