By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

LEXINGTON, Ky. — One of the most recognized sights of the Christmas season is the poinsettia. The plant is so popular, in fact, that $220 million worth are sold during the holiday season each year, according to University of Illinois extension.

But getting a good, healthy plant that will have brilliant color all through the season is another matter.

The University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture has joined a multistate research project studying how to get the plant from the “greenhouse to consumers in the best shape possible, with hopes that it may last awhile after buyers take it home.”

UK extension horticulture assistant professor Rebecca Schnelle is heading up the project, studying plants of different sizes, maturity levels, varieties and other factors that may affect the poinsettia’s quality and longevity. Earlier this month, a greenhouse at UK’s Horticulture Research Farm was full of the Christmas favorites – not for sale, but for research.

“I’m looking at a variety of factors that might affect the plant’s durability during shipping and during the retail process,” she said. “When people buy a floral product, they expect something that looks very nice. They expect something that’s going to last a long time in their home. As a horticulture industry, we’ve not been able to provide that (with the poinsettia).”

As she examined a plant’s main stem, Schnelle noted, “This plant was pinched and the side branches, where the bloom forms, came out. If you look underneath (the main stem), there are actually three separate plants with individual stems.”

She added the smaller plant underneath was actually stronger than the main plant, which is just one issue she’s seen with the plants at the greenhouse. The goal of the research is to simulate the same conditions poinsettias face in commercial greenhouses and during the shipping and retailing processes.

“We’re going to keep them in a retail environment that will simulate what the plants would experience in a large store such as a Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, et cetera,” she said. “We’ll have a large area that’s lit with fluorescent lights, relatively low light, relatively cool and low humidity.”

About the plant

While we are used to seeing the plants in relatively small versions, in its natural habitat the poinsettia is more like a scrub that can grow to heights of 10 feet. Other interesting facts about the Christmas plant, according to UoI extension, include:

•The plant is native to Mexico and did not reach this country until 1825 when brought by Joel Poinsett

•Ninety percent of all poinsettias are exported from the United States

•Poinsettias are priced according to the number of blooms on the plant; the more blooms, the more expensive

•Dec. 12 is National Poinsettia Day

•There are more than 100 varieties of poinsettias available

•Poinsettias are the best-selling flowering potted plant in the U.S.

•The plants are grown commercially in all 50 states

•There is even a Bowl game named after the plant

The research being conducted at UK is in its beginning stages, said Schnelle, but she hopes ultimately that producers, retailers and customers will benefit from the endeavor.

The story of how the flower is so connected to Christmas comes from Mexico. As legend has it, a church in a small village was the setting to which villagers walked for miles to bring gifts for the baby Jesus.

Two children from the village watched as person after person brought expensive gifts. They felt sad because they had no gift or money for one. On Christmas Eve, as the children walked to the church wishing they had a gift, an angel appeared, telling them to pick some green weeds growing along the roadside, take them to the manger and lay them beside the baby Jesus as a gift.

Upon entering the church with the weeds, other visitors watched, some laughing at the children, causing the two to be embarrassed. But they did as the angel had instructed and upon placing the weeds next to the manger, the green tops began to change to a beautiful red bloom.

The children were no longer embarrassed – and knew that their gift was the best of all.