The poinsettia is one of the prettiest houseplants, often noticeable around the holiday season and Christmas season.
In summary, what you need to know:
Last name : Euphorbia pulcherrima
Type: Shrub, houseplant
Exposure : Bright
Ground : Soil
Foliage : Persistent
Flowering : November to March
Read also :
- Ephemeral colors to warm up winter
- Poinsettia after Christmas
Poinsettia cultivation begins as early as September for flowering at the end of the year.
- Place your plant in a good soil.
The quality of the soil improves the flowering quality.
- It is recommended to place clay balls at the bottom of the pot to facilitate drainage and prevent the roots from bathing in water.
It is not essential if you just bought your poinsettia and that its pot is well drilled at the bottom
- The poinsettia remains a tropical plant which will only grow in special climatic conditions where heat and humidity are mixed.
- Its cultivation remains however possible in the region mediterranean, well sheltered.
Watering the poinsettia
- Water generously when your poinsettia's soil gets dry and even wait for it to dry out between waterings.
- It is essential to water withwater with a temperature above 20 °. Cold water could be fatal to him.
- Reduce the number of waterings after flowering because its needs are more limited and gradually resume at the end of the summer.
- If the leaves whiten and fade, this is usually due to a excess water or insufficient drainage.
After flowering, cut back the stems to about 5-10 cm from the base. To cut back is to cut off all the stems that make up the plant.
You will thus stimulate new shoots and a new bloom the following year.
But to know what to do next to your poinsettia after flowering, read the paragraph devoted to it below.
Growing and caring for poinsettia
Poinsettia is a very beautiful exotic plant native to the tropics of Central America.
Its maintenance is relatively easy, whether for planting, watering or repotting.
It adapts perfectly to our interiors. The air temperature must be understood between 18 and 20 °.
It flowers especially during the Christmas time and it was around this time that it invaded flower shops and garden centers.
For growing in houses and apartments, it is best to place it near a light source but without direct sun, especially at the most exposed times.
Maintain the level of humidity it needs by spraying water regularly on its foliage.
However, avoid getting the flowers wet.
Fertilizer for poinsettia:
- Do not add any fertilizer during the flowering period.
- Outside of this period, restart the intake ofliquid fertilizer for flowering plants because of1 contribution per month.
Diseases and problems of poinsettia
Yellow leaves of the poinsettia:
If the leaves turn yellow and wither, the ambient air is too dry.
Ideally, then, place your plant on a bed of constantly damp gravel, pebbles or clay balls.
The leaves turn white or discolour:
This is usually due to a excess water or insufficient drainage.
It is important to water only when the soil is dry.
Poinsettias after "flowering"
Your plant is entering a period of vegetative rest. The so-called flowering in poinsettia is actually the red or yellow leaves because the flowering of poinsettia is quite insignificant.
- Around the end of April, reduce the stems by about 1/3, they should not exceed 10 cm high.
- Repot the poinsettia in a new pot filled with potting soil
- Reduce watering, wait until the soil is dry on the surface between 2 waterings.
- Take it outside in the summer.
- Resume more regular watering and add fertilizer fromAugust September.
- Enter it from September
The poinsettia is a plant that needs floral induction to bloom again the following year.
This implies the blackout for 20 days from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next morning to bloom again at Christmas.
- Your poinsettia will bloom again so before the end of the year.