Poinsettia flower - home care

Poinsettia (Euphorbia, euphorbia, Christmas star) is a beautiful perennial that blooms in winter and is often used as a Christmas present. This plant attracts well-being and prosperity to the house. In order for it to develop and delight the owners for a long time, you need to know everything about caring for this interesting flower.

What does the poinsettia look like, which family does it belong to

Euphorbia belongs to the genus Euphorbia of the Euphorbia family. The plant is a sprawling bush. In Mexican forests, it can grow up to 4 m, but domestic specimens are more compact in size.

The most beautiful indoor poinsettia

The flower has fibrous roots. Shoots are straight, strongly branched. Petiole leaves, dense crown. The leaf plate is 10-15 cm long, has the shape of an egg, on the sides it can be serrate or smooth, with a pointed edge. The color is green, along the veins there are lighter stripes.

Common varieties

Most often, the following varieties are purchased for growing at home:

• Premium Red. It is a bright red euphorbia. Differs in pointed bracts and yellow-lemon flowers located in the middle.
• Cortez Red. Its apical bracts are bright red. Later, thin streaks of green can be seen on them.
• Jingle Bells. This variety has bright red bracts. It differs in that they have white streaks, resembling flakes of fluffy snow.
• Cortez Burgundy. Its bracts are purple, the only difference from Premium Red.
• Sonora Marble. This variety is distinguished by multi-colored bracts. The apical leaves are white-pink in color.
• Winter Rose. A very beautiful variety of poinsettia. She has terry foliage, and the leaf rosette bears a resemblance to a winter rose.

Poinsettia Winter Rose

Healing properties

The finest spurge is not used in official medicine in Russia, but in Mexico and Central America it is used for non-traditional healing. For medicinal purposes, the milky juice of poinsettia is used to remove warts, as an analgesic for pain in the teeth and ears.

The juice also has wound healing properties, it helps to quickly heal wounds.

Lotions are made from crushed euphorbia leaves that help relieve pain in sciatica and rheumatism.

Briefly about the history of appearance

The first, American in origin, the Minister of Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, was fond of botany. In the winter of 1828, he saw a beautiful flower by the road in the Taxco del Alarcon area and was delighted with its beauty. The minister took the cuttings from him and raised them at his home in South Carolina. In honor of him, the flower got its name. Later Joel donated several plants to his friends for growing in botanical gardens.

A few years later, the most beautiful euphorbia appeared in Europe and quickly began to spread as a decoration for the Christmas holidays.

In the Russian Federation, euphorbia became popular as an interior decoration for the New Year and Christmas only towards the end of the twentieth century.

Poinsettia: home care

The most beautiful spurge adapts well to living conditions. It is better to place the flower in the living room, in the kitchen, next to the festive table. But in order for the plant to please with flowering, you need to know how to care for the red poinsettia at home.

With proper care, euphorbia will bloom very beautifully.

Temperature

It is recommended to keep the plant at a temperature of 15-25 ° C.

Lighting

The Christmas star prefers sunlight, but does not tolerate direct exposure to them, as they burn the leaves of the plant. Therefore, it is best to place the pot on the west or east side of the house, shading the window with a tulle curtain.

In summer, it is recommended to take out the most beautiful euphorbia to the balcony. But if there is none, it is necessary to ventilate the room where the flower lives more often.

Watering

It is necessary to moisten the plant only after the top layer of the soil dries out. Water is often watered in summer, and in winter, after flowering. the frequency of watering is reduced.

Overflowing a plant can lead to undesirable consequences.

Humidity and spraying

Poinsettia loves moisture. If the air is very dry, it may shed its leaves. When the plant is in bloom, the frequency of spraying increases. In this case, you only need to use warm, settled water.

Also, a humidifier should be installed in the room. It's good if you have an aquarium or a fountain.

Priming

Poinsettia soil should be slightly acidic. You can buy it in a specialized store or you can make it yourself with the following composition:

• Putrid sod land (3 parts);
• Leafy land (2 hours);
• Sand (1 hour);
• Peat (1 hour).

All components will need to be well mixed together.

Top dressing

From March to September, you should feed the Christmas star with complex mineral fertilizers every 2 weeks.

Features of care in winter, dormant period

When euphorbia fades (in spring, in March-April), it is cut to a height of 10-15 cm and a dormant period is provided: the pot is placed in a shaded room with a temperature of about 15 ° C.

Poinsettia is a flower that requires special care during the dormant period

In October-November, the daylight hours for a flower should not exceed 10 hours.

When and how it blooms

The bloom of the Christmas star is very beautiful, it is not for nothing that it is called that way by the people.

Types of flowers

The flowers are small, yellow, collected in rosette inflorescences. During flowering, red bracts appear around them. But there are varieties with pink, yellow and two-colored bracts.

Flower shapes

Little attention is paid to the flowers themselves. A bright accent is the star-shaped bracts that rise above the crown.

Flowering period

In December, flower buds appear, and the process itself falls in December-February. It lasts 2-6 weeks.

Blooming Euphorbia is the most beautiful

Changes in care during flowering

Care during flowering is almost the same as usual: the temperature is not lower than 20 ° C, bright, but shaded light, watering with warm water.

