US: Busy times for Delaware's biggest poinsettia grower
Sussex County is home to Jeff's Greenhouses, the largest poinsettia grower in the state.
Owner Jeff Hastings said he and his crew have raised an astounding 40,000 poinsettia plants for this holiday season.
And, the time after Thanksgiving is a busy season for the Hastings family — Jeff, Kim and daughter Gabrielle.
Jeff Hastings said the greenhouse operation was started by his parents, Rudolph and Marion, in 1962.
After graduating from the University of Delaware, Hastings returned home in 1972 to buy the business from his parents. At the time, the Hastings operation had four greenhouses — and no poinsettias.
Their sales at the time consisted mostly of flowers and vegetable plants.
As he considered ways to expand the business, Hastings decided that poinsettias would be an option. He reasoned that they would require the most attention in the fall and early winter, just as the rest of the greenhouse business was winding down.
That first season, Jeff and his wife, Kim, planted 1,000 poinsettias.
As the business grew, so did the poinsettia operation.
Read more at Delmarva Now (Rae Tyson)
