US (PA): Greenhouse gearing up for poinsettia season
Poinsettias are a holiday mainstay at Lederer’s Greenhouses in Chester County. The Lederer family has been raising this Christmas staple for more than 75 years.
This third-generation greenhouse operation is owned by brothers Chris and Joe Lederer. The business was started by their grandfather in 1939. For most of the family’s history, the greenhouse has specialized in wholesaling spring bedding plants and poinsettias.
Poinsettias can be a challenge to grow. Light timing, pinching back leaves, temperature, blooming and weather can affect a crop.
“Anyone can grow a good poinsettia, but the challenge is can you do it every year?” Chris Lederer said.
Joe Lederer said the plants have to be limited to natural light by mid-September. It’s the seasonal change in day length that triggers the plants to create bracts and turn the color of the leaves.
“It’s pretty much setting a flower ... and making it red. You don’t want any outdoor lighting on or it will throw them off,” Chris Lederer said. “More darkness is what sets the flower and bract.”
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