On a brisk December day, the poinsettia industry descended upon Cresco, IA, for Plantpeddler’s annual Poinsettia Variety Day. This trial has become a must-attend event for breeders, brokers, growers, and retailers. Trial attendance and trial collection grow each year. This year more than 200 commercial varieties awaited review and evaluation by the 150-plus attendees. Hosted on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, representatives from all commercial poinsettia breeders, brokers, and growers were in attendance from 18 states and two European countries. In addition, Mike Poretsky of A-ROO presented value-added upgrade treatments and packaging.
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Genetics were submitted by Beekenkamp, Dümmen Orange, Graff, InBlume, 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.
As to why Plantpeddler conducts their poinsettia trial, Mike Gooder, President of Plantpeddler, says, “As a leader in poinsettia young plants, this investment is for our retailers, growers, brokers, and breeding partners. The Poinsettia Trial and Variety Day event emphasizes our commitment to the industry by showcasing genetics under northern USA growing conditions. It is important to do a commercial production trial for poinsettias as a way for the industry and growers to evaluate variety performance and improve their selections.” Plantpeddler is also committed to educating growers on best practices in the horticulture industry.
New this year at Poinsettia Variety Day was the “2024 Best of Class Red – 5 Year Challenge.” This was a blind vote contest, pitting the six varieties that had placed first and/or second place over the past five years. The dominating varieties were Draco, Kayla, Mirage, Noel, Robyn, and Ruby. In a close competition, Noel garnered the winning vote count. Noel finished second in 2020 and 2022.
Best of Class Red – 5 Year Challenge | Plantpeddler
This year’s trial results might be tagged as “The Year of the Novelty” as non-traditional varieties dominated the trial in both the Red and Non-Red categories. This reflects the industry’s drive to keep innovating this holiday classic to drive consumer interest and sales.
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:
Poinsettia Variety Day 2024 – Red Variety Top 10
Red Variety Top 10 | Plantpeddler
Poinsettia Variety Day 2024 – Non-Red Variety Top 10
Non-Red Variety Top 10 | Plantpeddler
Mark your calendars now for next year’s Plantpeddler Poinsettia Variety Day trial event on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. For more information contact Plantpeddler at [email protected].
