I have just received a late order for 10" pinched poinsettias, 4 plants per pot. Do I have time to finish a high quality crop if I receive rooted cuttings next week? Also can I use the cool grow method and which variety would give me the largest finished product
Posts: 2 | Location: West Virginia | Registered: Tue October 09 2007
In your location for 10" production to get enough height you would probably want to allow for 30-40 days (depending on the vigor of the cultivar) of vegetative growth between pinch and flower initiation. For establishing time you need to give yourself time for about 3 weeks before the pinch. That means if you plant next week and pinch by the 3rd week in August and pick a variety that doesn't initiate until late September you should still have time to produce a quality 10". To answer your question about the cold grow technique, this late order is already on a tight schedule, for the cold grow technique we recommend adding 1-2 weeks to your schedule to allow for good vegetative growth before flower initiation. Because the schedule will not allow at this late date you might run into height issues if you try the cold grow technique. It also depends on when you need the plants to be ready for sale. Remember that with the cooler finishing temperatures an early season variety will finish for the mid season market and we don't recommend natural mid season varieties for cold grow because too much delay will occur.
To answer your question about varieties, you will want to choose a variety with good natural vigor that will size on the tight schedule. Working off our list of available rooted cuttings for next week we would suggest Velveteen Red, Independence Red, Visions of Grandeur, Peterstar, Monet Twilight, Plum Pudding, Snowcap, or Marblestar. We're not sure what color you need but these suggestions should give you a good start. Hope this helps, be sure to let us know if you have further questions.
