Euphorbia Mila, popularly known as the crown of thorns due to the abundance of thorns or simply traditions about Christ, is a succulent plant of the Euphorbia family. An unpretentious plant, often decorating the window sills of apartments and offices, is also often found in literature under the name Euphorbia brilliant.
Material Content:
Euphorbia Mile: cultivation features
Despite the unpretentiousness of succulents, during its cultivation, special attention should be paid to the following parameters:
- lighting brightness;
- temperature condition;
- air humidity;
- plenty of moisture.
Caution! When carrying out manipulations with the plant, gloves must be worn: the plant is poisonous.
Euphorbia Mile: home care
A native of Madagascar does not need constant and thorough care, however, to obtain a bright flowering plant, the owner should carry out a number of mandatory procedures.
Soil requirements
The culture does not have special requirements to the composition of soils, developing well in ordinary land from a front garden. But if possible, it is better to purchase a special soil mixture intended for growing succulents, or prepare it yourself from sand, turf and leafy soils in a ratio of 1: 1: 2.
Location and lighting
The most important factor affecting the usefulness of milkweed development is lighting. It should be as bright as possible: it is permissible to place the flower even in direct sunlight.With a sufficient amount of light, the plant will gain splendor and brightness, while a lack of lighting will lead to elongation of the milkweed, thinning of the stem and loss of leaves, not to mention the flowers, which are a joyless sight. To prevent the development of such a scenario, the flower is placed on the windowsills of the south side of the house.
Humidity and temperature
High humidity does not require succulents. The plant feels great in a home environment next to a working heating appliance that makes the air very dry. Accordingly, additional spraying of the flower is not carried out, and in order to remove dust from the leaf plates, a brush is used.
The most suitable temperature regime for ensuring comfortable conditions is a range from 22 to 30 ° C during the growing season, and a value of at least 10 ° C at rest.
Watering
Succulents should be watered abundantly, but infrequently, so that the soil can dry out. When watering, water is not allowed on the leaf plates due to the possibility of fungal infections. In the winter season, hydration is minimized. However, if the flower is near heating appliances, then completely stop watering is not recommended. Prolonged drying of the soil with the root system of milkweed leads to yellowing and dropping of leaves by the plant, thereby reducing decorativeness. Death from severe drought is a rare occurrence: the natural habitat determines its drought tolerance. A great threat lies in waterlogging, which can cause the development of root rot.
Attention! When moving the flower during the summer season to the street, it is necessary to organize protection against rainfall: a covered terrace with good lighting will be the ideal solution.
Top dressing
For good shoot development, the flower is fed with special fertilizers for cacti or succulents, a wide selection of which is presented in flower shops. Liquid fertilizers are applied during watering once a month from the beginning of the growing season and until the onset of the dormant phase.
Pruning
Often, adult plants lose their neat appearance: the stems are left without foliage and extended, the shoots decay. To avoid this, with the advent of spring, elongated shoots are shortened by half, thereby stimulating the growth of new side shoots. As a result of the procedure, the bush acquires its former compactness, density and blooms wildly.
Transfer
Young specimens need an annual transplant, and for adults, you can increase the interval to three years. You should focus on the appearance of the roots of the plant in the drainage holes of the pot.
Pest and Disease Control
Sometimes mites, aphids, whiteflies and scaleflies are noted on plants, from which the flower can be protected by the treatment with the Decis, Actellik, Fitoverm insecticide and other analogs according to the instructions on the package. In case of damage to the ground part of the culture by fungal diseases, the affected leaves are removed, and when the roots rot, they are washed with a fungicidal solution. The substrate is calcined, or completely changed.
Important! Violation of requirements for the content of milkweed often leads to the development of diseases and the spread of pests, since the flower is sufficiently resistant to harmful organisms.
Euphorbia Mile: Reproduction
An exotic plant can be grown from seeds and using one of the vegetative methods - cuttings or dividing the bush. As a rule, for propagation of Milk Milkweed, cuttings are used because of their greater productivity and simplicity.
The best time for grafting is considered spring, when the following actions are carried out:
- The upper part of the shoot is separated by a length of 12 cm with several leaves.
- The cutlery is placed in water at room temperature to stop sap flow.
- The place of cut is treated with an antiseptic agent, which is used as charcoal or activated carbon.
- After the protective sheath is formed on a slice, the cuttings are treated with a growth stimulant and planted in a substrate of sand and peat.
- The container with the handle is well moistened and installed in a room with good lighting and a temperature of 20 ° C. After two weeks, rooting is completed.
So, a houseplant euphorbia unpretentious and noble. Providing him with appropriate lighting, periodic top dressing and following a few more simple rules, the flower grower will definitely get a wonderful result in the form of a beautiful, bright, blooming exotic flower.
