Content
- Can a poinsettia be pulled as a bonsai?
- To breed poinsettia as bonsai
- Cut the Christmas star correctly
- The right location
- Caring for the Christmas star bonsai
- Tips
Educating the poinsettia to bonsai is a real challenge
Can a poinsettia be pulled as a bonsai?
Like all shrubs that lint over time, a poinsettia can also be grown as bonsai. However, this requires a plant that is older and whose shoots have hardened down. Plants from the supermarket are not suitable because they are usually too young.
To breed poinsettia as bonsai
Breeding a poinsettia as a bonsai is quite time-consuming. The shrub needs a lot of care and takes any care mistake bad.
For bonsai fans, it's a challenge that unfortunately does not always work.
Prerequisite is a poinsettia that has been drawn for several years. Only this one is sufficiently woody to cut it.
Cut the Christmas star correctly
Cut a poinsettia that you would like to breed as bonsai, cut back after flowering so that only a few shoots remain.
In certain forms can not bring a poinsettia. The shoots are too sensitive to wire. The bonsai shows only in a compact, small form, in which the leaves grow out of the woody shoots.
Wear gloves when cutting, as the leaking latex juice is poisonous. It can cause inflammation on skin contact.
The right location
The poinsettia bonsai wants to be bright and warm but not too sunny. Frost does not tolerate poinsettias, so they can only stay on the balcony or terrace during the summer.
Caring for the Christmas star bonsai
The care of a Christmas star bonsai is elaborate. It must not be poured too often, so that no waterlogging can occur. If it is too moist, the leaves turn yellow and fall off.
Fertilization requires a bit of tact. Suitable are special bonsai fertilizers, which should contain a lot of potash during the growth phase and a lot of phosphorus before the flowering period.
The bonsai is repotted after flowering. The roots are shortened so that the plant becomes compact and remains small.
Tips
In order for the Christmas star bonsai to develop red, yellow, white or variegated bracts at the desired time, it has to stand dark for several weeks. Either set it completely dark or simulate the darkness through a paper bag.