Transcript Plant ID Week 5

Plant ID Week 5
Red Maple
Acer rubrum
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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