tia_large2.jpg” alt=”" width=”595″ height=”446″ />
NASHVILLE (TSU News Service) – Every year poinsettia lovers from across the Nashville community make their way to the TSU Agriculture Research and Education Center to receive a gift of the official Christmas flower.
Sponsored by the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences, the 10th Annual Poinsettia Open House takes place Friday, December 14 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Main campus greenhouse.
The green house is located on Ed Temple Boulevard and the event is Free and open to the public.
During the Open House, more than 20 cultivars of poinsettias from commercial breeder Ecke Ranch will be on display, which according to the company’s website, breeds more than half of all the poinsettias sold around the world. Guests will also have the opportunity to participate in a Christmas cactus workshop.
After viewing the different plants, visitors are asked to fill out a short preference survey. The surveys are used to determine which cultivars consumers like best, and then shared with growers to help them determine which varieties are preferred. Visitors taking part in the survey will receive a FREE poinsettia.
Poinsettias are native to Mexico, where they can grow to be a large shrub, often reaching heights of up to 10 feet. The colorful part of poinsettias, what is often mistakenly called the flowers, are actually modified leaves known as bracts. The true flowers are the small little yellow and green structures in the center of the plant.
Tips for poinsettia care and maintenance include:
- Poinsettias are very sensitive to cold drafts or drastic temperature changes. If transporting a poinsettia from somewhere warm like the greenhouse to your home, keep the poinsettia covered with a towel or plastic bag if the outside temperatures are significantly lower that those of the greenhouse.
- Once you have your poinsettia home, put it in a spot that receives bright light and make sure it does not touch any cold windows.
- Many poinsettias are shipped or sold in plastics sleeves. Remove these as soon as possible. A common gas, ethylene (the gas responsible for fruit ripening) can build up in the sleeve and cause the plant’s leaves to curl or drop.
- Keep the soil barely moist and make sure the container drains well.
- Fertilize your poinsettia roughly every 10 days with a common fertilizer.
- As with any houseplant, keep out of reach of children or animals. This is to protect the plant. Poinsettias are not poisonous. In fact, they are no more toxic than any other common houseplants seen everyday in many households. The idea that the leaves or flowers of poinsettias are poisonous is simply a myth. Poinsettias are not poisonous.
For more additional information, call 615.963.5320.
Department of Media Relations
Tennessee State University
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331
About Tennessee State University
With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university and is a comprehensive, urban, coeducational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top Universities in the county by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912 Tennessee State University celebrates 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
