Poinsettia Prowess - Greenhouse Grower Website - Greenhouse Grower

The market for poinsettias has become flooded with more than 200 commercial varieties sold in North America alone. While having a wide choice of varieties to select from can be good, not all these poinsettias are as adaptable to the rigors of transportation and handling required of this crop. The most significant losses in product quality and value usually occur once plants are harvested and shipped, resulting in significant shrink issues.

However, when it comes to post-greenhouse durability, stem strength and shelf life for the consumer, Prestige has built a reputation that has made it the No. 1 selling poinsettia variety in the world. That was until now.

New for 2007, 'Prestige Early Red' is being offered by the Paul Ecke Ranch to further extend the benefits of the Prestige genetics into the grower and retailer market. Like the original, 'Prestige Early Red' features strong stems and plant habit that has virtually eliminated problems with stem breakage due to transport and handling. 'Prestige Early Red' also offers the characteristic dark green leaves and deep red bracts preferred by consumers. Not only is this variety strong, it is beautiful. The contrast between red bracts and yellow cyathia clusters is outstanding.

'Prestige Early Red' flowers 10 to 14 days earlier than Prestige does, making it an ideal choice for the early season market. Early flowering in this case also makes it possible for growers and retailers in the warm southern regions to have plants ready to sell on time because the variety is less affected by heat delay than Prestige.

Features:

'Prestige Early Red,' 'Prestige Red' and 'Prestige Maroon' all feature:

• Strong, V-shaped plant architecture that reduces stem breakage and shrink at retail.

• Adaptability to a wide range of product forms and space configurations.

• 'Prestige Early Red' is energy efficient (can be grown cool) and space efficient (can be grown at high density).

• Plants can be grown with fewer PGRs.

• Outstanding post-production longevity and transportation durability.

Using the family effectively, 'Prestige Early Red' can lead off the season and provide strong, quality plants for the November sales season. Follow this up with Prestige and 'Prestige Maroon' for fresh flowering plants from early December through the middle of the month. Customers will be delighted to find fresh plants throughout the season, all with a similar look, keeping the rotation of product seamless.

For complete growing and culture instructions, go to www.ecke.com and visit the Tech Help pages of our poinsettia program. The name Prestige has become synonymous with Ecke's commitment to outstanding genetics, reliable production and dependable delivery.

Comments (2)

(Thu Dec 22 04:06:52 2011)

Dear Mr Williams This is a useful and interesting article. Could you tell me whether the 200 cultivars you mention are all from E. pulcherrima or does it include other species? Does Ecke work solely with species plants or are there interspecific crosses? Could you refer me to any literature on the subject? Thank you Judith Taylor San Francisco My web site is: www.horthistoria.com

(Tue Sep 27 01:58:09 2011)