May your poinsettias bloom next year as well

One of the symbols of Christmas, the beautiful poinsettia, disappears from many homes after flowering. It's a shame, because it can be saved for next year. With a little patience and care, it will bloom again for Christmas - and it will be even stronger and more beautiful. Just stick to a few steps throughout the year. Which ones? Read on!

The beautiful poinsettia, also known as the poinsettia, is especially popular as one of the symbols of Christmas thanks to its colors. In stores before the Christmas holidays, you can most often find it in red, pink or cream. In recent years, some stores havealso offered interesting mottled ones. Poinsettias are magical decorations for every home.

Before we advise you on how to make a poinsettia red even next Christmas, we need to open a small "educational window". To understand how coloration works in poinsettia, it is important to know these two terms: 

• short-day plant
• photoperiod

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Pojďme si to tedy jednoduše vysvětlit. To, jak květina reaguje na světlo, je velmi důležité pro to, aby její listy další rok byly zabarvené. Vánoční hvězda je rostlinnou short-day.  It means that enough darkness is important for its coloring, not light, as is normally the case.

Photoperiodis the number of hours a plant is exposed to light. This time should only be about nine hours for the poinsettia before Christmas for at least three weeks in a row. So what does this mean in practice?

1. After the leaves fall in the new year, cut the stem of the plant to about 10 centimeters. Use gloves, the juice that will flow from the cut is poisonous. Also watch out for children or animals running around. If the juice gets on you, wash your hands thoroughly. You can stop the leaking juice by immersing the wound in warm water or using a gentle flame from a candle or lighter.
2. Place the plant in a bright and cool place and water it approximately once every 14 days. Around 16 degrees Celsius will suit her. After the frosts, you can easily place the planter outside. The poinsettia in the garden will become powerful. The soil of the plant should always be moist, but be careful that the flower does not float in water. The overcast poinsettia quickly falls off, or excessive watering causes yellowing of the leaves.
3. When the cool autumn evenings come after the summer, move the poinsettia back inside, preferably to an area where it is around 20 degrees Celsius. Water regularly and you can also sprinkle with water from a sprayer. 

And now the most important task. How to make the poinsettia bloom again? The answer is darkening.

1. When you light the first candle on the advent wreath, i.e. 4 weeks before Christmas, start covering the plant with, for example, newspaper or a box. You can cover it every day around five o'clock in the afternoon, and uncover it again in the morning around eight o'clock. At this time it is already dark outside, but artificial lighting will also affect the coloring. You need to pay attention to that.
2. After about three weeks, you should notice buds. 

A rebloomed poinsettia is usually bushier and larger. And if it doesn't bloom after all, stop by one of the 14 Dutch flower shops where you can buy this symbol of Christmas.

What else do you need to know about the poinsettia?

• Vánoční hvězda a kočka - Although it is a poisonous plant, it is not deadly. If your furry pet also falls in love with her, such a friendship can cause stomach ache and diarrhea. Therefore, try to separate these two inhabitants of your house.
• Poinsettia and fertilization- You can regularly fertilize Poinsettia with fertilizer for indoor plants with watering.
• Origin of Poinsettia stars - Although the poinsettia is a symbol of Christmas and winter, it comes from a much warmer climate - Mexico. She can therefore be quite sensitive to such blowing. Therefore, be careful when choosing from the store. You better not buy anything where he pulls on flowers.