EASTER FLOWER

The Poinsettia, Poinsettia or Pascuero is native to Mexico and very decorative; not in vain, “pulcherrima” means “the most beautiful”.

Its showy bracts are available in different colors: red, yellow, salmon, white, etc.. I say bracts and not flowers because those “petals” that we see are not flowers but are botanically called bracts. It is the same with Bougainvilleas, that what we call flowers are actually bracts, but come on, we understand each other. The flowers come out in the center of the bracts and are tiny and yellow, without ornamental value.

Want to buy one? You can do it HERE

The Poinsettia or Poinsettia can be grown both indoors and in the garden. Outside it lives very well in warm climates without frost or with light frosts (-2ºC) and grows to a large shrub up to 5 meters high.
Growing it outdoors is very easy (the climate must allow it, obviously) but indoors it is a rather delicate plant. Here we are going to see all the conditions it requires and the care that must be given to have it at home.

– First of all, the change of situation from where you bought it to your house can be strong and suffer for it. In this sense, never buy one from a street vendor in cold weather. If it goes from the cold to the heat of the house, bad. Sudden temperature changes are the first point against it.

– Take it home wrapped in plastic if you buy it in a store so that it does not catch cold.

– When you buy it, make sure there are not too many ripe flowers in the heart of the bracts. The more there are, the less time it will last. In the first stage there is only one open bud, in the last stage there are ten or more.

– Also inspect the plants for broken stems, rotten stems and leaf spots (Botrytis fungus). Look carefully because with the plastic they come with, sometimes the base is not visible and may be loose.

LIGHT

They need a lot of light when in flower, since in a dry and poorly lit environment the leaves fall off. Near a window is great in terms of light, but beware of the cold at night.

TEMPERATURE

Neither high temperatures nor cold. Both are causes of leaf fall. The ideal is about 22 ºC during the day and 16 ºC at night (never below 10 ºC).

ENVIRONMENTAL HUMIDITY

This point is key: if the environment is dry, the leaves will fall. The poinsettia hates strong heating.

Once you have the plant at home, put it on a layer of pebbles with water in a bowl or deep dish without the bottom of the pot being in contact with the liquid water. In this way we manage to humidify the air around the plant. It is better than spraying the leaves directly, to avoid the risk of fungal infection, although if the heating is high, you should resort to spraying the leaves, not the bracts, which become stained and discolored.

WATERING

Waterfrom below, placing the pot in a bowl or dish of water for about 15 minutes and removing any excess water that the plant has not absorbed.

With 2 waterings per week is enough, but take care that between watering and watering the substrate dries in part. As always, it is necessary to be careful not to overdo it with the water, since it would rot. And another general thing: if the temperature is high, water more.

The water should be warm, at room temperature, not too cold.

FERTILIZER

Adding a little liquid fertilizer once every 10 days is enough.

PRUNING

After flowering the plant can be kept.

I find it practical, in warm climates without frost, to plant it in the garden and let it develop there as a shrub. But in cool climates, with frosts that do not allow its survival outdoors, pretending to get new flowers (bracts) next winter, is complicated. For two reasons:

1. To provoke flowering, you would have to extend its nights by covering it with cardboard or black plastic at dusk until the next morning for several weeks. It needs every day 14 hours in absolute darkness during the 2 or 3 months before flowering (October and November) and the rest of the day with light. With more hours of light, the plant grows but does not give flowers or colored leaves. A trick is to make a dome as a mini-greenhouse in aluminum foil, black plastic or any other opaque material. In greenhouses they are produced in this way, covering with black plastic and removing it to induce flowering.

2. Y otra cosa: para que adopte la forma compacta que poseen cuando se compran, tendrías que aplicar unos productos muy profesionales llamados reguladores de crecimiento que lo que hacen es frenar su desarrollo aplicados por vía foliar. Quizás pinzando los extremos también se podría hacer.

De todas maneras, si quieres intentarlo, haz lo siguiente:

1. Poda los tallos una vez que hayan caído las hojas dejándolos a unos 10 cm de la base. (Estos tallos puedes usarlos para hacer esquejes y conseguir nuevas plantas). Usa guantes porque la savia blanca puede irritar los ojos y las mucosas por contacto. En caso de sentir irritación lava la zona con abundante agua.

2. Recubre el corte con cera de vela para cerrar la herida del tallo.

3. Cambia a continuación de la poda a una maceta una medida mayor.

4. Ponla en un lugar más freco y seco durante un tiempo. Pronto aparecerán nuevos brotes.

5. Si estás en un clima sin heladas, puedes plantarla en el jardín pero si no es así, para tener flores (brácteas) el próximo invierno tendrías que hacer lo que comentaba antes de las horas de oscuridad.

