Poinsettia Production Requires Precise Attention (Continued from Page A 22) ceptible to bacteria and rot, must be kept in a sterile environment in a shaded house. The cuttings, about three inch es long, spend about three weeks in misting beds. In the beds they grow roots and are ready to be transplanted to various-sized containers by August. They spend August, Septem ber, and October growing, but “they also go through cultural practices that define what kind of plant they will be,” he said. One example of a cultural practice is whether the plant is “pinched” or not. Taking off the top ‘/2-1-inch of the stem causes “the lateral shoots to become prominent,” he said. A customer studying a branched poinsettia will see a small light-colored scab on the plant’s stem. “That’s where we pinched the ‘heart’ out of the shoot,” he said. The plants are pinched in mid- August, “which causes the re maining part of the plant to branch out. If the plants are not Kli i ~ T*!' p " m ; s|f .example. As effective as Roundup® is for soybeans, you should ' y° ur com. Using it every year, weed resistance could become an already has. The answer? If you plant RR™ beans, plant non-RR com r '" herbicide with a different mode of action, such as Bicep 5 ' [ i <Js ■*,') J jT , 4| wged resistance, visit www.weafa^jg^^^^' && .-A pinched, the axillary branches are not as prominent, and the plant grows into one strong shoot. “Most of the crop is pinched, so we get multiple bracts (the col ored leaves).” Pinching yields 3-6 bracts per plant. “The advantage is that it takes fewer stock plants to produce a multiple-bract plant.” “It’s very time-specific,” said Fry. “The pinch has to take place the right time to make sure that the plant size and color come at a marketable time. “It’s not a crop that you want to put on the back burner, with nutrient management, water management, and insect manage ment issues. We have to stay on top of everything or we’ll have things that sneak up and affect the quality of the crop.” After the pinch in August, “September and October are when the plants put on the bulk of their growth,” he said. By the end of November, the plants start to show color. “The phenomena of the color change is a product of the short If it works on one thing, it might not work on another. ■ f'Sj y£VV 3 \ I ii? Afcw it* ening days,” he said. However “any aberration from the sun’s natural light will cause them not to color up. Shop lights, street lights, a TV any light that you can read a newspaper by is considered light pollution, and it doesn’t take much. Even head lights on a busy highway may cause a week or so delay” in color change, said Fry. “Once they have changed color, it’s not a reversible mecha nism. They won’t change once they’re in your house, for exam ple.” By mid-November the plants have, on average, 75 per cent of their color. Although red definitely tops the list of customers’ favorites, hues of pinks, whites, marbles, and specked poinsettias are also for sale. Customers tend to snap up the novelty colors for the year. This year, for example, they sold yellow/white “Lemon Snow” and the red-and-white “White Glit ter.” Next year Fry is hoping to add a deep “high-school jacket” burgundy to the color offering. “Whatever’s new will sell well.” v vtSj Fry reminds customers to think of the plants as a living or ganism that needs basic care. “If they want to move the poinsettia to a table for a holiday meal, that’s appropriate, but if they want that plant to last and stay healthy, it would do better in a window. “Generally plants will forgive you with only one source of stress; however, if it is dry and has a low light situation,” recov ery to full health will be longer. “Add to that a drafty and cold situation,” and the plant’s health will be further compromised. “Plants will generally respond just fine, if they don’t get over stressed,” Fry said. The family operation includes parents Morton and Beckie Fry, along with children Vincent, married to Caroline; M. Simon, married to Karen; Victoria, mar ried to Bob Gosling; and Antho ny, married to Denise. The brothers are involved full time on the operation, with occa sional help from the spouses and their sister. The business began in 1760, when the first Fry was estab- pr - r. it* ■Jf-v 1 -H* r '€h 2M& Although there are a variety of colors to choose from, “without question, red is the top seller,” according to Fry. Mixing poinsettias and tropical foliage creates eye-catching displays. These stock plants will yield about 20 cuttings per plant. The cuttings grow into the plants the custom er purchases. lished on land that once hosted a grist mill. After evolving through several industries, most recently a dairy, the land was put to use by Morton and Beckie as a nursery. Fry attributes the continued success of the business to the staff. “They certainly have jumped in with their effort,” he said. “We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the work that our staff puts in, their input and assistance." Twenty full-time employees form a core group of workers at the business.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers