Poinsettia Is The Most Beautiful, Grown In An Apartment

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

According to the horoscope, the zodiac sign Aquarius (January 21 - February 20) corresponds to many indoor plants that are well known to flower growers. Among them are pleasant stromanta, calathea (striped decorated, wonderful), dracaena Gosfera, Rowley's cross, silver-veined fittonia, gouty jatropha, arrowroot tricolor (prayer tree), coleus (Blume, dwarf), striped abutilon (indoor maple) and poinsettia (Euphorbia is the most beautiful or beautiful).

The most beautiful poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) (family Euphorbiaceae) can be called one of the most beloved and popular plants among flower growers in the world. They appreciate its wonderful coloration. In indoor floriculture, poinsettia is represented only by this species. In the most interesting ("fighting") colors poinsettia is most often found in stores on the eve of Christmas. By the beginning of flowering (November-December), fiery red, pink, cream or white (depending on the variety) bracts of an elongated-elliptical shape are formed.

In the natural conditions of its homeland - Mexico (tropical forests of Central and South America), poinsettia is a perennial evergreen shrub with thick hollow branches and long (up to 12-15 cm) and wide (up to 6-7 cm) dark green lobed broad-lanceolate leaves (with reddish or silvery veins), with a rounded base and a notched or even edge, which are located on long (5-8 cm) petioles of red-coral color.

She has appeared in indoor floriculture since 1834. The inconspicuousness of inconspicuous, greenish-yellow flowers, collected in corymbose inflorescences at the ends of the branches and usually appearing in December-January, is more than compensated for by the staining of the bracts and nearby leaves, which acquire a fiery red color, by this time. These bracts are similar in shape to a multi-pointed glowing star.

Milkweed bloom lasts from December to February, but with skillful cultivation and the use of certain varieties, it can last until March (especially if a plant is purchased with still small central inflorescences); bracts persist after flowering for another 1-2 months.

If a young plant is acquired in the spring, taking into account its photophilousness, it is placed on a window with a southern or south-western orientation (shaded from direct sunlight), protected from drafts. This "sissy" is watered with slightly warmed water (as the topsoil dries up), preventing the accumulation of excess moisture in the ground.

The plant reacts very painfully to dry air, therefore, to increase its moisture, poinsettia leaves are sprayed. For successful development, the optimal temperature is considered to be 20-22 ° C. Since poinsettia grows with a short day, a ten-hour shortened day is created for it to bloom in the autumn months. In winter, during the flowering of poinsettia, you need a lot of light (avoid direct sunlight). If the temperature is reduced to 17-18 ° C, the leaves of the bracts will be colored more intensely. However, this is fraught with a certain danger: you can not keep track of the temperature (it is unacceptable to lower it below 15 ° C).

Periodic spraying of foliage during the flowering period is beneficial for the plant, especially if the room has low air humidity. After the completion of flowering and natural fall of green leaves, poinsettia begins a period of short-term dormancy (February - March), therefore, watering is sharply reduced, but the soil should not dry out completely.

For the plant to bloom next Christmas, experts recommend doing the following. After the leaves are shed, the stems are cut, leaving 8-10 cm from the soil surface. The poinsettia is transferred to a cool, semi-dark place, almost without watering (but the earthy coma is not allowed to dry out).

In early May, they are transplanted into a new pot with part of the old soil. Watering and regular feeding is done until young shoots appear, which, as a rule, grow back by the end of September. Of these, 4-5 of the strongest are left, and the rest are removed (they are sometimes used for reproduction). And poinsettias organize a specific lighting regime. It is covered early in the evening (in the afternoon) with a dark (completely impervious to light) plastic bag, and in the morning it is removed, since the plant should be in the dark for 14-15 hours a day (the length of daylight hours should not exceed 10 hours). Such complete shading is necessary for the establishment of flower buds and the subsequent staining of the bracts.

An excess of light (even the use of fluorescent lamps to illuminate the room) greatly inhibits the development of flower buds, while at the same time contributing to the rapid vegetative growth of the plant (that is, its design as a decorative leaf). This reception lasts two months, after which they switch to the usual regimen. In this case, the poinsettia blooms for Christmas. If you start shading in July - early August, you can get the plant blooming in October - early November.

