Do you throw away the Star of Bethlehem after Christmas? This is a big mistake. Don’t treat it as decoration for a few weeks. Make it beautifully decorate your apartment, just like other potted plants. Find out how to grow it so that it stays colorful almost all year round.
After Christmas, the Star of Bathlehem loses its intense coloras it begins to enter a state of rest. During this time, we must take proper care of this plant.
We limit watering of the poinsettia and stop fertilizing it completely. The soil cannot be soaked because it will cause the roots to rot. We move the specimen to a bright and quiet place, away from radiators and drafts. The room temperature should be 15-18 degrees Celsius.
This will slow down the growth of the star of Bethlehem, which is then recommended. It will be regenerated after intensive December “flowering”.
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The key step in growing the Star of Bethlehem is pruning, which is carried out at the turn of March and April. Then the plant comes to life.
So how do you prune a poinsettia? First, we remove weak and damaged shoots, and prune the remaining shoots by approximately half. This treatment aims to stimulate the specimen to grow new twigs.
We recommend wearing protective gloves when trimming. Star of Bethlehem juice may irritate the skin.
In summer, we move the Star of Bethlehem to a bright, warm place. During this time, we water it regularly – the soil must be constantly moist.
In autumn, from October to mid-November, we carry out another important treatment. The idea is to cut the plant off from light for 15 hours every day. So we can put it in a dark cabinet or cover it with cardboard. Thanks to this, it will start to dye a specific color.
In mid-November we move the poinsettia to a bright position again and plant it . Very soon we will see colorful flowers. We won’t have to buy another specimen for Christmas.
