Poinsettias

by Jere Hough

Published: Mon, November 24, 2008 - 3:42 pm CST Last Updated: Wed, January 07, 2009 - 4:47 pm CST

In their native Mexico, they're called the "Flores de noche buena," the flowers of the Holy Night. It is said a Christmas Eve miracle turned a humble gift of weeds into spectacular flowers.
There is nothing subtle about a poinsettia in bloom: intense color and plenty of it. The fact that the plant comes in traditional Christmas colors,red bloom and green leaves, and that it flowers during the holiday season, keep it in high demand year after year.
Plus, they're not just red anymore.
Chazz Hesselein, a horticulturist with Auburn's Cooperative Extension, surveys a greenhouse full of poinsettias. "We have about forty-nine varieties in this trial. And we've got lavender type varieties...we've got bi-colors. We've got pinks and reds and whites. We've got speckled varieties. So we've got a good variety here."
The greenhouse is at Shore Acres Plant Farm in South Mobile County. They are growing these poinsettias for Auburn...testing new varieties for their marketablity.
Hesselein explains, "...to help out the nurseries so they can become more profitable and, hopefully, more environmentally sound."
In addition to more colors, plant breeders have developed multi-colored blooms and rose-form blooms. They've also shortened the plant...in Mexico it grows ten-feet tall. Even with all the new varieties that have become available over the years, red is by far the most popular color.

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