Comprehensive Guide to Poinsettia Planting and Care

1. Poinsettia(Euphorbia pulcherima Wild.) Pot( Christmas Tree) Point of interest  color of bract

2. Tip of a leaf  short day condition become red pink yellow (depend on varieties) • Stem : cylindric, have with latex • Leaf : ellips, sdkt bersudut, length 10-21cm Local : shape of leaf  egg round Import : varieties • Bract  not a part of flower • Flower appear on tip of plant with Short Day Condition Flower structure (cyathium)  surrounding of bract • Function : decoration, indoor plant, Short Day pot plant

3. Growth condition required • Altitude  400 – 1100 m dpl, many type of soil with well drained and aeration, pH 5.5 – 6.5, temperature 23 - 24 C. • for vegetative growth  require full light • for flowering  SD treatment Propagation • Seed , media, planting, pinching, fertilize and nutrition, flowering, Growth regulator, handling pest and disease.

4. Media • sturdy, not heavy, elastic • Mini Poinsetia  Ø pot 10 cm ( 1 plant ) • Pinching  Ø pot 15 cm Ø pot 20 cm ( for 5 plant) • Before planting  watering media  dense & wet spreadly • Soil / alternative media  cheap, easy to get it, and • not heavy. • Peat moss, charcoal, cocopeat ( 4 :4: 1)  well drained • and moisture Pot

5. Seed and Stock Plant • Breeding from abroad. Propagation  must have license from breeder  need to buy mother plant  each of cutting  charge royalty from breeder. • Stock plant must free from disease and insect. Good stem and no initiation. shoot cutting is better than stem cutting. • Internode  1 – 1.50 cm • Bad seedling  shoot compactless, berjauhan, kurang rimbun • Cutting on early morning  fresh  cut 7 cm, Ø 0.5 cm, + rootone F  planting before sun light. • Root zone  give it insect screen and shading net • keeping moisture at 90 – 100 % (+ sprinkle above), intensity reduced 50%, complete with lamp for adding fotoperiode on night. Intensity 2500-3500 fc, T 21oC, callus 12 days, root 16 – 20 days

6. Seed planting as same as type of plant • Basket ( tajuk lebar )  5 seedling / pot, tinggi should have same  not efficien • 1 seedling/pot  have already rooted  can choosen tinggi yang seragam, probability of life is bigger. If there is no root yet  pinching  plant in the middle of pot Fotoperiode • SDP  bakal bunga terbentuk, light < 12 hours. • Indonesia 12 hours/day  to prevent pembentukan bakal bunga  plant should give more light on night, 2 hours (long day depends on length of plant yang diharapkan)  at the early of cutting until bract terbentuk Ex : length of plant 30 – 35 cm ( LD)  ± 75 – 90 days after cutting  begin SD

7. At the beginning of SD  40 days bract will be appear More long time on SD  increase number of leave For make the colour of leaves bright  blackout 16.00 – 17.00  covered by black plastic ( for merangsang appear of bract After changing  open blackout for intensity >>> for changing colour PINCHING Reduced dense leaf Increase amount of cyanthium ( rumpun bunga)  selera consumen of Indonesia Bright the colour of bract. The way : Axillary shoots should be pinched ( axillary shoots on tip of stem) Expectation  5 – 6 cyanthium surrounding bract (5-6 beneath leaf ) Plant ready to pinch  at 20 – 30 days Late pinching  can make far away shoot and late growth

8. Growth regulator & retardan • GA3  50 – 100 ppm  stimulating shoot growth • Paclobutrazol  inhibitor of biosintesa giberelin & shorter node of stem poinsetia ( inhibitor of oxidation kaurene  kaurenoic acid - Paclobutrazol  easy to dissolved water  foliar spray ( translocation xylem – phloem) - After shoot 2 -3 cm  2-3 x / week until blacout time, concentration 100-200 ppm

9. Watering and Fertilizing • Need macro  for active growth • If N less necessary  carbohydrate changing become fat and pati  for metabolit seccondary  symptom : Leaf appear colour pale green / yellow, small and shorter plant Watering early active phase : Rooting phase  watering for keep moisture and aeration arround plant  16 – 20 days  sprinkler Watering active period – sell to market drip irrigation Efficient and quickly provided water  pot Ø 20 cm < ±100 – 150 cc / day

10. Blackout treatment • Function : to stimulating red colour of leaf (bract) • With plastic-covered make curve ( R ± 1m) • Covered with black plastic tight  make plastic easy to open-close

12. Pest and Disease Handling • Attack  root zone, stem, and leaves Solution : keep clean media and nursery • White fly (Bemisia tabact Genn), aphids, thrips, and red spider • White fly  make color of leaves are black, produce embun madu  debu menempel • Thrips and red spider  sucker leaves water until dried • Disease : caused dumping off  Thielaviopsis basicola  root become black, yellow leaves  fall • Rhizoctonia solani, Botrythis cinerea and Erwinia carotovora • Fisiologis disease  leave fall because Nitrogen defficiency. Low Absorb of N because root not support. • Defficiency of Mg  tip of leaf yellowing and fall

13. Harvest and Postharvest • Harvest  between plant, media and pot  compact • Height 30 – 40 cm from bottom of pot, leaves has already changing become red ( bract appear) at least 3-4 leaves, beautiful shape, and dense  it’s depend on consumer • Spray it, cleaned pot, and put it into plastic  box or container  ready to Market