How to cultivate Euphorbia milii to ensure abundant blooming in winter
Let's talk about how to cultivate Euphorbia milii to ensure abundant blooming in winter and share some indoor maintenance tips and experience related to the green plant care. Please refer to the detailed introduction below.
Euphorbia milii, also known as Crown of Thorns, is a蔓生灌木 plant of the Euphorbiaceae family. It is very small in size, suitable for small pot planting, with tender green leaves and elegant flowers that look like little butterflies, coming in red, yellow, white, pink, and other colors. It is a very popular indoor potted flower.
Euphorbia milii has excellent blooming ability. With proper care, it can bloom almost all year round. By following four steps, your Euphorbia milii can bloom continuously even in winter!
1. Ensure a warm environment
Euphorbia milii is native to the Madagascar Islands in Africa, where the climate is perennially hot, making it accustomed to warm environments and having poor cold resistance. Euphorbia milii will die when the temperature drops below 0 degrees Celsius. Since the indoor temperature of most homes is above 0 degrees Celsius in winter, moving the pot indoors before the temperature drops in autumn and winter will prevent it from freezing. However, for Euphorbia milii to bloom in winter, a higher temperature is required.
When the indoor temperature drops below 12 degrees Celsius, Euphorbia milii will not freeze but will enter a dormant state, ceasing flower bud growth and slowly shedding leaves. The optimal growth temperature for Euphorbia milii is between 15 to 35 degrees Celsius. Therefore, to ensure continuous blooming in winter, the indoor temperature must be kept above 15 degrees Celsius.
2. Ensure plenty of sunlight
Euphorbia milii is a typical sun-loving plant that requires ample sunlight all year round. Even in the hottest summer, it does not need to be shaded, and it grows rapidly under direct sunlight. In winter, the intensity of sunlight is reduced, which can weaken the growth of sun-loving Euphorbia milii. To ensure normal flower bud development, place the pot in the best lit position in your home, preferably from morning to evening. The more sunlight it gets, the more flower buds it will produce.
How to cultivate Euphorbia milii to ensure abundant blooming in winter
3. Control watering
Those who have cared for Euphorbia milii will notice that this plant does not have many leaves, most of which are concentrated at the top of the plant, with thorny stems in the middle and base. This is because the climate in its native habitat is extremely hot and dry, and most of the leaves have evolved into spines to reduce water consumption. Therefore, Euphorbia milii has strong drought resistance and prefers a relatively dry soil environment.
Since Euphorbia milii prefers dry soil, and water evaporation slows down at low temperatures in winter, the soil in the pot will not dry out for many days after watering. It is essential to control the watering frequency in winter. Frequent watering can easily cause root rot and even plant death. Before watering, feel the weight of the pot with your hands. Only if the pot is very light does it need watering. If the weight of the pot has not changed, it means there is still a lot of moisture in it, and there is no need to water.
4. Apply fertilizer appropriately
Euphorbia milii grows much slower in winter than in other seasons and requires less nutrients, so it does not need to be fertilized in winter. However, when the branches develop flower buds, a little flowering fertilizer should be applied to make the flowers bloom better.
Flowering fertilizers should be high in phosphorus and potassium. Phosphorus and potassium fertilizer is recommended, and any brand produced by a正规厂家 is suitable. Dilute the fertilizer with water in a 1:1000 ratio and apply it to the roots of Euphorbia milii. Use it once every 7 to 10 days. Continuous use for 2 to 3 times will produce a good flowering effect.
The above introduction on how to cultivate Euphorbia milii to ensure abundant blooming in winter and the specific indoor care techniques provided by Green Plant Enthusiast website are for reference by netizens.