Merry Christmas, 2010... the poinsettias are done. hello Easter.

here is the last ... at least I think it is the last .... blog about the 2010 Christmas Poinsettia Season.  It's hard to believe that the 6 months ago, my kids were out in the greenhouse with me sticking the unrooted poinsettia cuttings.  As I conclude the poinsettia blog, I will start the Spring Bedding plant season blog.  Hopefully, as we go through the cold months of January and February, the images of the little seedlings and cuttings will inspire new gardeners, as well as the experienced gardens to stop in the greenhouses in the next few months.

Nothing is better than eating fresh vine-ripened tomatoes from your own garden.

Anyway, here is how the greenhouse looks, 24-December-2010.  We sold about 90 pct of the poinsettias.

A week before Christmas and all through Mioux's Greenhouses

...poinsettias were moving out and into others peoples houses.

.Overall, we are having a good year with poinsettia sales.  We had an excellent crop of poinsettias and attention to detail was paramount this year.  We had to pay special attention to certain issues.  One of those issues was white flies.

It appears that white flies have evolved and have become somewhat resistant to a very popular systemic insecticide.  Close monitoring allowed us to switch to another insecticide.

Also, as we moved into November we needed to pay special attention to some fungal diseases.  One of those diseases is Botrytis.  Again careful monitoring and timely applications of fungicide prevented an outbreak.

Our wholesale customers have all been pleased with the quality and selections.

 Christmas Feelings White:  I really like this white poinsettia, however, I don't believe all customers will like it. It has a greenish white color.  I will post comparisons of the other white poinsettias in the next blog.  The other white poinsettias that I had this year was Mira and Mars.  Both exhibited good strong branching.  The bracts were a creamy-yellowy white.

 The above red poinsettia is Christmas Day.  We really like this poinsettia for both pinched and non-pinched configurations.  The leaves are very dark green and the red bract is very deep in color.

 Christmas Feelings Red:  Excellent Branching, I probably won't use this poinsettia for non pinched poinsettias as side shoots emerged even without branching.  Unfortunately, those side shoots zapped some of the plant's energy and didn't allow full main bract expansion.

Note, the above two photos.  Both pictures were shot at the same time.  I have noticed a little fading of red with Christmas Feelings.  Overall, I still like Christmas Feelings.

Novelties:  Sales of novelties, other than Ice Punch, were very weak this year.  I will keep growing some of these types of plants but at reduced numbers.

Hopefully, I will post one more edition of Mioux Poinsettias 2010 before Christmas Eve Day.  As a update to this blog.  We will change the blog's focus from Poinsettias to Easter Lilies.  We have 1200 planted and need to get another 1500 planted before 22-Dec-10.

Nice to see the poinsettias leave.

We have seen a lot of the poinsettias leave the greenhouse this week.  This week's pictures don't really show the holes on the benches were the poinsettias once were, but there are some big gaps now.

Poinsettias are colored up and are moving out....

I try to post every Friday, however, the past couple weeks have been pretty hectic around here.  Here are the latest images from this afternoon... 20-Nov-2010.

More red...............

I am a couple days late with this post.  I took a few pictures on Nov 8.  As you can tell, the color is really starting to become more defined.  Also note how the different varieties are maturing with either more or less color.

Poinsettia update 29-Oct-2010

This week you will notice a large change out in the greenhouse.  The poinsettia bracts have turned noticeably red for certain varieties while other varieties are slower to mature.  This is by design.  I do not want all them turning red at the same time.  Some of these poinsettias will be ready for sale next week!

Poinsettia Update 23-Oct-2010

Here are the latest poinsettia images from the greenhouse.  There is a lot of color being added to the bracts compared to last week's edition. Note the difference in leaf color from Bench 12 and Bench 13.  Those are two different red varieties.  The last picture is that of the white hydrangeas.  The flowers are developing nicely.  Let me know what you think.....

Color is happening -

This week, we definitely can see a change in the bracts color.  Also, as daytime temps rise, I have also noticed an increase in white fly populations.  We will take care of that problem tomorrow with a second application of a systemic insecticide.

The last picture shows a macro image of the beginning of the cyathia flower formation. (I was having some fun with my new Nikon 60mm macro lens.)

We have color! and its not just green....

This week, we started noticing certain varieties beginning to show some color.

The hydrangeas are growing and showing excellent dark green color....

As mentioned earlier, some of the poinsettias were too light green the color is changing to a dark green foliage, but given today's light intensity the poinsettias still look light green.  I am noticing a significant darkening of the leaves as well as some good growth.

Today, 9-October, we had day time temperatures in the mid to upper 80's with a lot of sun.  Night time temperatures have been in the low 40's so that means I have been heating the greenhouses.