Plant ID Week 5

Red Maple Acer rubrum Blooms red in the spring Fall colors: orange, red and yellow Fast growing, deciduous tree Petioles are usually red

Chrysanthemum “mums” Garden mum Blooms in the fall, commonly seen in fall pumpkin scenes Perennial Also used as a cut flower by florists

Poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima means “very beautiful” Native to Mexico Natives used it as a dye for clothing President John Quincy Adams’ ambassador to Mexico was Joel Poinsett from SC. (1820's) He was interested in Botany, so he brought cuttings of a poinsettia bush that he found on the roadside back to the US and propagated it.

Poinsettias come in over 100 varieties

More Poinsettia info… In the 1900's the Ecke family in CA grew the poinsettia in their landscape, then began growing them in greenhouses for Christmas. Ecke Ranch is still in existence & is the #1 producer of poinsettias in the world, growing 80% of all wholesale plants. Some of our plants came from stock at the Ecke Greenhouse

In nature (& warmer climates), poinsettias are perennial flowering shrubs that can grow to ten feet tall. But they are not cold tolerant. The showy colored parts that looks like the flowers are actually colored bracts (modified leaves). The flower is the tiny center yellow part called “cyathia.”

The more blooms/leaves, the more expensive the plant. Poinsettias are not poisonous. Poinsettias represent over 85 percent of the potted plant sales during Christmas with over $220 million in sales yearly.

Must have plenty of heat (remember they’re cold sensitive) Can’t tolerate drought (leaves will yellow) Tender plants ~ be careful when moving them and watering so you don’t break stems or leaves