Being back home in Florida during poinsettia season puts me in mind of my own days as a potted plant grower over on Merritt Island in the ’80s. We’d get cuttings for our stock plants from Ecke the week after Mother’s Day, pot them into 3-gal. nursery pots and put them out in our big shadehouse for the summer, growing some really nice, big stock. Varieties were Gutbier V-10 Amy and V-14 Glory, and then some Supjibi when it came along. We’d take cuttings in late July/early August, pot up 15,000 or so plants around the end of August and put them in our greenhouse, then sweat the 11-week growing season, worrying about heat delay, whiteflies, excess rain on the outdoor stock plants (which would grow into spectacular specimen plants), before finally shipping them off to our florist and garden center customers starting the week before Thanksgiving, right up until a day or two before Christmas.

Quaint, eh? Nowadays, you guys are shipping November 1 and have cleaned out your greenhouse by December 10. Then again, I was getting $3.50 for my 6-in. pots—and, remember, that was 40 years ago. What are you getting today?

Lest I brag too much, I had no weapon against whitefly other than Temik, and then they became resistant to that powerful and dangerous chemical. Imidacloprid (Marathon) didn’t come out until 1994. That was a gamechanger for poinsettia growers, but it came too late to help me.

But enough about the last century. Tell me how YOUR crop is going this year. How was the growing season? Anything new happening in cultivars or culture that has you excited? What’s your ratio of reds to colors? What are retailers asking for? And anything else of interest—including painted poinsettias! Send me a note HERE.

Fifty acres of greenhouses and 1.5 million poinsettias … Hoffmann Heimos is more than just a poinsettia trial location—they’re a juggernaut! I took a few minutes to ask Amy Morris about their season.

One and a half million poinsettias, give or take. They actually shipped, then re-spaced into the empty bays.

“It’s going really well so far,” she answered. “The weird thing is, we’re shipping almost two weeks earlier than we have in years past … it’s crazy.”

But she can’t explain why customers want plants so early. Her first week to ship was Week 43—the week of October 19! She added that they do a lot of Autumn Beauty, which is suited for fall and Thanksgiving. And Norwin Orange, named for her late father. But they ship plenty of reds early, too.

Amy with Norwin Orange.

I’m sure she was glad to see some empty bays because it was a challenging growing season, weather-wise.

“Our heat has been like Texas this year,” said Amy. “You can see on the crop where we had above-normal temperatures during [flower] initiation and you can tell where some varieties are more sensitive to the heat by the bract expansion.”

It was a good test for the breeders, too, who found out that the deep south isn’t the only place where you get deep heat.

A quick golfcart-ride through the production greenhouses revealed a couple of interesting poinsettias. First, how about red poinsettias painted and glittered to be even more red? I think of painting poinsettias to achieve colors we don’t get in nature, like blue and purple and sprinkled donut, so making a red poinsettia even more red seemed odd, to say the least. But Amy said they sell!

Now that's red!

Here’s another crazy idea: two-year-old poinsettia trees. They start out as regular trees (of which they do thousands), then Amy holds back a small number (24) for another season “to get them a little bigger and bulkier so they are more like a tree-tree.” During the spring, she keeps them in the otherwise-unused space between the heaters.

Two-year trees. You can judge their size by comparing them to the regular 6-in. plants next to them.

They definitely have a good caliper on them! I guess the trick is: 1) not forgetting about them during spring; and 2) keeping up with the IPM. But Amy manages and the results are spectacular! Price-wise, not expensive for the work she puts in—last year they were $129; she’s not sure what they’re getting this year.

While you purists consider them an abomination, you know I enjoy painted and glittered poinsettias, and for one reason: because love them or hate them, they get customers talking about poinsettias!

Heimos had a nice display of them (above) along with all sorts of other holiday flower and plant offerings; so far, these are the only painted poinsettias I’ve seen this season. I’ll be curious to see how common they are in Florida compared to Chicagoland.

If you're painting poinsettias this season, I want to see your frame-worthy works of art. Send me some pictures along with a few notes. A solid color is okay, but I prefer multi-shades done tastefully and artistically.

Go HERE to send me what you’ve got!

The folks at Selecta One North America have informed me that they now offer 25 different geranium cultivars from Ball FloraPlant’s new Mexico farm, called YecaFlora, located about two hours south of Mexico City in Yecapixtla. Series available include Moonlight, Sunrise and Super Moon.

