Poinsettia, home care for which is not at all difficult, is a flower that in the common people is called the Christmas star. Even if the plant stops blooming and sheds its leaves a few weeks after purchase, it should not be thrown away. With a little effort, you can achieve that this elegant flower every year becomes like a bright unusual bouquet.
Another name for poinsettia is the most beautiful spurge. This plant is native to the tropics. South America and Mexico. Under natural conditions, this species of milkweed grows above 3 m in height. An evergreen shrub blooms in winter period small yellow inflorescences. Around the flowers, a bright, red bract forms in the original form. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, the varieties of homemade poinsettia have acquired white, yellow, pink and even multi-colored bracts. Potted forms of the plant do not exceed 40 cm in height. As with all representatives of the Euphorbia family, the juice of this plant is poisonous. Therefore, care should be taken when pruning or replanting a plant. Particular care should be taken to avoid getting the milkweed juice into the eyes and the alimentary tract.
Caring for the most beautiful milkweed
How to care for poinsettia to achieve re-flowering? Although caring for this plant is not difficult, it has its own characteristics. Usually, the plant gets to a new owner in blooming... Even if you water it regularly, by the end of winter appear on the bush yellow leaves... At this time, it is necessary to reduce watering. When all the leaves fall off, you need to cut the stems to a height of 13-15 cm and put in a dark, cool place. The room temperature should be about 13 ºС. The plant will rest for about 2 months after flowering. Watering at this time is necessary occasionally, so that the soil is slightly moistened.
With the onset of May, the poinsettia should be rearranged in a bright place and watering should be increased. Mineral feeding is also necessary for the plant. As soon as leaves begin to appear on the stems, the euphorbia must be transplanted into new soil. The plant is carefully removed from the pot along with a lump of earth. Work best with rubber gloves. A pot of slightly larger diameter than the old one is usually used for transplanting. A drainage layer consisting of expanded clay, small pebbles or foam balls is necessarily placed at the bottom of the pot. The soil for poinsettia is slightly acidic, consisting of a clay-sod mixture, sand, leaf humus and peat.
For better flowering The most beautiful spurge is fed twice a month with potash fertilizers, which are either diluted in water or poured on top of the ground. When new shoots grow back, secondary pruning is performed to form a neat bush and remove excess shoots. They can be used for grafting.
How to propagate poinsettia?
Everything flowering plants in natural conditions reproduce by seeds. But, as you know, for the formation of seeds, either special conditions (wind) or pollinating insects are needed. Therefore in artificial conditions many plants are propagated vegetatively. Poinsettia can be propagated by cuttings. To do this, young shoots at the beginning of summer are cut into pieces 8-10 cm long. Each cuttings should have several buds. The cut is made directly under the whorl (knot). Cuttings are dipped for a few minutes in warm water cut down. This procedure removes the toxic milky sap and facilitates the rooting process. Cuttings can be placed in a special solution to accelerate root formation. Then the cuttings are planted in a prepared, moistened mixture, consisting of sand fertilized with humus and rotted manure. Cuttings take root best at a temperature of 26-27 ° C.
In about a month, the cuttings will grow, but they will be able to bloom only next year. After the growth of new plants begins, the temperature can be slightly reduced. But at temperatures below 16 ºС, growth will stop. Optimum temperature for plant growth is 20-24 ºС. In early autumn, young plants are pruned to form beautiful shape bush and transplanted into separate pots with a diameter of 12-14 cm. Reproduction of milkweed is a rather complicated matter. In apartments, it is not always possible to create conditions for the successful rooting of all cuttings. But if even half of the cuttings grow new "Christmas stars", that's good.
How to achieve repeated flowering of the most beautiful milkweed?
Highest value to stimulate the flowering of poinsettia has a light mode. Since under natural conditions this plant blooms in winter in the shortest days, under artificial conditions, in order for the most beautiful euphorbia to bloom, it is necessary to create something similar. To do this, from the beginning of October, the lighting period for the poinsettia is gradually reduced to 10 hours. The rest of the time the flower should be in complete darkness. Some growers cover the euphorbia with an opaque cloth. Others are placed in a box or cabinet. Watering at this time is also reduced so that the land is slightly moistened. At the same time, the temperature in the room should be 18-20 ° C. This mode stimulates the setting of buds in this plant species. When the stipules begin to open, the plant is placed in its usual place and the watering is slightly increased.
A brightly lit place will be optimal for poinsettia. But summer sun rays can burn the plant. The winter sun will not harm the leaves. In an apartment, window sills of eastern or western windows are best suited for this flower. This plant does not like drafts and hypothermia. At temperatures below 14 ° C, the dark green leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off. Doesn't like this flower and sharp changes temperature.
