In our gardening articles, today we will talk about how to take care of a poinsettia; follow these steps that we will detail for you, so that you can achieve it, and thus have the most beautiful flower and not only that, but that it lasts over time.
Its scientific or real name is Euphorbia Pulcerrima, but it also receives other common or vulgar names such as poinsettia flower, Christmas flower, as we are saying in this article poinsettia, Inca crown, pastoral, pasture, poinsettia. or federal star; These are just some of the words with which this flower is known; as time, depending on the region, it can be said in different ways referring to the same bush.
This plant belongs to the family that receives the name Euphorbia; it is native to Central America, more specifically to Mexico (southwest) and also to the country of Guatemala.
It can be seen that the poinsettia is often used as a shrub in the garden, but it is even more common for floriculture to be a plant to have inside the house at Christmas time. Although we think that there is only one, it is not like that, because the varieties of this species exceed 100. The poinsettia is a bush, whose size can be between 0.6 and 3.0 meters.
This is also called by many as the Christmas flower, since it is very characteristic of this time, it is even used to decorate and even in some places they make flowers that are not real, but simulate or imitate the flower, making them manually with some types of cloth and pasta. This striking and pretty flower is widely used as a great decorative element in our home, and also as a nice gift for those who are special to us.
Caring for the plant, especially in winter, is very easy to do, but once this date has passed it can become a little more difficult, to then effectively make it bloom again, which does not mean that it is impossible, but for this you must be very cautious in its care and follow all the tips and advice that we bring for you.
The leaves of this plant have a green color, which is dark, they are large and their edges are serrated (toothed) and what really makes it very decorative is the beauty of its red leaves on the upper part, which reaches at its greatest magnificence when it reaches its flowering in the months of November, December and boreal January.
The leaves of the upper part have a red tone, but not just any red, it is quite an intense one, which makes its presence very prominent, these are often confused with its flowers, although they can also be white, greenish, pink or a white that is yellowish. The leaves can measure between 7 and 16 centimeters.
The reality is that the flower as such, are those little yellow buttons that you can see, they have all the basics that a flower should have, pistils, filaments and of course the petals.
Properties of the poinsettia
Apart from being a beautiful plant, it has other uses, for example some cooks use it as an ingredient in their dishes to give them a better flavor, for this it must be washed very well.
And among its therapeutic properties we find: being able to control vaginal bleeding, amenorrhea; can be applied externally or ingested to increase secretion in nursing mothers; also as a treatment for diseases such as warts, fleas, herpes simplex, erysipelas, infections, sores or herpes in the mouth, infections and skin wounds; if the roasted (hot) leaves are applied on inflammations, these will diminish; They are also effective to heal different blows, for this the flowers must be boiled, lemon is poured on them and then they must be wrapped over the affected area.
After having talked a little about this plant, now let’s focus on its care.
The purchase and choice of flower
You should start by going to buy a plant(normally it is in November or December), do not go just to ask for this one and take the one that is first delivered or offered to you, take the time to look at all of them and start discarding those that are not in good condition, some may have their leaves with spots, others may have rolled their leaves, or that they are already withered, also check their stems well which should not be brittle or broken, so observe them all very well and take one that leaves you totally satisfied, one that looks beautiful and leafy, that its leaves are totally green and also feel thick, check that its flowers are just coming out (sprouting), in other words, that they are still very small; yellow is the color that the flowers are just being born.
Do not take it like this; ask them to pack it for you, wrapping it in plastic, because this plant is one of the most sensitive that exists in terms of temperature change, especially since you will acquire it in the cold season. Do not go to remove that plastic until you are inside your house.
Location
If the plant is going through its flowering stage, it will need abundant light, but in turn it will not be able to receive direct sun. Once this period is over, the light will not be as important until its flowering time arrives again.
Temperature
This plant, as we have already stated, is very sensitive to different temperatures, so if your wish is that it not only last for one season but for another or more, you must be very careful, the temperature must range between 17 and 21 degrees centigrade, you can’t put it where there are strong currents of air (or few to avoid damaging it) and keep it away from heat sources such as a stove or heater.
Irrigation
This plant must be in humidity and therefore its watering must be in abundance, but be careful because you should only do it when you see that it is dry, so first check its soil and depending on how you see its condition, proceed to pour the water to feed it.
As the idea is that we are not going to discard the plant, but that we are going to keep it, taking care of it so that in a year its flowers sprout again, you will need to pay more attention to its watering when summer arrives, because the intensity of irrigation will be greater.
We recommend that you do the irrigation in this way, do it from below like this: take a deep plate (you must calculate that the pot will fit in it) and fill it with water, then take the pot or pot and put it on top and leave it there for an approximately fifteen minutes and finally remove the water that is still in the plate.
When you are watering your bush you must pay close attention and care, because its leaves are extremely delicate and unlike other types of plants, if they are sprayed with water they can discolor or stain, which would cause you to lose one of your biggest plants. Characteristics that are its intense red color and therefore its appearance would no longer be so pleasant.
It is more advisable to water it with warm water.
The fertile land
The land must be fertile and the soil must have adequate drainage so that it does not flood and thus achieve good oxygenation.
Pruning
This should be done when spring arrives, at that time the plant does not have to have leaves; proceed to cut some stems that remain with a measure of eight centimeters and do not water it until its new leaves begin to come out.
After pruning there may be some cuttings left, with these you can make a reproduction of the poinsettia.
Reproduction or multiplication of the poinsettia
This reproduction is done by means of cuttings, which must have a measure of eight centimeters. These must be placed inside pots (pots), which must have an excellent substrate, either only sand or with some peat; as advice we tell you that it is good that you apply some hormones, these must be rooting. After this, you have to put these pots where they get enough light and where there are temperatures between 22 and 25 degrees Celsius; its rooting will take place approximately 25 days after having done the work of multiplying this beautiful plant.
The fertilizer
You can pay this plant, but only until the moment it blooms, when this happens, stop doing it. Look for fertilizers that are slow release in any place where plants are sold, such as in a nursery, there they can advise and advise you.
Pests
You must constantly be monitoring the plants that are in your possession, since these, as they are living beings, can contract diseases, fungi or pests, which severely affect the health of your plants, even more so in the case of the plant itself. Which we are focusing on in this article. You can resort to fungicides or insecticides; make sure that these products are organic.
This plant can give pests, being more sensitive to the following:
The green fly: which is an insect that causes the leaves to become deformed and sticky, you can eradicate this type of problem with a systemic insecticide.
Botrytis: you will know that your plant has this type of plague if you notice that there are gray spots on its leaves, generally it occurs on the branches that are in the lower part; So that it does not continue to spread, it is very important that you use a fungicide.
Other common type pests that can give your plant are: mites, aphids, whitefly, and mealy bugs. As a recommendation, we also tell you that when you see any type of sign that this is happening, since it is most likely that you are not an expert in plants to be able to correctly identify what type of pest it is, it would be good if you took a leaf as a sample and took it with you. Go to a nursery or a person you know who is specialized in the subject and show it to them, as they will advise you on what is best to recover your plant.
Tips
With everything seen here, it will not be necessary for you to leave your beautiful Christmas flower, because if since you acquired your flower you followed the advice described here well, you will see that you can make it, after a year has passed, manage to bloom again.
So that you can keep your plant until the following year, put it in the dark for about 12 hours for several weeks.
We can say that this flower needs little water, a lot of light and above all your patience so that it can resist you for longer than you can believe.
