Penn State Poinsettia Trials Canceled for 2009

Anne Harnish
Food and Family Features Editor

EPHRATA, Pa. — The annual Penn State Poinsettia Growers Trials will not be held this year, according to Penn State Cooperative Extension’s Alan Michael.

Budget uncertainties and the departure of key extension employees who ran the poinsettia trials in past years, along with a hiring freeze, are the primary reasons for the cancellation, said Michael.

The well-known Penn State poinsettia trials typically opened each year in early November, much earlier than other trials in the country which often began in late November or early December. This advantage, and the size and importance of the trials drew large numbers of top horticulturists, researchers and growers to the well-attended event which offered an early holiday palette of colorful blooms and foliage which allowed growers and researchers to evaluate the highest performing poinsettia varieties for the holiday flower market.

The extension’s former greenhouse educator, Warren Goll, who retired this past year, had managed the poinsettia trials in the past, along with the extension’s Mary Conklin, who also moved away this year, said Bill Kleiner.

Kleiner, who serves as Penn State’s cooperative extension southeast regional director, said neither of these two key horticultural positions were filled again due to economic concerns and cuts in funding and consequently there was no one to run the trials this season. Goll added, “Things are just so tight, and with the state budget halted, it made the decision all that much worse.” Goll had included news of the poinsettia trials cancellation in a May newsletter, but noted that he continues to get inquiries about whether the trials are happening this fall.

A committee of growers has expressed concern about the situation and has met to explore possibilities for continuing the poinsettia trials in the fall of 2010, said Michael, possibly linking with some commercial growers. The work for the trials, which ran for the past 12 years, typically begins as early as February for trials held later that same year, with a long lead time needed for plant breeders to provide enough of the right cuttings.

According to National Agricultural Statistics Service data from 2008, poinsettias continued to be the highest selling potted flowering plant — more than orchids, chrysanthemums, azaleas, roses and others — with sales of more than $8.3 million in Pennsylvania, $11.3 million in New York, $8 million in New Jersey and $5.7 million in Maryland.

Because Christmas holiday decorations in shopping malls and stores are getting pushed to as early as the beginning of November, Goll noted that the trials were an important way to test for longer and longer-lasting poinsettias that could perform well for up to eight weeks at a time — a feat demanded by the earlier holiday season. This year, Goll said many tons of poinsettias will be shipped to retailers by Nov. 20, significantly sooner than the past traditional post-Thanksgiving dates.

Goll also said that growers need different assistance now from the Penn State cooperative extension than they did 10 years ago because the flower industry and system are changing.

He said more breeders and greenhouse products exist than before, especially coming in from places like Europe and Japan, and growers need very accurate and reliable information from events such as the poinsettia trials. And due to significantly higher pricing of chemicals and plastics in the past several years, Goll said growers need to be much “sharper with their pencil” than previously to have a profit margin.

On a more optimistic note, Goll commented that serious growers, especially second, third and fourth-generation growers, have always gained a lot of satisfaction from the work that they do, and subsequently will always find a way to do what they can to keep their businesses viable.

Kleiner said that Pennsylvania’s troublesome state budget, which passed recently, but which has not yet been completely finalized by state legislators, has meant that Penn State has not yet been able to finalize its own budget.

Last year, the budget for the College of Ag Sciences, which includes research and cooperative extension functions, was cut 6 percent, he said. Because of the uncertainty and budget restrictions, the horticultural and green industry programs are being stretched thin.

“We just don’t have the money to do everything now,” said Kleiner, who also acknowledged that during the nation’s economic recession, “everybody is hurting, not just us.” Kleiner, whose own region was effectively expanded to incorporate a larger 16-county area, estimates that it may take months for all the budget issues to be worked out.

Comments or suggestions may be directed to Bill Kleiner, Penn State cooperative extension southeast regional director, at (610) 396-6445.