Poinsettias continue to be one of the most important flowering potted crops in Texas with a wholesale value estimated at more than 15 million US dollars in 2003. Poinsettias are synonymous with the Christmas season today, but the first to use the brilliant flowers for decoration during the Fiesta del Santo Pesebre, a nativity procession, were a group of Franciscan priests who were settled near Taxco, Mexico in the 17th century. The poinsettia varieties we find at the stores today are products of intensive breeding efforts that started in the 1820’s when Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779 - 1851), then US ambassador in Mexico became enchanted with this Mexican native-plant and began propagating it and sending it to friends and botanical gardens in the US. By act of Congress December 12 th, the date of Mr. Poinsett’s death, was set aside as National Poinsettia Day for everyone to enjoy the beauty of this popular holiday plant!

Texas poinsettias are typically grown in greenhouses where they are protected from the weather and can be manipulated to be ready for sale at the right time of the year. Poinsettia growers are challenged by several production issues including pests and diseases and by today’s market economy and consumer demands. To address current poinsettia production and marketing issues, Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas A&M University organize an educational program for growers, retailers and the general public, the Poinsettia Day Workshop. For the past four years this workshop has been held in conjunction with the Ellison’s Poinsettia Celebration, a weekend-long event by one of the premiere poinsettia growers in the state, Ellison’s Greenhouses. The celebration is an opportunity for industry and consumers to get together and learn about what is new in the Poinsettia horizon.

This year the Poinsettia Day workshop was held on November 19th at the Student Center Auditorium of Blinn College in Brenham, Texas. The program combined formal presentations by industry and university specialists with an informal panel discussion and a tour of greenhouse facilities to see new Poinsettia varieties. The program started with a presentation on new varieties and production tips for progressive growers by Dr. Harvey Lang (Fischer USA) and Lou Newman (Paul Ecke’s Ranch). Production tips promoted by these industry specialists included positioning of water emitters for greater coverage during propagation, leaf removal for light penetration and plant growth regulator use during pinching, and plant-growth monitoring to achieve target plant size. Commercial poinsettia varieties are classified as early, mid and late season depending on the duration of their growing period. Recent market trends have emphasized early season varieties that can be sold during the week of Thanksgiving. Two early season varieties promoted this year are early-winter Rose (Ecke Ranch) and early-Orion (FischerUSA). The newest thing to hit the market this year, however, are the ‘Painted Poinsettias,’ using dyes to color poinsettia plants instead of relying on the breeders for novel shades. This idea has been popular in Europe and will hit the market in the U.S. this year (see pictures).

Dr. Peter Ling (Ohio State University) addressed automated irrigation and greenhouse energy conservation. A key concept to manage frequency and quantity of irrigation water is the Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD), the difference between the amount of moisture in the air and how much moisture the air can hold when it is saturated. VPD is affected by temperature and relative humidity; at higher VPD, the air in the greenhouse has more capacity to hold water and to stimulate transpiration, which in turn increases water use by plants. To conserve energy, Dr. Ling recommends looking not only at the plants, but to the greenhouse structure, insulation from the outside, placement of heaters and temperature sensors and maintenance of furnaces and air circulation equipment.

Dr. Mary Ketchersid (Texas Cooperative Extension) talked about pesticide labels and labeling regulations. The pesticide label is the law and includes all information necessary to use products safely and effectively. Whereas no-flexibility exists for site use restrictions (not legal to use a pesticide in the greenhouse unless stated in the label), some flexibility exists for specific plant-pest combinations that are not listed.

The morning session concluded with a presentation by Dr. Carlos Bográn (Texas Cooperative Extension) on mode of action and insecticide resistance management. The presentation included an in-depth look at mode of action and a brief summary of the mode of action classification of insecticides. The importance of mode of action classification in resistance management was emphasized using poinsettia-whitefly-neonicotinoid insecticides as model system. Strategies to monitor, prevent and manage neonicotinoid insecticide resistance in Texas were highlighted

The afternoon session of the workshop program included a discussion panel entitled: Start to finish: Success form plant breeding to end use, moderated by Dr. Don Wilkerson (Texas Cooperative Extension). The discussion centered on cost savings and marketing and included representatives from plant breeders Lou Newman, (Paul Ecke Ranch), researcher Terri Starman (Texas A&M University), growers Jack Weatherford (Weatherford Farms) and Marcus Vandrovec (Hines Horticulture), retailers Steve Moore (Calloway’s Nursery) and Judy James (formerly of Tom Thumb), and consumers represented by Texas Master Gardeners Terry Harris, Sheryl Gee Wong and Gundrun Huffman of Fort Bend County. Some of the salient points addressed by the panel and the audience were the roles and costs of labor, marketing to the consumer and not necessarily the wholesale buyers, industry organization and representation and marketing within the new Texas demographics.

The day ended at the Ellison’s greenhouses were participants got to see the new varieties growing and how they are being marketed to the public in a variety of pot sizes, shapes and colors. Following the tour, the Ellison’s hosted a reception with a variety of foods and drinks for all workshop participants. There were many positive comments about the workshop and the quality of the information provided; signs of a successful event!