KAPA‘A — Almost overnight, everything turned red, said Marit McHugh, manager of Growing Greens Nursery in Kapahi.
“It was starting to turn, we had some signs of red, and all of a sudden, it’s all red,” she said Friday. “It must be the weather.”
McHugh was talking about the 2010 crop of poinsettia which is scheduled to start shipping next week to various commercial outlets, malls, churches and people with standing orders.
This year’s crop included about 5,400 plugs that were brought in August and raised at the Kapahi location. Now that they are in bloom with the holidays looming, the deliveries will start going out.
“This isn’t the biggest crop we’ve had,” McHugh said. “But then, the economy dictates what we need to do. Our best year, we had about 8,000 plants going out.”
Included among her plantings is “Ice Crystal,” a new variety brought in last year that has proven to be a solid seller, McHugh said.
“We brought in just a few last year and people grabbed them up almost immediately,” she said. “This year, we’ve brought in a few more and, already, half of the crop is going to Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club and some of the jewelry shops around the island. We’ve also put some in lava rock for decorations.”
The lava rock poinsettias are something new Growing Greens is trying out this year, the plugs being placed into specially drilled-out lava rock and growing bonsai-style.