Poinsettias Care and Merchandising Tips
Way back in June we started receiving cuttings for poinsettia season. The holiday season is now here, and over the next few weeks we’ll be shipping out close to 90,000 poinsettias. When you order wholesale poinsettias from us, there are a few tips to consider to ensure that they look their best for your customers.
You should unpack your shipment as soon as it arrives. If it’s not possible to fully unpack the boxes, at least open them or cut off the tops. This will allow the ethylene gas that build up during shipping to escape. Ethylene serves as a hormone in plants. It acts at trace levels throughout the life of the plant by stimulating or regulating the ripening of fruit, the opening of flowers, and the shedding of leaves. With poinsettias, too much ethylene exposure can cause the plants to droop and possibly drop leaves from the bracts. Not good.
Poinsettias are sensitive to cold temperatures. They should be kept around 65-75 degrees, but they can tolerate temperatures as low as 60 degrees at night. Also, when selling poinsettias, ensure that your customers know this too. If it is particularly cold or windy outside, perhaps cover poinsettias with a plastic bag to help give them an extra layer of protection on the way to customer vehicles. Likewise, poinsettias should never be stored in coolers or refrigerated areas.
The bracts of poinsettias can be quite fragile. Avoid placing them in displays close to high traffic areas where they might get bumped by passing shoppers. Also avoid drafty areas, especially if that draft is being generated by a heating vent. Poinsettias prefer high humidity.
When it comes to water requirements, poinsettias cannot sit in water. They need ‘dry feet’. This will drown the plant, causing the leaves to drop and become yellow. This is a process that, once started, will continue to work its way up the plant. If you expect your poinsettias to be displayed for more than a few days before being sold, it might be a good idea to remove the pots from decorative, foil pot covers. The top half of the soil should be allowed to dry before watering poinsettias.
For our florist friends, poinsettias are not easily handled as cut flowers; they can wilt quite suddenly even with proper care. However, they can be useful as cut flowers for short-term arrangements if cut and sealed properly. Cut the stem between the nodes. Stop the latex from exuding by dipping the cut end in boiling water for 30 seconds, or by searing it with a flame. Be sure to protect the bloom and the rest of the stem from the heat while sealing the cut end. To extend flower life, re-cut the stem and reseal it periodically.
Finally, we can all help bust the myth that poinsettias are poisonous to adults, kids, and pets by helping to educate our customers. While some people might be mildly allergic to the latex in the sap, you would need to consume 500 leaves to get anything approaching a dangerous dose of the toxins present in poinsettias. Even then, the worst you could expect is an upset stomach. Look for an upcoming video on our social media where we definitively bust this myth … with a smoothie.
With these tips, we wish you the best for the upcoming holiday season. Remember, if you ever have any questions regarding our wholesale products, we are just a quick phone call or email away. Likewise, get early access to future wholesale blog posts, new product information, and more by subscribing to our mailing list via the button below.
