Ornamental plants

POINSETTIA

Poinsettia or Euphorbia Pulcherrima, belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family. It is a short-day plant native to Mexico, where it blooms in winter. In nature, it is a woody shrub from 2-4 m high. Its story as an ornamental plant begins in 1828 when the American ambassador to Mexico, J.R. Poinsett, introduced it into his country, beginning its cultivation. What we commonly call “flower” is actually a group of transformed and coloured leaves. The true flowers are the small cyathia (utricles), visible at the centre of the bracts. Because poinsettias flower in winter, they have become the emblem of Christmas. Poinsettias are bought, when already in bloom, from nurseries that cultivate them from stem cuttings for 5-6 months. They require a minimum temperature of 15-18°C and are very sensitive to low temperatures which cause their leaves to turn yellow and fall off. Before buying a plant, make sure that it is compact, has short internodes and dark green leaves, and is free from parasites. Once at home, it must be placed in a luminous site, far from radiators. It must be watered frequently, though the pot dish must not remain wet for too long and neither must the soil. To repot the plant, use a light substratum made up of 50% organic compost and 50% inert material such as expanded clay, perlite, or sand. Feed weekly with a complex fertilizer dissolved in the irrigation water. If well-cared for, flowering can last 4-8 weeks. Afterwards, the plant can be kept indoors until spring when it can be pruned and placed outdoors, watered, and fertilized. If taken back indoors in September, it will flower once again towards November-December.