Pests and diseases
- scabbards;
- mealybugs;
- thrips;
- whitefly;
- spider mite.
The scale insects are round, pale yellow or pale cherry colored insects with a hard shell. A sticky dark discharge is left on the leaves along the veins. Suck the juices of the plant. In case of mass infection, the plant may die. To prevent infection, plants need to be ventilated and sprayed with water more often. The leaves of an infected plant are wiped on both sides with a cloth moistened with soap-alcohol or soap-kerosene solution. And the soil in pots is cultivated with "Aktar".
When infected with mealybugs, white cotton-like discharge appears on the leaves. The insects themselves are also clearly visible. They are mobile whitish insects up to 5 mm long. They move like caterpillars. These pests do not like moisture. When infected with a soft brush, pests are brushed off the plant and the leaves and stems are treated three times with a weekly interval soapy water or infusions of tobacco, calendula, chamomile or garlic.
Thrips and their larvae also feed on plant juices. These tiny insects no more than 1.5 mm long are capable of destroying the plant. When they appear, the leaves change color. Small yellow or discolored spots appear first, which fade over time. When massively propagated, thrips very quickly lead to the loss of all leaves. It is difficult to fight thrips, since insects are very mobile and easily infect neighboring plants. To combat them, it is necessary to process all plants with the following means: Fitoverm, Aktelik. Confidor, Vertimek. Plastic bags are placed on the plants sprayed with insecticide. They can be removed after 24 hours.
Whiteflies are like microscopic white flies. Insects do not exceed 2 mm in length. The larvae usually attach to the underside of the leaf and feed on the sap of the plant. As a result, the leaves curl, turn yellow and fall off. The larvae are covered with a dense waxy coating, which protects them from the effects of insecticides. Larvae and adult insects secrete a sticky, shiny secret. When plants are kept at temperatures below 14 ° C, these pests die. Of insecticides in the fight against whitefly, Confidor Mospilan, Pegasus, Fufanon, Fosbecid are used.
A characteristic sign of the appearance of spider mites on a plant is the formation of a thin whitish cobweb on the underside of the leaves. Though spider mites do not belong to insects, you can fight them with such universal insecticides as Apolo.
There are many folk recipes pest control indoor plants... They are less effective, but safer for humans.
Caring for poinsettia at home is not particularly troublesome. Compliance correct watering and features of the temperature regime will allow you to celebrate Christmas for several years and New Year with bright live decorations of your home.
At home, it is not always possible to achieve repeated flowering of the poinsettia, and often the plant is thrown away as soon as its red leaves fall off. However, with proper care, poinsettia can bloom again, albeit not so effectively. In greenhouses, flattened lush plants are obtained using growth inhibitors. Natural beauty may seem nicer to us. Therefore, in order to grow poinsettia at home, you must adhere to a number of simple rules:
THE SOIL. Provide the required soil composition. The soil should be loose and nutritious. Most suitable option - a mixture of turf, peat, leafy earth and sand in equal proportions. The acidity of the soil should be neutral (pH 6.0-7.0) or slightly acidic (pH 5.0-6.0).
TEMPERATURE MODE. Considering that the most comfortable room temperature for this plant is at least +20 ° C, it should not be taken out to the balcony, even if it is glazed. In addition, it must be borne in mind that the maximum lower temperature threshold must be at least 14 ° C. At the same time, relatively cool conditions will be needed in the spring from February-March to March-April, during the dormant period of the poinsettia. In any case, it is impossible for the poinsettia leaves to touch the cold glass, the plant dies from the cold. In the spring, the plant is transferred to warm room... Speaking about the temperature regime for poinsettia, it must be borne in mind that the most long flowering observed at a temperature of + 15 ° C. For this reason, poinsettia is not placed next to heating radiators. In summer, the plant is best kept on a balcony or veranda. In September, poinsettia is brought into the house and kept at a temperature of + 18 ° C.
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LIGHTING. It is necessary to take care of a bright and good lighting, and avoid direct sunlight. Poinsettia often perishes on the northern windows. If we manage to equip in winter additional lighting, this will make it possible to extend the flowering of the plant for a longer period.
WATERING. Poinsettia requires abundant watering. But at the same time, it is imperative to monitor the state of the soil. By the next watering, it should dry out, but not turn into a shriveled lump. The water temperature should be several degrees warmer than the indoor air temperature. The plant can shed its leaves from cold water. When watering, water must saturate the substrate, pass through the drainage, and its excess should come out of the hole in the pot. In no case should the roots be allowed to be constantly in the water.
