Like all shrubs that become woody over time, a poinsettia can also be grown as a bonsai. However, this requires a plant that is older and whose shoots have hardened at the bottom. Plants from the supermarket are not suitable because they are usually too young.
Raising the poinsettia to be a bonsai is a real challenge
Grow poinsettia as bonsai
Growing a poinsettia as a bonsai is quite time-consuming. The shrub requires a lot of care and resents every care mistake.
For bonsai fans, however, it is a challenge that unfortunately does not always work.
Prerequisite is a poinsettia that has been grown for several years. Only this one is sufficiently lignified to cut it.
Cut the poinsettia correctly
Cut back a poinsettia that you want to grow as a bonsai after the flowering period so that only a few shoots remain.
A poinsettia cannot be brought into certain shapes. The shoots are too delicate to wire. The bonsai appears only in a compact, small form, in which the leaves grow out of the woody shoots.
Wear gloves when cutting as the milky sap that comes out is poisonous. It can cause inflammation on skin contact.
The right location
The poinsettia as a bonsai likes to be light and warm, but not too sunny. Poinsettias do not tolerate frost, so they can only stay on the balcony or terrace in summer.
Poinsettia bonsai care
- Water sparingly
- fertilize regularly
- repot after flowering
- pruning roots
- regular pruning
- no leaf cut
The care of a poinsettia bonsai is complex. Under no circumstances should it be watered too frequently to prevent waterlogging. If it is too wet, the leaves will turn yellow and fall off.
Fertilizing requires some finesse. Special bonsai fertilizers are suitable, which should contain a lot of potassium during the growth phase and a lot of phosphorus before flowering.
The bonsai is repotted after flowering. The roots are shortened so that the plant becomes compact and stays small.
tips
In order for the poinsettia bonsai to develop red, yellow, white or variegated bracts again at the desired time, it must be left in the dark for several weeks. Either make it completely dark or simulate the darkness with a paper bag.