Poinsettia: This Christmas stalwart may not be everybody's favourite but is sure to sell well

摘要

Doinsettias are like Marmite - people either love them or hate them. Yet they have become a regular feature at Christmas, given as gifts or used to style the conservatory or table for the turkey dinner. They are the top-selling potted flowering plantin the US, while here in the UK around five million are sold every Christmas. Some people may be surprised to learn that poin-settias are actually a Euphorbia or spurge, namely E. pulchemma, a shrubby non-succulent plant from Mexico that produces brilliantly coloured bracts. In its native habitat the shrub reaches 3m tall, but breeding has led to varieties that are either compact or tall and slender. Until the 1990s, most breeding was by the Ecke family in California because they knew how to create a fuller, more compact plant by grafting two varieties of poinsettia together. Hence many varieties are named after family members and Ecke is still the major supplier of poinsettia to growers around the world. But a university researcher discovered the method and published it, opening the door for competitors to flourish. Now other major poinsettia breeders include Dummen USA, Fischer USA, Oglevee and Selecta First Class.