Poinsettia Growing Methods and Daily Care Tips

1. Soil preparation

For poinsettia cultivation, it is best to use loose, fertile, well-drained sandy soil; for potting soil, a mix of culture soil, leaf mold and sand is best. Generally, for poinsettia cultivation, use 3 parts vegetable garden soil, 3 parts humus soil, 3 parts leaf mold, and 1 part decomposed cake fertilizer, add a small amount of cinder and mix well.

2. Temperature

Poinsettia likes warmth and is not cold-tolerant, but both direct strong light and insufficient light are unfavorable to its growth. So poinsettia is a short-day plant; especially during the stem and leaf growth period, short-day conditions make it grow more rapidly and lushly. If there is insufficient sunlight, the branches tend to grow leggy and become prone to disease; if kept in a dark place for a long time, it will not bloom and will drop its leaves in winter. Moreover, controlling light can make it bloom earlier or later.

3. Fertilizing

Poinsettia likes fertile sandy soil. When repotting, you can add organic fertilizer and horseshoe slices as a base fertilizer; then, in the growing and blooming season, apply a liquid fertilizer of fully decomposed sesame paste residue diluted 5 times once every half month. After autumn begins, you can also use a 0.3% compound chemical fertilizer once a week for 3 to 4 consecutive times to promote bract color change and flower bud differentiation.

4. Watering

Watering. Poinsettia is neither tolerant of drought nor of waterlogging. Watering should be done in an appropriate amount according to the weather, the potting soil and the plant's growth condition. Generally, watering should keep the potting soil moist without water accumulating, to prevent it from being too dry or too wet; otherwise, the lower leaves of the plant will turn yellow and drop, or the branches will grow unevenly. However, after blooming, watering should be reduced.

5. Pruning

Generally, pruning is done around Qingming Festival, when the poinsettia goes dormant; at this time we need to cut off old roots and diseased or weak branches to promote the sprouting of new branches. During the growth process, it also needs to be pinched twice, in late June and mid-August respectively. When the branches grow to 20 to 30 cm, begin shaping and bending them so that the plant shape is shorter, the flower heads are neat, evenly distributed, and more ornamental.

Now everyone knows how to grow poinsettias, right? But after all, poinsettias are too conspicuous and easily attacked by pests and diseases, so how do we prevent and control pest and disease damage to poinsettias? Let me tell you.

Poinsettia Cultivation Methods

1. Soil preparation

To grow poinsettias, it is best to choose loose, fertile sandy soil; you can also use a mix of culture soil, leaf mold and sand for cultivation, which is also quite good.

2. Light

Poinsettia is a short-day plant and needs sufficient sunlight all year round; it should be given 8 hours of light a day. Of course, you can also control the light time to make poinsettia bloom earlier or later. But insufficient light will also make the branches prone to disease, and if kept in darkness for a long time it will not bloom.

3. Watering

Poinsettia is neither tolerant of drought nor of waterlogging. You should judge by the season and growth condition; generally, keeping the potting soil moist is suitable. After the poinsettia blooms, watering should be reduced.

4. Fertilizing

Poinsettia needs to be given a fully diluted fertilizer liquid such as sesame paste residue once every half month. During the growth period, organic fertilizer liquid should also be added; after autumn begins, a 0.3% compound chemical fertilizer can be applied once a week for 3 consecutive times.

5. Pruning

If you want the poinsettia to have a shape, you can also pinch it. When new branches begin to sprout in spring, appropriately cut off old branches.

The above covers how much a pot of poinsettia costs and its cultivation methods. Having learned so much knowledge, you can try growing a pot of poinsettia to add color to your life.

Poinsettia Growing Methods: How to Cultivate and Manage Poinsettia? Methods for Growing Poinsettia

Poinsettia, a plant of the genus Euphorbia in the family Euphorbiaceae, also known as Christmas flower, is a red ornamental flower used for decoration at Christmas. It originates from a certain color-changing foliage plant in the Taxco region of Mexico. Poinsettia is usually 60 cm to 3 m tall, and its dark green leaves are about 7 to 16 cm long. Its topmost leaves are fiery red, red or white, so they are often mistaken for flowers, while the true flowers are in the middle of the leaf cluster. The flowering period lasts from December to February of the following year; the flowering period coincides with Christmas and New Year's Day, making it very suitable for the festive atmosphere of the holidays. Poinsettia can be used as a medicinal plant and has the effects of activating blood and resolving phlegm, and setting bones and reducing swelling.

