Gardening Tips

Poinsettia with withered leaves: why and what to do

Poinsettia with withered leaves: why and what to do

With the arrival of Christmas, it is common to see those beautiful plants with bright red bracts that bloom at this time. Indeed, we are talking about the poinsettia, poinsettiapoinsettia, christmas plant, christmas flower, christmas plant, christmas flower, poinsettia plant, federal star o Euphorbia pulcherrima, the undisputed queen of this time of year.

However, the poinsettia is a difficult flower to care for in some respects, which is why many people believe that it is a seasonal plant when, in fact, we can make it survive its flowering for several years with proper care. For example, a common symptom that the plant is not doing well is seeing it with limp leaves. If you have a poinsettia with withered leaves or that seems to be having a hard time, this EcologíaVerde guide is for you. Join us and learn why the poinsettia has withered leaves and what to do in order to retrieve it.

Why does my poinsettia have fallen or withered leaves?

There are several reasons why a Christmas flower may show fallen or drooping leaves. These are the possible reasons that answer your doubt about why does my christmas plant have fallen leaves:

  • The first one is the most obvious and natural, this plant loses flowers and leaves after flowering, which tends to occur around February in the Northern Hemisphere. If you see that your poinsettia loses its leaves at this time, don’t worry: it is its natural cycle. It will need care and proper pruning to be able to recover well in the next season, but nothing that you have to worry about will happen.
  • A poinsettia with limp leaves can get like this because your location is not correct and is too exposed to drafts. These plants tend to do better indoors because they do not tolerate exposure to gusts of wind or continuous currents, which dry them out excessively.
  • A sick poinsettia It may also be due to being in a area with insufficient light or with an environment that is too dry for her. In fact, it is very common for these plants to have a hard time and dry up because we put them at home, in rooms where they are close to heat sources such as heating. The sources of heat sources at home are very harmful to them and it is necessary to always avoid having them near them.
  • Another possibility is that the Christmas plant has the fallen and soft leaves due to excess water, which can be caused by watering the plant too often and with a lot of water and/or because it does not have good drainage. You will also notice that its substrate never or almost never dries out, that between watering and watering the soil is actually still wet. You have to look more than the surface of the substrate, so it is recommended to sink your finger or a wooden stick a few centimeters to check the degree of humidity of the soil.
  • Finally, another reason why you can have a poinsettia with limp leaveswhich can later become wrinkled or dry, is because the plant is in a room with fumes or dirty airto which the plant is also sensitive.
Poinsettia with withered leaves: why and what to do - Why my poinsettia has fallen or withered leaves

What to do if my poinsettia has fallen leaves

Depending on what is the cause of the poinsettia diseases or their discomfort, the measures to be taken will be different. Here are some tips on what to do if the poinsettia has limp leaves:

  • When we want to know how to recover a poinsettia with fallen leaves due to excessive dryness in the environment, like the one that usually occurs in homes that have the heating on for many hours, we must try to rehydrate the plant. For this, the first thing will be to remove it from drafts, possible areas with smoke and artificial sources of heat, as they dry out the environment, as much as possible. Then, help yourself with a water sprayer or atomizer, and lightly powder its green leaves, but never the red bracts, which should not get wet. This will provide some moisture for the plant to recover. You can repeat the process every 24 or 48 hours, always without flooding them or keeping them constantly wet.
  • Another case is that of Poinsettia withered from excess water. The poinsettia needs a substrate with the best possible drainage, as well as a pot with holes to eliminate excess water. If your pot does not have these requirements or you have watered it too much, it will accumulate excess moisture that can kill the plant. Remember that the Christmas flower must be watered from a plate under the pot, the technique of immersion irrigation, which you should leave for about 15-20 minutes and then remove it, this way you will prevent the aerial part of the plant from accumulating humidity that is not convenient for it. Here we tell you how often and how to water the poinsettia. If you see that the poinsettia is drowned because it has fallen leaves and soggy soil, you will have to transplant christmas plant to change the substrate, removing the one that is waterlogged and using a new one. Place the plant in a new pot with good drainage and with more new substrate and do not water it until after a few days if you see that it has already been recovering from excess water. In this other article we tell you in detail how to transplant the poinsettia.
  • You may find yourself before a plant that looks very bad or that seems already dead, but in reality it is still alive and with the possibility of being saved. In very serious cases, it will be necessary to apply a very aggressive pruning, leaving only a third of the stems of the plant, leaving a knot in each one, and apply healing paste to the cuts. The latter is very important to avoid diseases to the plant and, in addition, you can make your own at home with very little effort and in a totally ecological and very economical way. In addition, it is also necessary to thoroughly disinfect the pruning tool before using it, and ensure that it is properly sharpened. In this other post we talk about when and how to pose the poinsettia.
Poinsettia with withered leaves: why and what to do - What to do if my poinsettia has fallen leaves

Poinsettia care

Here we explain the basic care of the poinsettia:

  • Poinsettia watering: every 72 hours approximately, when the substrate dries out and from the plate.
  • Location: protected from wind currents and heat sources.
  • Light: put it near a sunny window, be careful with the magnifying glass effect, especially when watering.
  • Pass: twice a year, in autumn and spring.
  • Prune and transplant: in February every year.

In this other post we talk more about Caring for the Poinsettia and also about How to make the Poinsettia turn red.

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