Pruning

In order for the plant to branch well, it should be pruned. The first procedure is carried out after flowering. It is necessary to cut off the shoots, leaving 3-5 healthy buds on each.

After the end of the dormant period, so that the flowering is very lush, no more than 6 strong shoots are left on the plant.Further, it is allowed to pinch the green parts of the flower until the end of summer, since it is at this time that the rudiments of future inflorescences are laid.

How poinsettia reproduces

At home, the Christmas star is propagated by seeds. But at home it is impossible to achieve their correct ripening. The fact is that house flowers are hybrid plants, and if you try to propagate poinsettia by seeds, they will lose all their characteristics.

Stalk of a christmas star

Therefore, it is permissible to propagate the poinsettia only with the help of cuttings. The propagation method is considered successful and almost always gives a good yield of new young flowers. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. First, a cutting is cut (just under the last node from the bottom), the length of which should be about 7 cm. It must have 3-6 well-developed buds.
2. Then place it in water for 10 minutes. This is done to wash off the poisonous juice. Then the cut is blotted and treated with "Kornevin" for better rooting.
3. A twig is planted in a well-moistened soil consisting of sand, humus and dry manure. Soil temperature - 25-27 ° С.
4. The container is covered with a film and placed in a warm and bright place so that direct sunlight does not fall on it. Sometimes the seedlings should be ventilated and sprayed. Thus, the cuttings will root for about a month.
5. If necessary, as it grows, they change the pot to a larger one, replanting the plant using the transshipment method.
6. For plants to bush better, pinching is necessary.

Transfer

The plant tolerates transplanting well, but it should be done only if necessary. During the period of the beginning of active growth (May), the flower should be carefully removed from the pot with an earthen lump and transplanted into a new container using the transfer method. In advance, drainage must be laid in it. The soil mixture should consist of peat, river sand and leafy soil.

The next 2 months after the procedure, the punsetia does not need additional feeding, since the soil mixture contains the necessary amount of nutrients.

Possible growing problems and diseases

Growing a Christmas star can be tricky.

Drops buds and leaves

Euphorbia can shed foliage for two reasons:

• Freezing of a flower when in a draft.
• Natural process. After the plant has faded, it needs rest.

In this case, you should cut the stems in half and put the flower pot in a semi-dark room, where the temperature is not less than 10 ° C. Watering should be moderate. After 1.5 months, the poinsettia will wake up again and begin to turn green.

Leaves turn pale

Some people notice this phenomenon when the leaves become pale. The reason lies in the fact that the room is hot, there is dry air. Frequent spraying of the foliage can solve this problem.

Pale leaves indicate too dry air in the room.

The tips of the leaves dry

Drying of the tips indicates that the room temperature is too high. You can save the plant in the same way as with the pallor of the leaves.

Pests

The most common insect pests that colonize the Christmas star are:

• mealybug;
• scabbards;
• thrips;
• whitefly;
• spider mite.

To get rid of them, it is recommended to spray the plant with insecticides, for example, "Aktara", "Aktellikom", "Decis", "Inta-virom".

Diseases

Most often, euphorbia can hurt:

• gray rot;
• powdery mildew.

Gray mold usually affects the flower when it lives in a humid environment. The disease can be recognized by a gray bloom that appears on the stems, inflorescences, and brown spots become visible on the leaves.If you do not start to treat the plant in time, then all the leaves can dry out and fall off.

Leaves affected by powdery mildew

Powdery mildew appears as a white bloom on the leaves, flowers that look like flour. Later, it may darken, which means the disease develops. In the fight against powdery mildew it is necessary to use "Topaz", "Fitosporin-M", "Skor".

Signs and superstitions

The poinsettia Christmas flower is a source of good mood. But besides this, there are many signs and superstitions associated with it:

• The plant helps to strengthen the marriage of newlyweds. Also, the appearance of this flower in the house predicts the imminent birth of a baby.
• Euphorbia helps to smooth out conflicts, achieve harmony in the family.
• If a businessman grows the most beautiful euphorbia in his office, he will help to attract profitable clients and business partners.
• The flower will help teachers add the number of students.
• Poinsettia subtly senses the presence of negative energy. Therefore, if the leaves began to wither, the general condition of the plant becomes worse, this suggests that someone from the household is hiding his discontent, but very soon will throw it out.
• If the foliage of a flower that has just been brought into the house has begun to turn yellow, then there is an evil eye on the household, or damage has been directed at the dwelling. In this case, it is better to give the poinsettia to relatives and invite to the priest's house. The plant should be taken home after 14 days, not earlier. If it feels good, then the house has been cleared of bad energy.
• The Christmas star can begin to wither if one of the household has an envious person who often appears in this house.
• Poinsettia red, received as a gift, will help build relationships with the person who presented it.
• If you put the most beautiful euphorbia in the bedroom, it will help to make the husband (wife) jealous, strengthen the family, harmonize intimate life, and wake up on time.
• The presence of a beautiful blooming flower in the middle of the table for the New Year holidays will bring happiness to the home, contribute to harmonious relationships in the family.

Poinsettia (poinsettia) - a flower in the house, which is an indisputable assistant in the fight against the evil eye or damage. Therefore, its presence in the dwelling will save all inhabitants from the evil eye, fill the house with positive energy. You can also breed it in the country, in personal plots.