Poinsettia Lore

You may wonder when the poinsettia became associated with Christmas. According to legend, it began in the 16th Century when a young girl was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. An angel told the child to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar by the manger scene. Magically crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. In the 17th Century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebration. The star-shaped leaf pattern symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus.

You may wonder where the poinsettias you buy come from. The Ecke family held the technological secret on growing poinsettia up until the 1990's, making it difficult for others to grow them and go into business. The family secret was to graft two varieties of poinsettia together, producing a fuller, more compact plant. When a poinsettia grows naturally, it looks weedy. The Ecke's method enables every seedling to branch, making a bushier plant.

In 1900, the senior Ecke came from Germany to Los Angeles and sold poinsettias on the street. His son developed the grafting technique, and the next generation of Eckes were responsible for promoting the association between poinsettias and the winter holidays. The family sent free plants to television stations so they could be shown over the holidays on TV. Paul Ecke, Jr. made promotional appearances on The Tonight Show and Bob Hope's Christmas specials.

The family's virtual monopoly on poinsettias came to an end in the 1990's when a researcher discovered the grafting technique and published it. Competitors arose, especially in Latin America, where labor costs were lower. The Ecke family no longer grows poinsettia, but they still control about 70 percent of the market in the United States and 50 percent of the market worldwide.





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For more interesting information about poinsettias, visit the Paul Ecke Ranch at http://www.ecke.com/html/h_corp/corp_pntcare.html#poison.

Happy Holidays!