Hints and Tips

Pinching poinsettias can often become so routine that one forgets several important prerequisites to the process :

As poinsettia growers, we cannot neglect practices that increase the post-production longevity of the plants we grow. The main objective is to produce a quality poinsettia at the proper stage of development. From mid-November until shipping, concerns such as fertilizing, watering, plant environment, root health, maturity and sleeving can all have profound effects on post-harvest quality once purchased by consumers.

As we approach the month of December, hopefully everything we have done up to this time has prepared the poinsettia for the final stage of its growth cycle. Bract development is near completion, the root system is healthy and well established, and the size, tone and colour of the leaves have been optimized by a sound fertilization program.

The month of November focuses on bract expansion and cyathia development. Regardless of the region that you grow in, days are becoming shorter, light intensity has decreased, and the growth rate of the plants has slowed down when compared to growth activity during weeks 31 – 39.

The month of October begins with the transition from vegetative growth to bract and flower development in poinsettias. Cultural and environmental practices should now be directed towards reducing bract edge burn (BEB), a marginal edge necrosis that colored bracts are particularly susceptible to.

For poinsettias, the time of natural floral initiation is centered on the period between September 18th and 27th. As long as the day length is not altered artificially, cultivars will flower in 7 to 10 weeks after initiation, depending on the response group of the particular cultivar.

A misconception is basically information taken out of context that then becomes misleading. Greenhouse visits, conference seminars, trade shows and the Internet are all good tools for obtaining information

Profit margins aren’t what they used to be. Energy, chemicals and labor are all increasing yet the retail price of crops aren’t necessarily evolving accordingly. Growers are now required to cut out as much excess consumption as they can without compromising the quality of the crops.

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