Is poinsettia poisonous?

Poinsettia originated in the Tasco region of Central America and Mexico. It was introduced to the United States in 1825 by Joel Poinsette, the first US ambassador to Mexico. It is now widely cultivated in the tropics and subtropics. It is cultivated in most provinces, autonomous regions and cities in China. It is common in parks, botanical gardens and greenhouses. Let's take a look at whether poinsettia is poisonous.

Is poinsettia poisonous?

There are two scientific opinions on whether poinsettia is toxic or not, one is that poinsettia is toxic, the other is that poinsettia is non-toxic. Some people think that it is toxic because it may make the skin red and swollen, cause allergic reactions, and if you eat stems and leaves by mistake, it will cause vomiting, abdominal pain, and even the risk of death by poisoning. However, some experts believe that there is no scientific basis for the toxicity of poinsettia. they have done a special study on the toxicity of poinsettia and found that after eating a very large dose of poinsettia leaves, there is no abnormality in diet and daily behavior. there is no death, poisoning and other symptoms, and studies have proved that if a 50-jin child eats 500-600 poinsettia leaves, poisoning will not occur at all.

The role of poinsettia

1. Ornamental value: poinsettia has beautiful branches and leaves, bright colors and long flowering period. It is when Christmas, New Year's Day and Spring Festival blossom. The red color increases the festive atmosphere. In the holidays, poinsettia is decorated in the form of patterns. The effect is very good.

2, decorate the home: in the family room, in addition to the beautiful furniture and some furnishings, if the potted flowers, bonsai and flower arrangement can be used as interior decoration, it will have a unique flavor, which can not only bring a strong flavor of life to the living room, but also make people feel pleasing to the eye and feel at ease. Poinsettia unique delicate and beautiful red bracts eye-catching and attractive, decorating windowsill, balcony or study, shop red Zhanchui, charming and moving.

How to raise poinsettia?

1, reproduction: poinsettia propagation is mainly by cutting, can also be used to strip propagation, generally using high-pressure reproduction method. Both old and tender twigs can be cut, but the branches are too tender to survive. Generally, strong annual branches are selected between February and March, and the cuttings are cut off with a length of 8cm to 12cm. Poinsettia striping should be careful not to damage the original tree shape, the pressed part can be quickly formed, can not have partial crown and high branching point and other shortcomings.

2. Matching soil: the sandy soil with loose, fertile and good drainage is the best for poinsettia cultivation, and the mixture of culture soil, rotten leaf soil and sand is the best for potted soil. Generally speaking, 3 parts of vegetable garden soil, 3 parts of humus soil, 3 parts of rotten leaf soil and 1 part of rotten cake fertilizer are used in poinsettia cultivation, and a small amount of slag is added.

3. Temperature: poinsettia likes warmth and is not cold-resistant. The suitable temperature for its growth is 1825 ℃, 1824 ℃ from April to September, and 1316 ℃ from September to April of the following year. Poinsettia should be maintained indoors in the middle and last ten days of September every year, and ventilation should be strengthened to make the plants gradually adapt to the indoor environment. The winter room temperature should be kept at 15: 20 ℃. If the winter temperature is too low, it is easy to make the flowers and leaves of poinsettia underdevelop.

4. Illumination: poinsettia is a short-day plant with sufficient light and strong phototropism. It should have sufficient light all the year round, especially in the stem and leaf growth period, in order to grow rapidly. If the light is not enough, the branches are easy to grow and get sick, they will not blossom in the dark for a long time, and the leaves will fall in winter. If you want to bloom earlier or later, you can control the light, give 8 hours of light every day, and blossom in 40 days.

5. Fertilization: poinsettia likes rich sandy soil. When potting and changing pots, add organic fertilizer and horseshoe slices as base fertilizer, and apply 5 times diluted sesame paste residue liquid fertilizer every 10 to 15 days during growth and flowering. After autumn, 0.3% compound fertilizer can be applied once a week for 3 to 4 times in a row to promote the discoloration of bracts and flower bud differentiation of poinsettia.

6. Watering: poinsettia is not resistant to drought and humidity, and the control of moisture is directly related to the growth and development of poinsettia. Poinsettia watering should be flexibly controlled according to the weather, pot soil and plant growth conditions, generally watering to keep the basin soil moist without stagnant water, when dry, it is easy to fall off because of its yellow leaves, and watering should be reduced after poinsettia blossoms.

7, plastic surgery: poinsettia dormant before and after Ching Ming Festival, when the basin should be changed, cut off the old roots and weak branches, so that its germination of new skills, the growth process needs to be heart-picked twice, the first late June, the second mid-August. When the branch of poinsettia grows to 20-30cm, it begins to be shaped and bent, so that the plant shape is short, the flower head is neat and evenly distributed, so as to improve its ornamental. Plant growth regulators should be used to dwarf the plant height in order to meet the requirements of high consistency of commercial flowers.

8. Diseases and insect pests: poinsettia is easily infected with Botrytis cinerea, root rot, stem rot, leaf spot and other diseases and insect pests in the greenhouse cultivation process. Usually maintenance should pay attention to more ventilation, often loosen the soil, control fertilizer and water, etc., in order to prevent diseases and insect pests, if diseases and insect pests have occurred, corresponding measures should be taken, such as spraying corresponding pesticides to control pests.

Conclusion: facts have proved that poinsettia is not as toxic as some media say, and poinsettias, like other flowers, are for people to watch rather than for human consumption, so when buying or maintaining poinsettias, you can completely allay your worries and enjoy the joy and joy brought by poinsettias.