Christmas is just around the corner, which means so is all the decorating, and nothing is more vibrant than a patch of poinsettias.
For 17 years Fanshawe Colleges’ Horticultural Technician program has annually grown and sold beautiful batches of poinsettias.
They offer up to 5 different colours for $8.85 a pot.
Fanshawes Poinsettias, Credit: Briar Wilson
“I would love to say (caring for poinsettias) is very easy!” Shared Joshua, a second-year Horticultural Technician student.
Although poinsettias are known as ‘the Christmas flower’ their season actually starts in the summer.
“We get them around the beginning of August, and they come in as little tiny plugs, we pot them up, and around the 3rd or 4th week, we prune them to give them a fuller look so that once November rolls around, they look bigger, a lot nicer, and cheaper than most places,” added Joshua.
Poinsettias are known for their vibrant, velvet red colour which is only brought out through special growing treatments.
Fanshawe Poinsettia, Credit: Briar Wilson
“We do regular amounts of light until October, and then we have blackout periods for about 16 hours per day. So we shut the curtains around four o’clock and then we open them again around eight o’clock in the morning. That extended photoperiod creates pigmentation in the leaves.” Shared Cindy Buelow, Fanshawe garden manager.
Poinsettia’s association with Christmas stems from an old legend about a little girl who was worried that she didn’t have anything to offer baby Jesus on Christmas, her cousin assured her that Jesus would be grateful for whatever. The little girl, Pepita, picked a bouquet of weeds and left them out as all she had. Overnight the weeds blossomed into full, beautiful, poinsettias.
The plant is said to symbolize goodwill and community spirit and is an important reminder of what the holidays are really all about.
