How to Grow Poinsettia? A Complete Guide to Growing Methods and Techniques

Growing Techniques Jan 1, 1970 0 views

How to grow poinsettia, a complete guide to poinsettia growing methods and techniques

Where do you think the flowers of the poinsettia grow? If you answer that they grow at the very top, then you are wrong, because the leaves at the very top layer are red or white and are often mistaken for flowers. The flowers of the poinsettia generally grow in the middle part of the leaf cluster. The flowering period is from December to February, and poinsettia flowers are mostly red. That is why they look especially festive.

Poinsettia display image

The poinsettia has many uses. It can be made into delicious dishes and can also be used to make wine. Not only that, the poinsettia also plays its unique role in medicine. As a medicinal plant, the poinsettia can promote blood circulation and resolve phlegm, and set bones and reduce swelling. While quietly letting everyone admire it, the poinsettia also brings everyone more benefits. The picture below shows a dish made from poinsettia.

Poinsettia display image

The growing methods for poinsettia are actually not difficult. Generally, when we plant poinsettia, we need to be familiar with its growth habits. The poinsettia likes to grow in a moist and ventilated environment and has little resistance to low temperatures. Therefore, when planting, we must give it a suitable temperature, avoid too strong sunlight, and also pay attention to insufficient light.

Poinsettia display image

The poinsettia does not have high requirements for soil. Basically, it can also grow well in fertile sandy soil. In the hot summer, we need to supplement water. When watering, the soil should be moderately dry and wet. If there is water accumulation in the pot, we should deal with it promptly to avoid root rot in the poinsettia.

Partial data on poinsettia cuttings

Above is a chart showing some data 16 days after poinsettia cuttings. Poinsettia propagation is mainly by cuttings, and there are mainly two types: hardwood cuttings and softwood cuttings. During the cutting period, we should pay special attention to some matters that are unfavorable to growth. After inserting, pay attention to shading and moisture retention to prevent leaves from curling. Roots begin to form after half a month, and after 1 month they can be transplanted into pots.

How to grow poinsettia, a complete guide to poinsettia growing methods and techniques

How to grow poinsettia, poinsettia growing methods

The day the poinsettia blooms is exactly when winter approaches and the hundred flowers wither. Mr. Guo Moruo once wrote a moving description and passionate praise of the beautiful and lovely poinsettia: "When the coldest days of winter arrive and all flowers fall, amid a bleak scene, the poinsettia still keeps its loyal red heart. No matter how biting the north wind, no matter how the frost and snow bully it, it is always so red, never fading...... This is exactly the red we need most, the red of the poinsettia."

At present, in Europe, America, and Japan, the poinsettia has become an important potted flower in commercial production. In its place of origin, the poinsettia can grow in the open air into a shrub 3〜4 meters tall, and when in bloom it is a mass of brilliant red, creating an extremely striking and moving sight. If the poinsettia is used as a cut flower, paired with 2〜3 carnations and several branches of silver willow in a vase and placed on a desk, it is even more like a fiery tree and silver flowers, with a natural charm that brings out the best in each other.

The poinsettia is also known as xingxingmu, and because it blooms at Christmas, it is also called the Christmas flower. It is an evergreen shrub in the Euphorbiaceae family. Height 1〜3 meters. The stem is upright and contains white milky sap. The old stem is woody and yellow-brown; the young stem is upright and smooth, herbaceous, hollow,

bright green. Leaves ovate-elliptic to broadly lanceolate

Exceptionally beautiful

in shape, alternate, the upper leaves bract-like, red. The inflorescence is terminal. The flowers are small and not ornamental. The involucre is pale green, and each bract has 1〜2 large yellow glands.

Common varieties include White Poinsettia, Pink Poinsettia, Yellow Poinsettia, Deep Red Poinsettia, Double-flowered Poinsettia, Spherical Poinsettia, and Variegated Poinsettia.

