Poinsettia Production

By: Johnny M. JessupAgriculture Teacher/FFA

Advisor

Introduction• Most important pot plant grown for the

Christmas season.

Poinsettia Production• Many different cultivars grown

• Freedom (early)• V14• Marble• Jingle Bells• Gary (late)

Poinsettia Facts• Brought to the U.S. by J.R. Poinsett,

the 1st U.S. ambassador to Mexico.• Come in a variety of colors

including….• Red*• Pink• White• Speckled

Red is the Most Popular

Poinsettia Facts• The colorful part

is actually not the flower.• It is a colorful leaf

called a bract.• The actual flower

is yellow.

Parts of the Poinsettia

Poinsettia Production• Wholesale growers supply 2¼” rooted

cuttings.

Poinsettia Production• Number of plants per pot

depends….• On the pot size.• Whether the plants will be pinched or

grown as single stem.• Size of flower.

Poinsettia Production• 4” pots

• 1 plant for pinched or single stem.• 6” pots

• 2 plants for pinched.• 3 or 4 for single stem.

• 8” pot• 3 or 4 plants for pinched.• 6 or 7 for single stem.

Poinsettia Production• Temperatures

• Should be 65oF at night.

• 70 – 75oF during the day.

• Plants will flower late or not at all if night temps gets above 80oF.

• *Some cultivars may vary.

Poinsettia Best Practices• Pinching

• Done to increase the number of bracts on the plant.

• Makes the plant appear fuller by having more flowers per stem.

Poinsettia Production• Media must be….

• Free from diseases and insects.

• Porous and well drained.

Poinsettia Best Practices• Large amounts of

fertilizer needed from propagation until sold.• 6 days of water

soluble 20-10-20• Clean water for

rinse on Sunday• Poinsettia top

dressing (15-16-17)

Poinsettia Best Practices• Pot August 15-20th

• Keep really wet 1st three days (wet floor)

• Tight Spacing• Day 2

• Fungicide Drench ( 1oz to 100 gal)• Repeat every 30 days (stop in November)• Prevents root rot and botrytis.

Poinsettia Best Practices• Cycocel

• Growth regulator• Applied in

September• Drench or spray.• Keeps poinsettias

compact and from stretching.

Poinsettia Best Practices• Insects

• Marathon for white flies.• (1/3 teaspoon to 6 ½”

pot)

Poinsettia Best Practices• Molybdenum: Bad

leaves w/ little points• (1 oz to 3 gal of water)

Poinsettia Production• Poinsettias are a short day

photoperiodic plant.• Bud set light period is from 12 hours to

12 hours and 15 minutes.• Vegetative growth light period is longer

than hours.• Two hours of light from about 11 p.m. to

1 a.m. each night will cause short day effect.

Happy Holidays

Designed By:• Johnny M. Jessup; FFA Advisor

• Hobbton High School