Student Grown Poinsettias
by Professor Justin Brebreton S
tudents in the Horticulture Science Class AGS 250 at the Chino and Verde locations grow poinsettias as part of class learning outcomes. We have a schedule down that we can grow a successful crop in a 6.5” pot in 16 weeks. This sched- ule aligns nicely with the academic semester. We added
some twists in 2017 by growing some in Hanging baskets, trying dif- ferent colors (red, white, speckled pink), and starting some late from cuttings for small pots.
There are many things a student learns while growing poinsettias. We focus on propagation, soil, nutrients, pinching, lighting, pests and marketability. Students also graphically track the growth and manip-
ulate the growing conditions in our climate-controlled facility. Poin- settia growth tracking was done by students Dokie Jones and Kelli Balensky during this year’s production. As they saw our class plan un- folding, they made recommendations about speeding the growth or slowing down the production. Each year (if we get it right) students volunteer to sell the poinsettias at various markets.
We have retained three poinsettias from 2010 that are about 6’ tall that make a great display, and provide propagation material. People are always amazed to find out they make a great tropical houseplant, and do not have to be tossed away in January! If you have a poin- settia from the holidays, keep it warm (no freezing temps) and wa- tered. People typically dump them when the colorful bracts begin to fade, because for a small poinsettia a majority of what you see is the bracts. They are going to look ugly, when the minuscule flowers fade it signals the bracts to die, which can be as soon as January. If you simply cut back the dead, keeping stems alive through the winter, you will have vigorous growth starting in spring. Keep them watered, fertilized and possibly potted into a larger container. The trick then becomes re-bloom. Natural day length decreases by late September, the plant then initiates a blooming response. We call this a “short day plant”. In the greenhouse, we choose cultivars that naturally respond in time for holiday sales. Some commercial growers in the Deep South pull black out curtains over massed produced poinsettias to have them ready as early as Thanksgiving. Once you get a good head of growth on your plant, you can trick it to bloom again by giving it more than 10 hours of
For more info about the Agriculture program at the College, contact Justin
Justin.brereton@
yc.edu
HORSE & AG MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY / MARCH 2018 7
darkness for a period of nights. With interior house lighting it can be tricky! This artificial light interrupts the night. Students in our facility have to be diligent about not turning the greenhouse lights on during 10-hour darkness periods during initiation. You also cannot just stick it in a closet for the remainder of the growing period. It stills needs light during the day to photosynthesize, and continue to grow. For most busy people that cannot commit to the needs of a poinsettia morning and night, they will eventually naturally bloom by February!
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