POINSETTIA

CHRISTMAS STAR
LEGEND

In Mexico the plant is called La Flor de la Nochebuena or, Flower

of the Holy Night and is displayed in celebration of the
December 12th, Dia de la Virgen.Use of the plant to celebrate
Christmas in Mexico dates back to the 17th century. The flower
connects to the legend of a young girl, distraught about not
having anything with which to honor the Baby Jesus in a
Christmas Procession. An angel tells her that any gift given with
love is a wonderful gift. Later the weeds she gathers by the
roadside to place around the manger miraculously transform
into the beautiful red star flower we think of as Poinsettia.

But Mexico's relationship to the plant goes back even further.

The Aztecs called the plant Cuitlaxochitl meaning "star flower"
and used it to produce a red dye. The sap was also used to
control fevers. Montezuma, last of the Aztec king had Poinsettias
delivered to him in by caravan to what is now Mexico City.
Joel Roberts Poinsett was the first United States
Ambassador to Mexico being appointed by
President John Quincy Adams in the 1820's. At the
time of his appointment, Mexico was involved in a
civil war. Because of his interest in botany he
introduced the American elm into Mexico. During
his stay in Mexico he wandered the countryside
looking for new plant species. In 1828 he found a
beautiful shrub with large red flowers growing next
to a road. He took cuttings from the plant and
brought them back to his greenhouse in South
Carolina. Even though Poinsett had an outstanding
career as a United States Congressman and as an
ambassador he will always be remembered for
introducing the poinsettia into the United States.
December 12th is Poinsettia Day.

The date marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett,

an American botanist, physician and Minister to
Mexico who in 1828 sent cuttings of the plant he'd
discovered in Southern Mexico to his home in
Charleston, South Carolina. Botanically, the plant
is known as Euphorbia Pulcherrima
 In July of 2002, the House of Representatives
created Poinsettia Day, passing a Resolution to
honor Paul Ecke Jr. who is considered the father of
the poinsettia industry. It was Paul Ecke's discovery
of a technique which causes seedlings to branch
that allowed the Poinsettia industry to flourish. It
may come as a surprise to hear that every year,
Poinsettias contribute upwards of $250,000,000 to
the U.S. economy-at the wholesale level!
Poinsettias are the best selling potted plant in the
U.S. and Canada. The Ecke's technique remained a
secret until the 1990s when a university researcher
discovered and published the formula. Both Paul
Paul Ecke Jr. Ecke Sr. and Paul Ecke Jr. worked tirelessly to
promote the plant and its association with
Christmas. Today their ranch, situated in Encinitas,
California is run by Paul Ecke lll.
The story of the modern day poinsettia in America
is really the story of the Ecke family of Encinitas.
Originally from Germany, Albert Ecke emigrated to
the U.S, in 1906 and settled in the Hollywood area.
The family lived off the land growing fruits and
vegetables but were also, by 1909, selling cut
Poinsettias at a stand on Sunset Blvd. Poinsettias
grew wild in the area and son Paul Ecke (Paul Sr.)
had the idea that the ruby flowers would sell well
around Christmas. This turned out to be so
successful that in 1915 Albert Ecke bought five
acres in nearby El Monte to grow poinsettias. By
1917 the Eckes were shipping plants to customers
in New York and Chicago. When Albert died in
1919, Paul Sr. took over the flower business and
though the family prospered, by 1923 the
pressures of a rapidly urbanizing Hollywood led
Paul Sr. to move the operation to 40 acres in
Encinitas. Their first year in Encinitas was a
disaster. Santa Ana winds destroyed most of the
crop.
In 1955 Paul Ecke Jr. returned with a degree in
floriculture from Ohio State with ideas of his own
about how to move forward with the family
business. It took some doing but eventually he was
able to convince Paul Sr. to move the growing out
of the fields and into greenhouses. Paul Jr. also
took a very active role in marketing poinsettias
making them available to The Tonight Show, the
Dinah Shore show and Bob Hope's Christmas
Specials. He also got them into woman's
magazines like The Ladies Home Journal and Better
Homes & Gardens. By the time of his death in 2002
poinsettias were the number one selling potted
plant in America, no doubt due in large part to his
tireless promotional efforts.
Paul Ecke lll took over the business in 1991. It so
happened that 1991 was also the year that a
university graduate student published an article
that described a method for causing poinsettias to
branch. Up until that time the Ecke's secret
technique had guaranteed them the lion's share of
the poinsettia market. With the secret now out and
available to everyone, European cultivators began
setting up greenhouses offshore and drastically
undercutting prices. This led Paul lll to expand
operations in 1997 to Guatemala where today
most of the cuttings are grown. The Encinitas
ranch is now mostly used for research breeding.
The Ecke ranch maintains its competitive
advantage by developing new poinsettias. They
now offer more than 60 varieties.
Ecke Ranch
Walkthrough -
ECKE

Paul Ecke: Selling Ecke Ranch

"Hardest Decision I Ever
Made
http://
patch.com/california/encinita
s/paul-ecke-selling-ecke-ranc
h-was-the-hardest-decisionb97
6c4f17a
In Poinsettia, it is not the flower we
enjoy but the leaves around the
flower, which we call bracts. They
colour up when the plants becomes
fertile, clearly have a role in
attracting pollinators to the otherwise
insignificant flowers, as in this
Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima.
Bracts are special leaves, adapted in
size, shape or colour to make the
floral display even more attractive.
Quick facts
Common name Poinsettia
Botanical name Euphorbia pulcherrima
Group Houseplant
Flowering time December to January
Planting time Spring (for repotting)
Height & spread Up to 60cm (2ft) height; 30cm
(1ft) spread
Aspect Bright but filtered light, indoors
Hardiness Tender
Difficulty Easy