Gardening: Poinsettia sale returns to SCC
Another COVID-banished tradition is back! Spokane Community College’s Greenhouse Management Program’s annual poinsettia sale will be Nov. 17-18 at the college.
In 2020, the class couldn’t grow a crop at all and in 2021 it was only able to host a display of the plants it was growing. This year, the class is back in force. The sale will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each day at the greenhouses on the north side of the SCC campus. Be aware that parking will be an issue with the construction of the new freeway bridge nearby. If you received a postcard in the mail about the sale, it is your parking pass.
“This year we are growing 25 different varieties of plants and the majority of them are varieties we’ve never grown. We will have about 2,400 plants available,” said David Prins, instructor for the class. For students Jess Gilmore and Andrew Gregg, keeping track of 100 plants each has kept them busy. The plants are grown as part of their coursework for managing greenhouse plants in their future careers. For Gregg, learning to manage the growth rates of his plants was the biggest challenge. The biggest surprise this year was the reduction of insect problems.
“Several years ago, we introduced predatory wasps and mites to the greenhouses to control insects, especially white fly. They have built up enough that we only had to spot treat a few problem areas,” Prins said.
The biggest challenge growing this year’s crop was the August heat which threw off the plants’ growth cycle. Poinsettias need several weeks of dark to produce their colorful bracts on schedule.
This year, the students each took home plants to grow in real household conditions where the plants will eventually end up. Their experiences helped them understand what their customers face once they get the plants home.
“Don’t overwater them,” Gregg saod. “They like it a little on the dry side.”
Another reason the students took plants home was to see if they could get them to color up, which proved to be a challenge. Even the light from a computer monitor was enough to keep Gregg’s plant from coloring up. For Gilmore, it was the light over her bearded dragon’s tank that threw off the coloring cycle.
Some of the varieties that will be available this year include Pure White, an unusual brilliant white plant; Ice Crystal, which has variegated pink, white and green bracts; Noel Red, which has deep red bracts; and Christmas Red, with medium red bracts.
For those who purchase plants, take them home immediately. They will drop leaves if they sit in a cold car . At home, put them in a well-lighted place away from heat and cold sources like opening doors and furnace vents.
As Gregg said, water carefully. That can be checked by inserting an index finger in the soil to the first joint. If the soil is dry, water the plant.