California Travel Tips
Time to Pick Your Poinsettia
Published on: December 01, 2013
Few Californians today have seen or even know about the gorgeous poinsettia fields that stretched along the coast in Carlsbad, Encinitas and even Oxnard some 30-50 years ago. California has the perfect climate for growing the colorful holiday plant, but modern trade practices have made it next to impossible to grow poinsettias in open fields. The competition is so stiff that 95% of poinsettia growers import their unrooted shoot tips taken from mother plants grown in El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico between June & August, then spend around 120 days to root and grow them in commercial greenhouses, till the plants reach marketable size for the holidays.
SEE TIPS FOR SELECTING AND CARING FOR POINSETTIAS:
- Over 75% of holiday poinsettia purchases are made by women.
- The most popular size of potted poinsettia plants sold in stores is 6 to 6.5 inches.
- Consumers are shifting their point of purchase and more often buying poinsettias at Walmart, Home Depot, Costco, Sam’s Club and other discount store rather than nurseries.
- Poinsettias range in price from a few dollars to around $25 or more.
- You can plant a poinsettia in the mild California climate and watch it grow into a colorful bush the size of a tree!
- Poinsettias are not poisonous. While not intended for human consumption, the Poisendex Information Service states that over 500 leaves ingested by a 50 pound child would demonstrate no toxicity.
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