For potted poinsettia, the potting soil should preferably be made by mixing 7 parts vegetable garden soil with 3 parts decomposed cake fertilizer and rice chaff ash; or it can be made with 2 parts garden soil, 1 part leaf mold and 1 part compost. After the seedlings are potted, give them sufficient water and place them in half shade for about a week, then move them outdoors to a place where they can see sunlight in the morning and evening to harden for about half a month, and then place them in a sunny place for care. When the seedlings grow to 15 cm, they must be pinched: counting from the base upward, keep 4-5 leaves, cut off the branch tips, so that 3-5 side branches grow from the base. When the branches grow to 15-20 cm, you can begin bending and shaping.

Throughout its growth process, poinsettia requires a uniform supply of water; it is afraid of both dryness and waterlogging. In spring and autumn, evaporation is low, so watering should be controlled; on sunny summer days, evaporation is high, so it should be watered once each morning and evening. Generally, water when the potting soil is dry; in winter, watering should be done before noon, as watering in the afternoon will lower the soil temperature.

Poinsettia has relatively high fertilizer requirements, especially for nitrogen fertilizer. During the growth period, if nitrogen is insufficient, leaf drop will occur. Therefore, topdressing should begin 7-10 days after pinching. The topdressing should be light, and concentrated fertilizer should be avoided, once a week. Before Cold Dew, move it indoors, give it sufficient light and ventilation, and keep the room temperature above 15°C. After the flower buds appear, when flowering is near, phosphorus fertilizer should be increased to make the bracts (flowers) brightly colored. After blooming, lower the temperature to 12°C to prolong the flowering period.

Poinsettia is a short-day plant and naturally blooms in December. If you want it to bloom earlier, you can use short-day treatment, that is, starting in early August, cover it with shade at fixed times so that the plant's daily light time is shortened to 8-9 hours; in this way, it can bloom shortly before National Day.

How to bend and shape poinsettia?

Poinsettia plants grow very fast and tend to grow leggy, making the plant shape too tall. For this reason, many flower growers bend and shape it. Generally, this starts when the branches grow to about 18 cm, and watering should be stopped two days before bending. The operation time should preferably be around 6 p.m., because after a day of exposure to the sun, the water content in the branches decreases accordingly and they become soft. If bending is done in the morning, the branches are crisp and hard and break easily. For bending, use thin string to pull the branches into a bow shape and fix them. You can bend in different directions at intervals, tying the branches into a spiral shape that coils left and right, making the plant shorter. The last bending should be about 20 days before flowering. When bending and shaping, note that strong branches should be placed around the outside and weak branches in the middle, and strong branches should be bent downward more; in this way, the plant's branches and leaves can be evenly distributed, uniform in height, bloom neatly, and the whole tree shape is full and beautiful.

Some sources report that, to make poinsettia plants shorter, in addition to the above methods, you can also use the growth retardants B9 and CCC for foliar treatment or soil drenching, so as to shorten the internodes and dwarf the plant shape.

How to repot and prune poinsettia?

Poinsettia should preferably be repotted and have its soil changed once every year in early spring. When repotting, remove the soil at the shoulder of the original root ball as well as the old soil and rotten roots on the outer edge, and appropriately prune broken roots and branches. Put crushed bone pieces in the bottom of the pot as base fertilizer, then fill in a culture soil mixed with 3 parts leaf mold, 6 parts sandy loam and 1 part cake fertilizer powder, and then plant the plant into the pot.

After planting, water thoroughly, place in a shaded place, and move to a sunny place for cultivation after 10 days. When the first-year cutting seedling grows to a certain height, leave about 10 cm of the main trunk and cut off the upper part; in that year it can grow 2-3 side branches. If it is a perennial old plant, leave 2-3 buds at the base of each side branch, cut off all the upper branches, and encourage it to sprout new branches. After pruning, if new buds appear again, they should be removed at any time. Generally, each medium flower pot can keep 5-7 buds, each bud grows one branch, and the top of each branch bears one flower. If too many buds are kept, the branches will be thin and weak and the flowers small, affecting the ornamental value.

The whole poinsettia plant is toxic. Once the white milky sap in poinsettia contacts the skin, it can cause allergic symptoms such as redness and swelling of the skin, and accidental ingestion of the stems or leaves risks poisoning and death.