FEEDING. You cannot feed the plant during the flowering period and during the dormant period. Long-term fertilizers are added to the potting mix during transplanting. Also in the spring summer time and in the fall, before flowering, poinsettia is fed with a complex soluble fertilizer 2-3 times a month.
SPRAYING. Twice a day it is necessary to spray the air around the plant, increasing its humidity, thereby creating the conditions of native tropical forests. In this case, it is not desirable to get on the leaves, they can become stained. In March, for a dormant period, spraying is stopped. With the onset of warm days and the beginning of the growth of new shoots, around May, spraying is resumed. The frequency is observed, focusing on humidity and air temperature. On hot days, spraying is carried out more often, on cool days, they do without them at all.
VENTILATION. In the summer, when kept in the room, the poinsettia is ventilated. At the same time, drafts are excluded. At the slightest discomfort, the poinsettia will shed the foliage. In warm rooms, ventilation is carried out at any time of the year.
FORMATION. In order to ensure the laying of flower buds, after the flowering period, the plant is cut in half, leaving 3-5 buds, and placed in a dry room with an air temperature of no more than 15 ° C. During this period (about 2 months) it is not watered or it is done very rarely. Around May, weak new shoots are removed and 5-6 strong ones are left. The poinsettia is transplanted into a large pot. The pot is placed in a naturally lit room. From this point on, regular watering begins. Make sure that the shoots do not stretch, periodically shortening them until August. This contributes to better tillering and education. more inflorescences. In August, flower buds are formed, so pruning is stopped.
PHOTOPERIODISM. In September-October, poinsettias need to create a short daylight hours (less than 12 hours). To do this, cover it with a dark material, bag or box for about 14 hours for 2 months. This promotes the formation of buds and coloration of the bracts.
TRANSFER. Poinsettia transplant is carried out every few years. If you need to transplant the plant, do it in mid-May at the end of the dormant period. The transplant is carried out by the transshipment method without disturbing the earthen coma. They take a pot, more spacious, lay a three-centimeter drainage layer and soil consisting of peat, leafy earth and sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1 on the bottom. Then the flower is planted, after removing the rotten and dead roots, water well.
Reproduction of poinsettia
Under natural conditions, the plant propagates by seeds, at home - exclusively by cuttings in spring or early summer. This requires:
Cut a cutting about 7 centimeters long from the new shoot. The stalk should have 3-6 well-developed buds.
The shoot should be cut right under the last knot from the bottom.
Place the cutting in warm water for ten minutes to wash off the poisonous milky juice, blot the cut and sprinkle with charcoal for disinfection. For better rooting, root formers of the Kornevin type are used.
Plant the cutting in abundantly watered soil. It should include sand, humus and dry manure. Soil temperature for rooting is 24-28 ° C.
Cover the pots plastic wrap and put in a warm, but not dark place without direct sunlight, periodically ventilate and spray.
Rooting will take almost a month.
As it grows, if necessary, the pot is replaced with bigger way transshipment of plants.
For better tillering, young plants are pinched.
Flowering occurs one year after rooting.
Potential problems, diseases and pests
Poinsettia can suffer from aphids, whiteflies, thrips, spider mites, mealybugs. This is manifested in the appearance of honeydew, stains and folding of leaves, their yellowing, drying out or dying off. Some of these signs are also observed when the substrate is waterlogged, lack of drainage, cold air or soil, and also from lack of light. With very dry air and insufficient watering, the leaves become pale, then turn yellow and brown, the inflorescences fall off.
Proper care of the poinsettia and the necessary conditions content. Diseases and pests are treated with standard methods and drugs in these cases.
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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 spurge beautiful.
But the people most often call it "". 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 creation favorable conditions... Then it will not give you much trouble and will prolong its flowering. This beauty will always be a great gift for yourself and your 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 - the first artificially bred variety, the shape of the leaves resembles oak;
- Cortez Burgundy - deep crimson leaves
- Cortez Red - its leaves are scarlet, there are 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 tightness;
- 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. 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 on 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 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 a poinsettia? In practice, things look pretty complicated. We'll have to provide several conditions for this.
Placing a plant
As mentioned above, poinsettia loves lit placescompletely 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 often ventilate the room (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 temperature fluctuation.
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 not to use cold water from the tap.
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 feeding mineral fertilizers every two weeks from spring to autumn. In the summer, it is also necessary to feed with 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 leaves appear, you should immediately transplant the flower into a pot larger than the latter. 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 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 fast, after flowering it must be cut... To prevent unnecessarily large sizes. The poinsettia flower is trimmed, 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 for draining.
