This Month's Feature Article

Poinsettias ... A Holiday Tradition

Poinsettias are a holiday favorite. They offer endless decorating possibilities as they come in so many different colors. This year we will be offering two new pink varieties, a new salmon color, and a new marble with a stronger pink overlay. We will also have two novelty varieties, Monet and Jingle Bells. Monet is a beautiful light pink that looks as though an impressionist painter took darker pink paint and spattered it over the bract, giving it a fabulous two tone look. Jingle Bells has an art deco feel to it as it sports a red bract spattered with pink. Add traditional red and white and you have the whole color spectrum!

Did you know that poinsettias were cultivated by the Aztecs in Mexico before Christianity came to the Western hemisphere? The poinsettia is native to the area near present day Taxco and was call Cuetlaxochitl by the Indians. Because of its brilliant color, the flower was a symbol of purity, and it was highly prized by both King Netzahualcoyotl and Montezuma.

During the 17th century, a group of Franciscan priests settled near Taxco. Because of the poinsettia's color and holiday blooming time, they began to use the flower in the Fiesta of Santa Pesebre, a nativity procession.

Poinsettias were first introduced in the United States in 1825 by Joel Robert Poinsett, who was the first United States Ambassador to Mexico. Ambassador Poinsett was an avid botanist, and he had some of these plants sent back to his home in Greenville, South Carolina. After supplying his own greenhouses, he then distributed plants to botanical gardens and to some horticultural friends. Although the poinsettia is in the Spurge family of Euphorbiaceae, the name "poinsettia" has remained as a tribute to Joel Robert Poinsett.

Other Holiday Favorites

CYCLAMEN are beautiful, graceful plants with flowers that appear to be butterflies hovering over the plant. They offer a long blooming time in colors that range from white to different shades of pink and salmon as well as shades of red and purple.

PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS give one of the most spectacular show of flowers one will ever encounter in horticulture. Once an orchid comes into flower, the blossoms can last from eight to sixteen weeks! It is an easy plant to grow and we will supply you with a care sheet along with your orchid.

AZALEAS are wonderful flowering plants to use at the holidays since they are easy to care for and very tolerant of different locations in the home. They are also available in both traditional potted form and topiary form. Couple with a long blooming time and a wide range of colors, they make a wonderful choice for a perfect gift.