Incense Plant Care

The frankincense plant should always be kept moist, but without waterlogging.

Although it is not necessary to cut the frankincense plant, it may happen that the individual shoots are disturbing, for example, with hanging baskets and you have to cut them. The shortening of individual shoots or a pruning copes easily with the plant and can be carried out during the entire growing season. In older plants should be avoided to cut already woody shoots. Only when absolutely necessary should be cut into older plant parts, as the plant takes longer to recover from it. The plant should always be cut with a sharp knife so that the stems are not squeezed.Older already woody parts of the frankincense plant should be cut with a sharp secateurs.

Frankincense plants, like other balcony or container plants, are fertilized once or twice a month, provided there is no long-term fertilizer in the substrate. Basically, the nutrient requirement is very low, but care should be taken when planting the frankincense with other ornamental plants in the same pot, all of which are supplied with sufficient nutrients. As a fertilizer, a commercial fertilizer for balcony or green plants should be used. In addition, slow-release fertilizer can be given in the form of fertilizer sticks, which means that liquid fertilizer must be given at most every other month. Freshly repotted or newly purchased plants should be fertilized at the earliest after six to eight weeks. This promotes a good rooting, as these spread quickly in search of nutrients and then the plant later the better the fertilizer can absorb and thus grow better. During the resting phase in winter, fertilising is prohibited.

Part shade.

An ideal soil would be made up of 45% minerals (sand, clay, silt), 5 % organic (plant and animal) material, 25% air and 25% water. The mineral portion would be loam (20 – 30% clay, 30 – 50% silt and 30 – 50% sand).

Ideal temperatures should be approximately 65-75ºF + (18-24ºC +), closer to 70ºF is best.