Another Year with Poinsettias   Big Grower February 2008   By Jim Barrett
In an increasingly soft market for poinsettias, the challenge for growers and retailers is clear: Maximize this old staple’s appeal to consumers with novel displays, merchandising and varieties. Are you up to the task?

Where Are We Going With Poinsettias?   Big Grower April 2006   By Jim Barrett
Looking at this “commodity” a little differently can decrease costs and increase profits.
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Consumer Guide To Poinsettias   Greenhouse Product News March 2006   By John Dole, Allen Hammer and Jim Barrett
Find out if the poinsettias you are growing or plan to grow will be popular with consumers.
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Best Of The Trials   Greenhouse Product News February 2006   By Jim Barrett, John Dole and Allen Hammer
This year’s list of stand-outs includes both old and new cultivars.
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New Releases For 2006   Greenhouse Product News February 2006   By John Dole, Allen Hammer and Jim Barrett
Not as many new cultivars were introduced this year, but the ones that were promise quite a show.
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Recommended Cultivars   Greenhouse Product News February 2006   By John Dole, Allen Hammer and Jim Barrett
With so much time and money invested in a poinsettia crop, finding the right cultivars for your production environment is critical. These recommendations will get you started.
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FloraStar Elite Performer   Greenhouse Product News August 2005   By Jim Barrett and David Hartley
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Factors Affecting PGR Liner Dips   Greenhouse Product News July 2005   Rebecca Schnelle, Christopher Cerveny and Jim Barrett
Liner dips are a useful new technique that make the production of mixed containers and vigorous crops in baskets and other containers much easier and that allow for more efficient use of PGR chemicals.
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Update: Early Drenches on Poinsettias   Greenhouse Product News July 2005   by Jim Barrett
Growers will need to do trials with this new technique to determine the optimum rates and strategies in their own situation.
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Picking Popular Poinsettias   Greenhouse Product News March 2005   By John Dole, Jim Barrett and Allen Hammer
Obviously, any grower focusing on novelties would want to grow these cultivars.
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Recommended Cultivars   Greenhouse Product News February 2005   By Allen Hammer, John Dole and Jim Barrett
The best cultivar for an individual grower depends on their location, production practices, market and personal preference.
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New Releases for 2005   Greenhouse Product News February 2005   By John Dole, Allen Hammer and Jim Barrett
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Progress Toward New Products Slows   Greenhouse Product News November 2004   By Jim Bethke
Unfortunately, “not much” was the typical response from my contacts in the chemical industry this year when I asked if there was anything new.
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Calibrachoa Photoperiod Requirements   Greenhouse Product News September 2004   By Erika Berghauer and Jim Barrett
University of Florida research helps you determine which calibrachoa varieties are best for early spring production, hot-weather production and fall flowering.
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Heat Delay in Poinsettias   Greenhouse Product News September 2004   By Jim Barrett
A refresher in heat delay and how to deal with it seems in order.
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Poinsettias: Early PGR Drench?   Greenhouse Product News August 2004   By Jim Barrett
Just when you’re getting comfortable with late drenches, a new technique from the University of florida suggests new drench timing.
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Elite Performer: A greenhouse production trial for bacopa, petunia, verbena and scaevola.   Greenhouse Product News July 2004   By Jim Barrett and Erika Berghauer
The Elite Performers award level is reserved for only those varieties that are the easiest to grow, have excellent marketability and perform well in different situations and container sizes.
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Controlling 4-inch Ivies   Greenhouse Product News July 2004   By Jim Barrett
Multiple PGR regimes can produce compact, salable 4-inch ivy geraniums.
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Consumer Poinsettia Picks   Greenhouse Product News March 2004   By Jim Barrett, Allen Hammer and John Dole
Red poinsettias are by far the biggest selling color and should not be overlooked in the excitement of all the new interesting novelties being introduced.
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Best of the Best   Greenhouse Product News February 2004   By Jim Barrett, John Dole and Allen Hammer.
A 'best of the best' from the National Poinsettia Trials.
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Best of the Trials   Greenhouse Product News February 2004   By Allen Hammer, John Dole and Jim Barrett
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Growth Regulators: New Approaches   Greenhouse Product News November 2003   Jim Barrett
What's new in growth regulators? The answer is changes occurring with old chemistry. However, the changes are bringing new applications and options to growers. Let's review where we are.
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Better Calibrachoas with Growth Control   Greenhouse Product News July 2003   Jim Barrett
The need to produce more attractive plants led us to doing growth regulator work for our May field days. For this article, I have chosen the strategy of showing more pictures of the plants and letting them speak for themselves, as in "a picture is worth a thousand words."
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FloraStar Elite Awards: A Greenhouse Performance Trial   Greenhouse Product News July 2003   Jim Barrett, Erika Berghauer and Phillip Hamilton
FloraStar, in cooperation with the University of Florida, has selected the winners of the first FloraStar Elite Performer trials that are designed to evaluate how well a variety performs for the grower. This year's trial included calibrachoa and double impatiens.
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Consumers Tell Which Poinsettias They Like   Greenhouse Product News March 2003   Jim Barrett, Rick Schoellhorn, Allen Hammer and Joe Stoffregen
We are providing the results of the consumer surveys conducted at Purdue University, University of Florida and Homewood Nursery in Raleigh, N.C. These surveys are conducted in conjunction with the National Poinsettia Cultivar Trials and are supported by the major poinsettia breeder companies: Dummen USA, Paul Ecke Ranch, Fischer USA, Oglevee Ltd. and Selecta First Class.
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National Poinsettia Trials 2002   Greenhouse Product News February 2003   Allen Hammer, Jim Barrett and John Dole
This report has been split up into three sections: cultivars recommended according to grower type (large or specialty), page 10; new introductions, page 16; and the best of the best from the trials, page 20. This is the most complete coverage of last year's poinsettia trials you'll find anywhere, so make the most of it by using these reports to choose the right varieties for your production situation and market.

Growth Regulators in Transition   Greenhouse Product News November 2002   Jim Barrett
The lack of evolution in PGR products has actually been good for growers since they have had the opportunity to become very familiar with the products they use without having to learn new ones. However, changes in the available chemicals started a couple of years ago and will continue for at least a couple of more years.
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Late-Season Bonzi Drenches: Northern & Southern Perspectives   Greenhouse Product News September 2002   Jim Faust and Royal D. Heins
By the late 90s, late-season Bonzi drenches became a standard practice for many Southern growers, while many Northern growers were still appropriately cautious. