Technical Information Bulletin

SUBJECT: Maturity of Finished Poinsettias

A poinsettia that is shipped too early (green) or too late (overripe) cannot withstand the chain of distribution or ultimately hold up for the consumer. For best post-production keeping quality, finished poinsettias not only need to be shipped under proper conditions, they also need to be shipped at the proper time. A poinsettia is mature and ready to ship when the primary bracts are colored and are horizontal, and the cyathia are beginning to open.

Developmental stages can be precisely controlled through proper scheduling, which is based upon the flowering response time specific to each cultivar. The shipping date and maturity of the finished poinsettia should coincide, but recognition of the signs of maturity is helpful to obtain optimum lasting quality. During the growing season, various factors can occur that interfere with, or delay the scheduled finishing date of your poinsettia crop. Prolonged cloudy weather early in the season may actually affect the initiation date, causing the poinsettia to bloom early. Excessive heat will delay complete coloring of the bracts. Adjust cultural practices to bring the crop in on time, and look for signs of maturity to be certain the crop is released for sale at the appropriate time.

For best production results, crops should be scheduled to mature every 1-2 weeks throughout the season. Growers can use black cloth, lights, different cultivars or a combination of these factors to provide blooming plants from mid November until Christmas day.

Some poinsettia cultivars such as Eckespoint^® Freedom^TM develop strong bract color even before cyathia are mature. Growers may be tempted to ship these cultivars prior to maturity. However, poinsettias shipped before full bract development will not continue to color properly under the low light post-production conditions.

Poinsettias shipped overly mature are also susceptible to post-production problems. Most poinsettia cultivars will hold mature cyathia for about two weeks in the greenhouse under good conditions, but longer storage may result in cyathia drop. The cool, humid greenhouse conditions at the end of the poinsettia crop are ideal for Botrytis and powdery mildew growth. Poinsettias held in the greenhouse after maturity are also prone to premature leaf drop. One of the reasons for this is lower temperature adjustments used to hold the plants longer. The greenhouse may be a perfect environment to bloom a poinsettia, but it is not such an ideal place to hold a poinsettia once it is in bloom.

Poinsettia shipped too early. Bracts did not develop full color.	Poinsettia shipped at proper stage of maturity.

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