For the successful cultivation of poinsettia, some amateurs recommend that the soil mixture be made from sod, leaf and humus (peat) soil with the addition of sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 4: 1, others suggest making it from the same components in equal parts. It should also be noted that this plant is able to tolerate high concentrations of salts in the soil quite normally. During the growth period, the poinsettia must be fed with a solution of complex fertilizers (with some predominance of nitrogen fertilizers). With the beginning of the growing season and before flowering, you can practice feeding with an infusion of slurry every month (1:10).

With low air humidity in the room (especially during the period of operation of the heating system batteries), the inflorescences may turn yellow, and the edges of the leaves may turn brown after yellowing. With an excess or deficit of moisture in the soil, the leaves wither, turn yellow and fall off. If the leaves begin to wilt, the plant needs to be watered urgently. At too low a temperature, a draft or lack of lighting, the leaves can suddenly fall off. At low humidity and high air temperatures, spider mites may appear on the plant.

Most often, flower growers grow poinsettia varieties that have bright red bracts. Especially appreciated by amateurs, the Lilo variety with dark green leaves and ruby-red bracts. According to experts, this variety has increased resistance to major pests and diseases. For relatively warm rooms, breeders obtained an early flowering variety Sapdzhibi: in a heated room, it can lose the bright red color of the bracts.

These varieties are characterized by a "traditional" Christmas color. But in the last 10-12 years, breeders on the basis of the main species E. vulcherrima have significantly expanded the range of poinsettia and developed a fairly large group of varieties, forms and varieties characterized by bracts of different lengths (15-30 cm) and the most varied colors (scarlet, pink, white, yellow), even combined colors (among flower growers, interest in plants of pink and two-color colors is gradually increasing).

So, for Capri White and Sonora it is white, for Marbie it is creamy white, for Dorothea and Capri Pink it is pink, for Pink Pepermint it is apricot. For many amateur flower growers, the Lemon Drop form, characterized by the lemon-yellow color of the bracts, may be interesting, but it requires a relatively cool room.

Marble-colored bracts (Marblestar, Cortez Cream, etc.) are becoming more and more fashionable. A remarkable variety of Jungle Bells with original spotted inflower leaves. There are mini-plants, in the form of a densely branched bush and in the form of a standard form. Thanks to this variety, for a room flower garden, you can choose cultivars - undersized, compact, for a window (30-45 cm high) and tall (for cutting).

It is better to propagate poinsettia by cuttings - in spring (March-April) or early summer. They must be taken from well-developed mother cells. To do this, the top of the stems (10-12 cm long) with 4-5 leaves are cut off from the poinsettia. At the same time, milky juice begins to flow abundantly from the slices. It is for the peculiarity of highlighting this poinsettia juice that they gave the second name - "the most beautiful euphorbia", although it is completely unlike (and not a "relative") to another euphorbia (with thorns) - the "crown of thorns".

The juice flowing out can seriously slow down the rooting of the cutting, so it is washed off for 10 minutes with running water (or put in water with a temperature of 40 ° C for 20-30 minutes) - let it flow out in sufficient volume. It is believed that excess juice in the rooting substrate can also cause rotting of the tips of the cuttings. Then, for successful root formation, the cuttings are kept for an additional 5-6 hours in a cool dark place, after which the remnants of the juice are carefully collected on the sections with cotton wool or a sponge; root (at 25 ° C).

A mixture of coarse sand and peat is used; it is especially good if the cuttings are covered with a glass cover to retain moisture and humidity. After 2-3 weeks, the cuttings take root, they are transplanted into small pots 5-7 cm in size, covered with a transparent plastic bag for a week; if necessary, tied to a peg. After a month, the plants are transferred into larger pots, and after another 4-5 weeks they are pinched. When side shoots appear, you can carry out a third transfer of young plants into large pots. At the end of summer, they are moved to the windowsill and kept as usual.

The finest poinsettia can be used both as a single plant and in group planting. By the way, experts advise buying it with small (unopened) real inflorescences located in the center of the star when buying. Then the plant will bloom for a very long time, which means it will decorate the "company" of your indoor flowers on the windowsill with its beautifully painted leaves. It should also be recalled that poinsettia juice is poisonous, therefore, when caring for it, safety precautions are followed: if it gets on the skin (especially on the mucous membrane of the eyes), it can cause severe irritation and sharp pain.