It takes your brain a while to get around the curious beauty of orange, blue and purple poinsettias because they are less traditional looking for the Christmas season, but they are certainly interesting.
Orange/blue/purple poinsettias cry out for a designer’s touch and a bit of bling, and this is the time of year when we all love a little sparkle.
“People are more adventurous now and want something different. Red is still the No. 1, when it comes to poinsettias, but people now want a theme and they want more bling. They want more sparkle and they want to showcase it all in a nicer pot,” said Jim Hole of Hole’s Greenhouses and Gardens.
Differently coloured poinsettias have been around for a half dozen years, Hole said, and they have gone in and out in popularity. But this year, people are noticing them again or perhaps they are more accustomed to seeing them and want to try the “new” thing in their homes.
Whatever your colour preference, poinsettias are Hole’s biggest-selling potted plant and that is likely true throughout greenhouses across North America.
“Poinsettias are our single largest potted crop. We sell more potted poinsettias than Easter lilies and more poinsettias sell than potted geraniums,” Hole said.
Hole’s starts growing poinsettias in early July from tiny seedlings. It is a finicky crop, Hole said, because they require five or six months of work and need specific light and temperature controls.
“We grow every single poinsettia that we sell and the large greenhouse, where they are growing now, is 84,000 square feet,” he said.
Pondering poinsettias
• Poinsettias are native to Mexico, where they grow wild and can reach a height of 10 or 12 feet. <br />• Wild geraniums only flower for a few days around Dec. 25 and for that reason in Mexico they are called, “The Flower of the Holy Night.”<br />• Red coloured native poinsettias attracts hummingbirds, which help pollinate the plants.<br />• Poinsettias were introduced to the United States in 1828 by Ambassador Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist.<br />• In the 1960s, plant breeders increased the blooming time for the bracts. Bracts are modified leaves. The yellow centre part is the flower. <br />• Orange, blue, copper and purple-toned geraniums are white plants that have been dyed with a special colour that will not fade during the Christmas season. If you try to keep the plant growing, the original white flower will dominate. <br />• Poinsettias prefer temperatures set about 20 C and they do not like hot or cold drafts. “Don’t put them near a heat register, or the colour will fade,” said Hole. <br />• Do not let the pot dry out, but do not saturate the plant with water. Once the plants or roots dry out too much, the poinsettia will drop its bracts. The bracts will not come back this season.<br />• Poinsettias can be kept from season to season but they are tricky plants. To make the bracts turn red, you must have even hours of sunlight and darkness.
