Colorado State University Poinsettia Sale Begins Monday

Just in time for Christmas, the Colorado State University Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture will host its annual poinsettia sale on the CSU campus from Monday, Dec. 7 through Friday, Dec. 11. The sale will be each day from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the W.D. Holley Plant Environmental Research Center, 630 W. Lake St.
 

The greenhouses will be filled with many varieties of poinsettias, including red, white and pink flowers. The potted plants, from the department’s poinsettia cultivar trials, are grown by CSU floriculture students and faculty.
 

The poinsettia trials, which returned this year after a five-year hiatus, resulted in more than 80 cultivars packing the 3,200 square-foot greenhouses. Growers, plant breeders, brokers, florists, and other industry representatives gathered on campus earlier this week to assess the plants, often choosing those they’ll grow next season.
 

“This year, 30 percent of the varieties here have never been seen by the public,” said Steve Newman, professor of floriculture and greenhouse crops specialist for CSU Extension.
 

Poinsettias in 6-inchpots will be sold for $8. A limited number of large red poinsettias in 8.5-inch pots are available for $20 each. For large orders of more than 25 plants, contact John Ray at (970) 566-0346.
 

Poinsettias, the No. 1 holiday plant sold in the U.S., are a $9.2 million wholesale industry in Colorado, Newman said.
 

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