The poinsettia is native to Mexico and Central America and other places. It likes a warm, moist environment with plenty of sunlight. It fears direct strong light, is not cold-tolerant, and fears frost. It needs soil with strong air permeability, good drainage, and that is loose and fertile.

The potting soil is best as loose, fertile sandy soil with strong air permeability. The quality of the soil directly affects the growth of the poinsettia. You can mix cultivation soil, leaf mold, and sand, or mix peat soil, carbonized rice husks, and coarse river sand in a ratio of 3:degree:degree. The soil is best slightly acidic, and adding an appropriate amount of calcium and magnesium fertilizer can make the red bracts even more vivid.

The suitable growth temperature is 18〜25 degrees. In winter, the temperature must not be lower than 10 degrees, otherwise the basal leaves easily turn yellow and fall off, forming a "bare legs" phenomenon. When the temperature rises in spring, shoots can continue to sprout and grow from the stem.

The poinsettia is a short-day plant. During the stem and leaf growth period, it needs plenty of sunlight to promote rapid and lush stem and leaf growth. To make the bracts turn red earlier, you need to control daily light to within 12 hours to promote flower bud differentiation. If given 9 hours of light per day, the bracts can turn red after 5 weeks. But in summer, it needs to be moved to a semi-shaded place.

It is relatively sensitive to water and fears water accumulation. During the growth period, if the water supply is sufficient, the stems and leaves grow rapidly, and sometimes there is excessive elongation of internodes and narrow leaves; on the contrary, if the potting soil lacks water or is alternately dry and wet, it will cause yellowing and falling of leaves. Therefore, when watering the poinsettia, it should be alternately dry and wet throughout, so as to keep the potting soil moist to slightly dry.

It greatly likes fertilizer, but the fertilizer concentration should not be high. During the growth period, apply liquid fertilizer once every 10 days. Usually 2 weeks before flower bud differentiation, supplement each plant with a small spoon of resin-coated slow-release fertilizer with a nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio of 14:degree4:degree4, to supplement the deficiency of soluble fertilizer. In winter, the fertilizer concentration should be reduced by half.

It is commonly propagated by cuttings. Both hardwood and softwood cuttings can be used, but softwood cuttings are more often used.

Cutting propagation: From April to May, select annual lignified or semi-lignified robust branches, 10 cm long, cut off the leaves on the cuttings, wash away the milky sap flowing from the cut, dip the cut in plant ash, let it dry, and then insert it into fine sand. At a room temperature of 25 degrees, the cuts heal and root 14〜18 days after insertion.

Softwood cuttings: When the current year's young shoots grow to 6〜8 leaves, take a 6〜8 cm long young shoot tip with 3〜4 nodes, cut it flat below the node, remove the large basal leaves, and immediately put it into clean water to stop the milky sap from flowing out, then insert it and keep the substrate moist. Roots can form in about 20 days. As long as the temperature is suitable, it can be done all year round, and cutting at a temperature of 15〜degree8 degrees is most suitable.

In the early stage of cutting, before rooting, controlling humidity is very important, and it may even be necessary to spray

mist once at intervals to avoid water loss from the leaves and increase the survival rate.

Leaf spot disease, gray mold, and stem rot mainly occur, and can be sprayed with 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 1,000 times dilution.

The poinsettia grows relatively fast and needs pruning and shaping. To control plant height, methods such as topping, bending branches and training the head, and growth inhibitors are commonly used. At home, the first two are commonly used.

During the growth process, top it twice, the first time in late June, and the second time in mid-August. The height of topping depends on need.

Bending branches and training the head is carried out in May, leaving 3〜4 branches per head. As the stem elongates, use thin bamboo to build a frame and tie the bent branches, stopping when the bracts begin to color. Bending the branches must be done in time, otherwise the branches become too hard and easily break, affecting the plant's form.

How to Grow Poinsettia? A Complete Guide to Growing Methods and Techniques

How to grow poinsettia, a complete guide to poinsettia growing methods and techniques

How to grow poinsettia, poinsettia growing methods

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