Any suggestions on the "perfect" variety (red) to grow here in middle Georgia? Must be/have the following traits:
* Not susceptible to heat delay
* Not prone to stretch at end of crop
* Break and branch well
* Have good height (taller rather than shorter)
* Not susceptible to root rots
* Not prone to bract edge burn
* Be very uniform in growth pattern (natural round plant habit)
* Upright plant habit
* Good stem strength
* Good plant vigor
* Superior post harvest and longevity
What I'm really asking is-all things considered-what is the best red variety (or series) in terms of the fewest production problems and overall quality? Opinions are welcomed.

Tim, When you say the "perfect variety" I guess it depends on how long you have been growing Poinsettias and how many varieties you have grown over the years to compare. With all the troubles you see folks posting here on the forum in my opinion "Prestige" is worlds above the varieties I've grown in the past 30 years. Some of the popular varieties in the past broke the minute you tried to sleeve them and had really skinny stems, huge amounts of bract burn near the end of the crop, color fading, bracts that drooped and looked wilted even when the plants were healthy etc, etc, etc. Some only lasted a week to ten days after they left the greenhouse. When I started growing Poinsettias there was NO water acidification and easy soil pH adjustment recommendations like there is now and NO growth retardants or height curves available to growers. There was also no Internet or anyone to help with problems and growers were literally "on their own" to solve problems. Answers now via this forum are almost instantaneous!
Most of the problems discussed on this forum are caused by not watching one's crop close enough and by procrastination. One should get rid of all whiteflys in September while the plants are small and easy to spray, start growth retardants early in the crop and not wait until the height gets out of control, and start application of necessary calcium for strong stems and no bract burn through the feed program or sprays early on. Starting to control whiteflys, height and nutrition in October is way too late. Start early and problems will not crop up later on.
Poinsettia growing is relatively easy now if one reads up on the current recommendations and follows a few key rules....Michael Pawelek
PS- There is no "perfect" variety of Poinsettia......yet.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Michael Pawelek,

I agree Prestige is the best variety out there. Grows nice and sturdy will not stretch out in hot weather and can size up in any container. Early Prestige will bloom about same time as Freedom and a little later than Orion.90% of my red crop will be the Prestige variety next year.

This is an interesting question and one that I've been curious about for a while. What's your favorite (best, easiest) variety(s)?
God, help me, but I still prefer the habit of Freedom when it comes to displaying them in the tree stand. They are a pain, esp. the stem breakage, but they cover the pot nicely. The Prestige are too upright. Does anyone have a good sub for Freedom in the tree stand? (I've only grown Prestige, Peterstar and Freedom, when it comes to reds. Well, there were Celebration, Hegg, v-14, Angelique, etc. But that was in the "olden" days! You know we used to burn dinosaur manure to heat the greenhouse ... )

Good question and comments from everyone.....

Prestige is the number one selling red poinsettia in the world today and while it has overcome a number of production problems such as stem breakage or poor post harvest quality, it may not be the perfect variety for everyone. The "perfect" variety for each individual grower depends on your individual greenhouse, cultural practices, and the market you service.

Tim - we can address each characteristic you are looking for and the answers may all point to Prestige but many of the points you mention can be addressed with cultural practices, even on less than "perfect" varieties. Some varieties require more "tweaking" than others in production.

When we look at your list Prestige is probably your best bet. It can be sensitive to heat delay but that can be overcome if you watch your night temps around flower initiation. You could also try Prestige Early Red if Prestige comes in too late for you. Prestige branches well and has the strong architecture and plant habit you are looking for. It isn't sensitive to bract edge burn but will benefit from the weekly preventative calcium sprays, as most varieties will. Prestige has superior post harvest qualities and has good vigor and many growers are using it for their largest container sizes and trees. All poinsettias are sensitive to root rot but this is easily overcome with good moisture management practices.

Another new introduction to consider would be Classic Red (1090 for those that grew the trial collection). Classic is a mid season red with great vigor and Prestige architecture. It is not sensitive to heat delay or bract edge burn. With good cultural practices it also has good post harvest qualities.

Again, the "perfect" plant for you many not be the "perfect" plant for your grower friend down the road. When you get back to the basics of good culture many of the concerns you have can be addressed no matter which variety you fill your greenhouse with. Hope this helps......

Will "Classic Red" be available for the '2008 growing season?....Michael Pawelek

Hi Michael -

Yes, Classic Red is in the 2008 catalog. It is part of the Classic family which includes Red, White, Pink, and Marble.

Thanks for all the great responses. Hope it helped others of you who have been considering which varieties are best for your situation.

We had a good crop this year and I am encouraged about next year already! We grew about half Freedom and half Prestige this year but I'm leaning toward going with Early Prestige and Prestige to a much greater extent. Classic Red sounds like one I'll want to try too.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

The "Perfect" Poinsettia


(I hope, consumers will prefer the life ones)

Merry Christmas from Germany

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ice Punch,

I think I saw some bract edge burn on one of those plastic poinsettias Happy Holidays