The Poinsettia, Poinsettia or Pascuero is native to Mexico and very decorative; not in vain, “pulcherrima” means “the most beautiful”.

Its showy bracts are available in different colors: red, yellow, salmon, white, etc.. I say bracts and not flowers because those “petals” that we see are not flowers but are botanically called bracts. It is the same with Bougainvilleas, that what we call flowers are actually bracts, but come on, we understand each other. The flowers come out in the center of the bracts and are tiny and yellow, without ornamental value.

Want to buy one? You can do it HERE

The Poinsettia or Poinsettia can be grown both indoors and in the garden. Outside it lives very well in warm climates without frost or with light frosts (-2ºC) and grows to a large shrub up to 5 meters high.
Growing it outdoors is very easy (the climate must allow it, obviously) but indoors it is a rather delicate plant. Here we are going to see all the conditions it requires and the care that must be given to have it at home.

– First of all, the change of situation from where you bought it to your house can be strong and suffer for it. In this sense, never buy one from a street vendor in cold weather. If it goes from the cold to the heat of the house, bad. Sudden temperature changes are the first point against it.

– Take it home wrapped in plastic if you buy it in a store so that it does not catch cold.

– When you buy it, make sure there are not too many ripe flowers in the heart of the bracts. The more there are, the less time it will last. In the first stage there is only one open bud, in the last stage there are ten or more.

– Also inspect the plants for broken stems, rotten stems and leaf spots (Botrytis fungus). Look carefully because with the plastic they come with, sometimes the base is not visible and may be loose.

LIGHT

They need a lot of light when in flower, since in a dry and poorly lit environment the leaves fall off. Near a window is great in terms of light, but beware of the cold at night.

TEMPERATURE

Neither high temperatures nor cold. Both are causes of leaf fall. The ideal is about 22 ºC during the day and 16 ºC at night (never below 10 ºC).

ENVIRONMENTAL HUMIDITY

This point is key: if the environment is dry, the leaves will fall. The poinsettia hates strong heating.

Once you have the plant at home, put it on a layer of pebbles with water in a bowl or deep dish without the bottom of the pot being in contact with the liquid water. In this way we manage to humidify the air around the plant. It is better than spraying the leaves directly, to avoid the risk of fungal infection, although if the heating is high, you should resort to spraying the leaves, not the bracts, which become stained and discolored.

WATERING

Waterfrom below, placing the pot in a bowl or dish of water for about 15 minutes and removing any excess water that the plant has not absorbed.

With 2 waterings per week is enough, but take care that between watering and watering the substrate dries in part. As always, it is necessary to be careful not to overdo it with the water, since it would rot. And another general thing: if the temperature is high, water more.

The water should be warm, at room temperature, not too cold.

FERTILIZER

Adding a little liquid fertilizer once every 10 days is enough.

PRUNING

After flowering the plant can be kept.

I find it practical, in warm climates without frost, to plant it in the garden and let it develop there as a shrub. But in cool climates, with frosts that do not allow its survival outdoors, pretending to get new flowers (bracts) next winter, is complicated. For two reasons:

1. To provoke flowering, you would have to extend its nights by covering it with cardboard or black plastic at dusk until the next morning for several weeks. It needs every day 14 hours in absolute darkness during the 2 or 3 months before flowering (October and November) and the rest of the day with light. With more hours of light, the plant grows but does not give flowers or colored leaves. A trick is to make a dome as a mini-greenhouse in aluminum foil, black plastic or any other opaque material. In greenhouses they are produced in this way, covering with black plastic and removing it to induce flowering.

2. Y otra cosa: para que adopte la forma compacta que poseen cuando se compran, tendrías que aplicar unos productos muy profesionales llamados reguladores de crecimiento que lo que hacen es frenar su desarrollo aplicados por vía foliar. Quizás pinzando los extremos también se podría hacer.

De todas maneras, si quieres intentarlo, haz lo siguiente:

1. Poda los tallos una vez que hayan caído las hojas dejándolos a unos 10 cm de la base. (Estos tallos puedes usarlos para hacer esquejes y conseguir nuevas plantas). Usa guantes porque la savia blanca puede irritar los ojos y las mucosas por contacto. En caso de sentir irritación lava la zona con abundante agua.

2. Recubre el corte con cera de vela para cerrar la herida del tallo.

3. Cambia a continuación de la poda a una maceta una medida mayor.

4. Ponla en un lugar más freco y seco durante un tiempo. Pronto aparecerán nuevos brotes.

5. Si estás en un clima sin heladas, puedes plantarla en el jardín pero si no es así, para tener flores (brácteas) el próximo invierno tendrías que hacer lo que comentaba antes de las horas de oscuridad.