YecaFlora is a state-of-the-art production facility that features high gutter connects, the latest in stock-plant systems and technology, and reusable water cycling systems for irrigation. In addition, the entire facility is under one roof, which means one point of entry for production translating into better sanitation and better-quality cuttings. (We featured the facility in the January 2025 issue of GrowerTalks.)

Team YecaFlora is ready to take your cuttings.

“YecaFlora checks so many boxes for producing geranium cuttings,” said Leland Toering, Sales Manager for Selecta One North America. “Its location provides ideal growing conditions, as well as close proximity to the United States, allowing us to truck orders directly to the U.S. border in climate-controlled vehicles. Controlling quality is critical during the winter months of peak delivery to greenhouse growers and suppliers.”

It’s time to start planning your 2026 travel and here are two different options for one particular day in January.

The first is at an “amazing event” at North Green 2026 in Minnesota: an interactive leadership breakfast called “Rooted & Resilient.” Hosted by Megan T. Morrison & Katie Elzer-Peters, it will be a leadership breakfast for women in horticulture held at the St. Paul Hotel on Market Street in St. Paul, Minnesota. The two-hour breakfast includes networking, “fun surprises” and a follow-up Zoom connection to keep the networking going.

Register HERE, EMAIL Katie or give her a call at (317) 313-8366.

Oh, by the way, there are sponsorship opportunities available! Katie can tell you about them.

The second is where I'll be: the opening day of the Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The theme is “Always evolving, always on trend” and that sums up the tropicals and houseplant market, which TPIE covers like no other trade show on the planet. If you're a grower, a retailer, a mass market buyer, an interiorscaper, florist or online retailer, you need to be there to see what’s new and trendy in the category!

Go HERE for more details.

A while back, I told you that the Twin Cities are planning the biggest horticultural party in America since … well, since never, because Expo 2031 Minnesota will be the first “A1 International Horticultural Exhibition” (as determined by the International Association of Horticultural Producers) ever held in the United States.

Well, that big garden show has hit another milestone: The Trump Administration has formally confirmed the support of the U.S. Government for the event, meaning the endorsement from both the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State. This enables the organizers their network of state, industry and community partners to move into full-scale build mode, including architecture and infrastructure development, nationwide outreach, global participation agreements and legacy-site programming. Break out the steam-shovels!

The Expo, planned for May 1 to October 15, 2031, will be staged on a 240-acre site near the Mississippi River in Dakota County, Minnesota, offering five immersive ecological zones (Tropical, Arid, Temperate, Continental and North Star) that represent plant-life and climate systems from around the world. An estimated six million visitors will engage with mega-exhibition experiences, international country pavilions, horticultural showcases and legacy infrastructure designed for decades beyond 2031, which will transform into a regenerative smart-city district with long-term tourism, research, green infrastructure and community development. 

A bit lower down and farther east, if you’re running a greenhouse or nursery in Michigan, Indiana or Ohio, don’t be surprised when you see Brian Snyder pop in wearing a new McHutchison logo on his shirt, as he’s just joined the distributor as a sales rep for those states. 

Brian is an industry veteran—his career began in his family’s wholesale nursery business before he went to work for several major industry suppliers, including Carlton Plants (now part of Bailey Nurseries), Van Essen Nursery, Macore Labels (now Select Impressions) and Sester Farms. So he knows the business and what growers need.

“We are thrilled to welcome Brian to our team,” said Ken Turrentine, President of McHutchison. “His experience, professionalism and genuine passion for the industry align perfectly with our longstanding commitment to providing exceptional service and expertise to our valued customers.”

My friend and fellow writer, editor and video star Ellen Wells (remember “Hey, Ellen!” from our many CAST videos together...?) has birthed a podcast!

Called “I Dig Your Story,” the podcast will “unearth the personal stories behind the plants, people, gardens and green spaces that shape our lives.” It’s a project Ellen has long had on her to-do list and now she’s done it!

Her first guest is Diane Blazek, executive director of the National Garden Bureau and All-America Selections, and a long-time friend of Ellen’s. They also share an agricultural upbringing: both were born into farm families.

Look for “I Dig Your Story” on Amazon, Apple, iHeart and Spotify.