When November rolls around, many stores and nurseries start selling the quintessential Christmas plant.: the Easter flower or poinsettia. Also called Christmas plant, or Christmas plant with red leaves -despite the fact that it is the bracts of the flowers that turn red, and not the foliage-, it is one of those that we acquire the most to decorate our house during these weeks.
But often I have the impression that we treat it like another decorative object, a beautiful object that we will have above a piece of furniture for a defined time, which will be very short. And that’s why I’m going to tell you about how long does the christmas plant lastbecause I would like to bring my grain of sand so that it starts to be seen with different eyes and also starts to be treated differently.
Image – Wikimedia/Vengolis
The Euphorbia pulcherrimathis is what it is called in botany, It is a deciduous shrub that reaches an approximate height of 4 meters. As you well know, and if not, don’t worry because I’ll tell you next, it flowers in winter/early spring, and it also starts to do so when very young .
It is so because his life expectancy is 40 years. They may seem like a lot, but in reality they are not so many compared to the years that a conifer, for example, can live. But that’s not bad: it’s just that poinsettias and evergreens have different survival strategies. And be careful, I’m not just talking about the survival of the plant, but of the species: this is why some flower before others, and produce more seeds than others.
Therefore, an annual grass will not only live for a few months, but also produce a large number of seeds. Poinsettia is a shrub that, in its natural habitat, grows rapidly and flowers at an early age.. But of course, this entails a large energy expenditure, which is why it cannot live as long as other plants.
What factors can make it last a short time?
Related article:
Poinsettia: how to survive Christmas
Or in other words: why does it only last a few weeks when you buy it? Well, you’ll forgive me for being so direct, but that’s the way it is: because we don’t take care of it as it should. In reality, We usually always make some of these mistakes:
- It is placed near the heating, whether it is the radiator and/or the air conditioning.
- It is put inside a pot without holes, or a plate is placed under the pot which never slips.
- It is watered frequently, without letting the soil dry out completely -and not just on top-.
- It is placed in an area where there is little or not enough light.
Then there are other things that can influence. For instance, It is difficult for me to survive indoors because the humidity is so high that it rots after a few weeks; and I can’t leave her outside unprotected because the cold will kill her. How to fix this? Well, put a mineral substrate, like akadama. Thus the air will be able to circulate well between the grains that compose it, and therefore the roots will be well ventilated. Therefore, the mushrooms could not affect them.
or it can be the temperature in the house is lower than it can withstand, in which case we can’t do anything except put a thermal blanket under the pot. But that in a country like Spain is rare, because the temperature in the houses struggles to drop below 10°C.
How should it be taken care of?
Image – Wikimedia/Carlos Valenzuela
Although we’ve talked a lot about poinsettias in this blog, we’re going to take away some of the tips we’ve given so they can last much longer than you think:
Place it in a room with plenty of natural light and away from drafts
It’s essential. As soon as you get home with your plant, The first thing you need to do is place it in a room where a lot of light comes from outside.. In addition, it should be kept away from air conditioning, radiator, etc., so that its leaves are not damaged.
Do not put it in a pot without holes
These pots are pretty, but nothing more. No ground plants should be planted there, as the roots will suffocate. For this reason, it is not necessary to put a plate under the pots -even if they have holes- and always keep them full of water, because the result would be the same: the plant would die. It is best planted in one with drainage holes like this, and yes you can put a plate in there but always remember to empty it after watering.
Check soil moisture before each watering
You have to be clear with this: It’s normal for the topmost layer of the earth to dry out before, but that doesn’t mean the innermost layers are.. In fact, it is usual for them to still be wet. This is why it is important to check said humidity, inserting a wooden stick at the bottom and seeing if it comes out dry -in which case we water it-, or not.
If the air humidity is high, plant it in a larger pot.
If you live on an island or very close to the coast, I advise you as soon as you buy your Christmas plant to plant it in a pot about ten centimeters wide and deeper with the substrate I mentioned earlier: akadama (on sale here). If you can’t get it, pumice stone (for sale here) will also work, or even very fine gravel. Because? Because if it stays in this container, since it contains peat, it could rot.
So, I hope these tips will help you to ensure that your Christmas plant lasts for many years.