As breeders and attendees descended upon Cresco, Iowa, for Poinsettia Variety Day, they were greeted with a nearly perfect sunny end of November day. Over 175 commercial and pre-release Poinsettia varieties were featured for evaluation and review. Hosted on Thursday, November 30, representatives from all commercial Poinsettia breeders, brokers, and growers were in attendance from over 18 states. The trial was produced under natural season, commercially sustainable production protocol using limited PGRs. In addition, Mike Poretsky of A-ROO presented value-added upgrade treatments and packaging.
Attendees at Plantpeddler Poinsettia Variety Day 2023
Genetics were submitted by Beekenkamp, Dümmen Orange, Express Seed, Lazzeri, Rinehart Poinsettias, Selecta One, and Suntory Flowers. Plantpeddler is licensed by all breeders represented and prides itself on being a one-stop shop for premium Poinsettia liners. “With our leadership position in Poinsettias, this investment is for our retailers, growers, brokers, and breeding partners,” said Mike Gooder, President of Plantpeddler, as to why Plantpeddler conducts their Poinsettia trial. Another commitment of Plantpeddler is to facilitate best practices in the horticulture industry.
Trial Layout Overview
As a true production trial, the tested varieties were grown within a block of benchmark commercial varieties with the same treatments and environmental conditions. This year, throughout production, higher-than-average temperatures and daylight were experienced. Mike added, “The Poinsettia Trial and Variety Day event emphasizes our commitment to the industry by showcasing genetics under the northern USA growing conditions. It is important to do a Poinsettia production trial as a way for the industry and our growers to see how varieties perform in North American, northern climate greenhouse conditions.”
The InBlume Team at Poinsettia Variety Day
Trial attendees voted using a three-flag system for “Best Red Variety” and “Best Non-Red Variety” with a 3, 2, 1 point scoring. The results are as follows:
Red Variety Number 1: Kayla Red from Beekenkamp. Also, the 2021 Winner
Non-Red Number 1 (Tie): Princettia Sparkling Rouge from Suntory Flowers and Eary Polly’s Pink from Dümmen Orange
Plantpeddler extends a sincere thank-you to all the breeders and sponsors for helping make this trial possible. “Also, thank you to the team at Plantpeddler for producing an outstanding trial and event.”
Flag Worthy Variety
Next year’s Plantpeddler Poinsettia Variety Day trial event will take place on Thursday, December 5, 2024. Plantpeddler’s Variety Day trial event showcasing Annuals is August 2, 2024.
For more information:
Plantpeddler
Tel.: (800) 827-1654
[email protected]
www.plantpeddler.com