How to grow poinsettias well? A detailed guide to cultivation methods
Poinsettia, also known as ivory red, Christmas flower, Christmas red, and monkey tree, is a shrub plant of the genus Euphorbia in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is native to the Taxco region of Mexico in Central America and is now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. It is cultivated in most provinces, regions, and municipalities in China, and is commonly seen in parks, botanical gardens, and greenhouses for ornamental purposes. Let us take a look below at how to grow poinsettias best!
The benefits of growing poinsettias
1. Ornamental value: The poinsettia has graceful branches and leaves, bright flower colors, and a long flowering period. It blooms right around Christmas, New Year's Day, and the Spring Festival. Its brilliant red color adds a festive atmosphere. Displaying poinsettias in pattern arrangements for ornamental viewing during holidays produces a very good effect.
2. Home decoration: In addition to arranging beautiful furniture and—some furnishings in the home interior, if potted flowers, bonsai, and flower arrangements can be used as indoor decorations, it will have even more unique charm. Not only can it bring a rich sense of life to the room, but it can also make people feel cheerful and comfortable. The poinsettia's unique and delicate red bracts are eye-catching and alluring. When accenting a windowsill, balcony, or study, spreading red and displaying green, it is charming and lovely.
3. Feng shui benefits: The poinsettia has brilliant flower colors. Because it blooms right around New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, it carries the beautiful meaning of universal celebration and wishing new life together. At this time, using it to decorate places such as the home living room can, in feng shui terms, easily bring good luck to family members.
4. Medicinal value: Poinsettia is cool in nature and bitter and astringent in taste. It has the functions of regulating menstruation and stopping bleeding, invigorating blood and transforming phlegm, and setting bones and reducing swelling. It mainly treats excessive menstruation, wind-cold cough, traumatic injuries, external bleeding, fractures, and traumatic swelling and pain. Selecting an appropriate amount of poinsettia can treat functional uterine bleeding, and it also has a certain therapeutic effect on traumatic swelling and pain.
How do poinsettias propagate?
1. Semi-hardwood cuttings: Poinsettia semi-hardwood cuttings are mostly carried out between March and May in spring, generally when the temperature is above 15°C. When taking cuttings, cut a one-year-old woody or semi-woody branch about 10 cm long, remove the leaves on the cutting and the branch tip, and cut the base incision into a slant close to the node. Dip it in plant ash, wait for the cut to dry, then insert it into fine sand. After insertion, water thoroughly, keep the temperature at 22-24°C, and roots will form after 20 days.
2. Softwood cuttings: When the current year's branches of the poinsettia have grown to 6-8 leaves, take a soft shoot segment 6-8 cm long with 3-4 nodes, cut it flat below the node, remove the large leaves at the base, and immediately place it in clean water to prevent the milky sap from flowing out, then take the cutting. After cutting, ensure the young stem and leaves remain moist, and take shade measures. Most varieties of softwood cuttings can root in 14-18 days.
3. Old root cuttings: For poinsettias cultivated for many years, their roots can also be used to propagate new plants. This is because in March and April of spring, when poinsettias are brought out of the house, a repotting and soil change should be carried out to replenish the nutrients in the potting soil and to trim the stems and roots.
4. Layering propagation: Layering propagation is a propagation method in which branches of a plant close to the ground are bent down into the soil, and higher branches have the cut parts wrapped with moist materials such as green moss. After they take root, they are separated from the mother plant and planted to form new plants. After layering, poinsettias generally grow roots in about two months. At this time, they can be cut off and planted in pots, forming a new plant. The best time for layering is from April to July.
How are poinsettias grown?
1. Soil mixing: Poinsettia cultivation is best with loose, fertile, well-drained sandy soil. For potting soil, a mixture of culture soil, leaf mold, and sand is best. Generally, poinsettia cultivation uses 3 parts vegetable garden soil, 3 parts humus soil, 3 parts leaf mold, and 1 part decomposed cake fertilizer, with a small amount of cinder added and mixed for use.
2. Temperature: Poinsettia likes warmth and cannot tolerate cold. Its suitable growth temperature is 18-25°C, with 18-24°C from April to September and 13-16°C from September to the following April. Each year in mid-to-late September, poinsettias should be brought indoors for care, and ventilation should be strengthened so the plant gradually adapts to the indoor environment. In winter, room temperature should preferably be kept at 15-20°C. If the winter temperature is too low, it easily causes poor development of poinsettia flowers and leaves.
3. Light: Poinsettia is a short-day plant. It likes sufficient light and has strong phototropism. It should have sufficient light throughout the year, especially during the stem and leaf growth period, so it can grow rapidly and luxuriantly. If light is insufficient, branches tend to grow leggy and become diseased. If placed in a dark place for a long time, it will not bloom and will drop leaves in winter. If you want to make it bloom earlier or later, you can control the light, giving 8 hours of light per day, and it can bloom in 40 days.
4. Fertilizing: Poinsettia likes fertile sandy soil. When potting and repotting, add organic fertilizer and horseshoe slices as base fertilizer. During growth and flowering, apply a diluted 5-fold fully decomposed sesame paste residue liquid fertilizer once every 10-15 days. After autumn begins, a 0.3% compound chemical fertilizer can also be applied once a week for 3 to 4 consecutive times to promote poinsettia bract color change and flower bud differentiation.
5. Watering: Poinsettia is neither drought-tolerant nor moisture-tolerant. Water control is directly related to the growth and development of poinsettias. Watering poinsettias should be flexibly managed according to the weather, potting soil, and plant growth conditions. Generally, watering should keep the potting soil moist without water accumulation. Alternating dry and wet conditions can easily cause its leaves to yellow and drop. After poinsettias bloom, watering should be reduced.
6. Shaping: Poinsettia goes dormant around Qingming Festival. At this time, it should be repotted, and old roots and diseased or weak branches should be cut off to encourage new shoots to sprout. During growth, pinching should be done twice, the first in late June and the second in mid-August. When poinsettia branches grow to 20-30 cm, begin shaping and bending so the plant shape is compact, the flower heads are neat and evenly distributed, thereby improving its ornamental value. During cultivation, plant growth regulators need to be used to dwarf the plant height to meet the requirement of consistent height for commercial flowers.
7. Pests and diseases: During greenhouse cultivation, poinsettias are highly susceptible to pests and diseases such as gray mold, root rot, stem rot, and leaf spot. In daily care, attention should be paid to more ventilation, frequent loosening of the soil, and control of fertilizer and water to prevent pests and diseases. If pests and diseases have already occurred, corresponding measures should be taken to control them, such as spraying the corresponding agents to eliminate them.