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 root to speed up 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:
- Place her to a shaded placewhere it will be cool (12-15 degrees)
- Spend pruning... Shoots 10 cm high will be enough
- Reduce 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 it.
Having done everything right, you will increase its decorative ability several times, and the pots of dense green vegetation with bright colors will become an object of universal attention and admiration.
Poinsettia is a beautiful and unusual home flower. In a simple way, it is called the Christmas star, the plant received this name due to the fact that the flowering period falls on the Christmas holidays. When nursing and reproducing, you must follow some rules that will help make the plant lush, bright and healthy.
This lovely home flower belongs to the euphorbia family. The name of poinsettia is translated from Latin as the most beautiful euphorbia. Under natural conditions, poinsettia grows in Mexico and Central America... She prefers tropical areas. Under natural conditions, this evergreen shrub can reach 3 meters in height. But in room conditions the plant grows up to 40 centimeters.
Poinsettia leaves are elliptical. Each leaf has serrated edges. The color of the leaves is dark green.
The poinsettia flower is notable for its red bracts. It is they who form a beautiful red hat that looks like a bouquet. Bracts are not flowers. Flowers are usually arranged in small rosettes and are yellow in color. Increasingly, experts are developing new varieties of this plant, and now you can see flowers with pink, yellow, white and even two-colored bracts on sale.
Gallery: the most beautiful poinsettia (25 photos)
How to care for poinsettia
Home poinsettia requires the right and timely careotherwise the plant will wither and shed its leaves. Weakened home plant quickly affected by pests and diseases.
As soon as the dormant period of the poinsettia plant ends, it can be transplanted. The transplant must be done when young green leaves appear on the plant, this usually happens in late April - early May.
The size of the pot should not be very different from the previous one. You can take a pot only a few centimeters larger than the previous one. A drainage layer is poured into a new pot. Expanded clay, gravel or other small stones can be used as a drainage layer. This layer will move moisture away from the roots and thereby prevent them from rotting. The thickness of the drainage layer depends on the size of the pot, but usually it is 3 to 5 centimeters thick.
The soil mixture is prepared separately. The soil for poinsettia should consist of two parts of leafy soil, three parts of sod land, one part of peat and one part of sand. It is important that the soil is not sour, the flower cannot stand it. You can use a ready-made substrate, which is produced by manufacturers of soil for indoor flowers. Such a mixture has all the necessary substances for the flower to receive everything it needs and grow well. The mixture must be designed specifically for poinsettia.
The plant is carefully dug out of the old pot, being careful not to damage the roots. If you damage the roots during transplantation, then the whole bush will not tolerate new conditions well and hurt. Pour some earth into an old pot, dip the roots into it, fill the remaining space with earth. Shed the soil immediately, thereby the soil will naturally compact. Poinsettia transplant is over!
Fertilizer
When the dormant period ends, the plant begins to feed. Fertilizers are applied twice a month. Poinsettia is fed with mineral fertilizers, you can use special complex fertilizers for indoor flowers. Some experienced florists it is recommended to make during flowering potash fertilizers... But most still believe that it is better not to disturb the plants during the flowering period. Poinsettia care can be simplified by using granular fertilizers that gradually dissolve and release nutrients.
Top dressing continues until autumn.
Temperature and lighting
To form a beautiful bush, you need to choose the right temperature and lighting.
The plant pot should not be installed in drafts.
As for lighting, then the best place there will be a window sill for the poinsettia. It should be well lit, but direct sunlight is harmful to plants. The window can be closed thin paperso that the sun's rays do not fall on the shoots. When a large number the sun's rays, the leaves begin to fall off and turn brown.
When to water the poinsettia?
Watering and caring for the Christmas flower is quite important, if watering is not organized correctly, the poinsettia plant will ache and shed its leaves.
In winter, during the dormant period, the plants do not need watering, and care is minimized. It is worth moistening the soil a little during the period when it dries up completely.
And during flowering, plants are watered every three to four days. Use soft water for irrigation. The most in a simple way to soften the water is to settle it. Deposition at room temperature for one day makes the water suitable for irrigation. It is also necessary to spray the plants with soft water.
How to trim a poinsettia? It is also recommended to prune the plant periodically. This is usually done before a dormant period - in the fall. All branches should be cut off. You need to do this carefully, because the branches of the flower contain poisonous juice. If this juice comes into contact with the skin, irritation, redness and itching may occur. It is recommended to work with the flower with gloves. And if the juice gets on the skin, then it should be washed off immediately warm water with soap. When pruning on a flower, you should leave the stems 15 centimeters long. This pruning will help to form a beautiful and neat plant.
At home, poinsettia propagates only by cuttings. This flower cannot be propagated by seeds. But the reproduction of poinsettia by cuttings always succeeds, even for novice growers.
Most often, cut shoots are used as cuttings, they remain after spring pruning... When pruning, it is important to consider that the cut must be done at an angle. Shoots should have a length of 7-10 cm. In this case, each cutting should have 4-6 large healthy buds. Now the cuttings need to get rid of the poisonous juice. To do this, the cuttings are placed in warm water and kept in it for 20-30 minutes.
After that, the cuttings should be processed. special meanswhich stimulates the formation of roots. Reproduction of poinsettia depends on this step. While the cuttings are absorbing the root former, the soil can be prepared for planting. Soil can be harvested from dry manure, sand, and humus. The soil is poured into a container and well moistened. The soil is now ready for planting cuttings. The twigs are carefully stuck into the ground and placed on sunny place... For germination, cuttings must be kept at a temperature of 24-28 degrees. To create a certain moisture content, the cuttings are covered with foil. Periodically, the film is removed, thereby airing the seedlings, and the plants themselves are watered.
Rooting of seedlings should take place within one month after planting. Then the film is removed, and the container is transferred to a room with a temperature of 16 degrees. In autumn, young flowers are transplanted into separate pots with a diameter of 20 cm. Young plants bloom in a year.
Secrets of a beautiful flower
Diseases and pests
Pests
The most common pests that affect poinsettia are thrips, scale insects, mealybug, spider mites and whiteflies. If a waxy coating appears on the leaves, dark spots, white streaks, it is most likely that pests parasitize the flower.
The houseplant "Christmas star", better known as the most beautiful euphorbia or poinsettia, came to us from Central and South America. it perennial shrub with a bare, erect dark green or brown stem with large wide leaves 10-15 cm long, producing small yellow flowers on bright red (rarely yellow) star-shaped bracts.
In this article, we will look at how to properly care for the Christmas star flower in order to achieve a long and beautiful annual flowering.
Indoor flower care "Christmas star"
- Location... It is better to place this flower on the western window, but you need to put the pot so that the leaves do not come into contact with the glass, and make sure that there is no draft in this place.
- Temperature regime... To grow a Christmas star, a constant air temperature is required: during the day + 20 ° С, and at night not lower than + 16 ° С, during the rest period - not higher than + 15 ° С constantly.
- Lighting... This is a light-loving plant, so it needs a lot of light - in spring and summer (during the period of active growth).
- Watering... It is recommended to water it with warm and settled water as the soil dries up, not allowing the water to stagnate in the pan. More abundant watering is required in summer than in winter. Spray the leaves weekly with boiled water, but so that the water does not get on the bracts
- Top dressing... The flower must be fed every 2 weeks nitrogen fertilizers, stopping only for a period of rest.
- Reproduction... Poinsettia propagates by cuttings obtained after pruning, which can be easily rooted in moist peat or moss, and then transplanted into nutrient soil. Thanks to the ease of the Christmas star breeding process, you can make a wonderful gift in the form of this flower for the next New Year or Christmas.
How and when to trim the Christmas star?
- after flowering, cut its branches in half, leaving about 15 cm;
- after transplanting - cutting off weak and excess shoots;
- during the period of active growth - to maintain a neat and compact bush, too long and bare stems are cut off.
"Christmas Star": transplant
This flower needs an annual transplant, which should be carried out in the spring - from April to May.
How to properly transplant a "Christmas star":
- We take the flower out of the pot and carefully remove the old soil from the roots.
- We take the same or slightly larger pot, lay the drainage on the bottom and fill it with light soil with a high humus content or make a mixture of turf, peat and sand in a ratio of 3: 1: 1.
- We plant a flower in a prepared pot, put it in a warm sunny room and pour abundantly with warm water.
- When new shoots with a height of about 15 cm appear, 4-5 of the strongest should be left, and the rest should be cut off.
Cropped shoots can be used for propagation.
How to make a Christmas star bloom?
In order for this flower to bloom on time, namely for the New Year and Christmas, during the fall (October-November) it must be covered with a black film or opaque cardboard boxto reduce its daylight hours to 10 hours. And at the beginning of December, put in 
warm room (about 18 ° C) with bright lighting and start watering vigorously.
If you do everything right, then by Christmas the bush of the Christmas star will become even more magnificent and will delight you with its unusual flowers.
The main problem in growing a "Christmas star": at home is that its leaves fall. This is due to an excess of moisture, temperature changes in the room, or the pot being in drafts.
Often people who bought a Christmas star flower for the winter holidays, for some reason, believe that it will no longer bloom, but with proper care, described in our article, it will delight with its unusual blooming for several more years in a row.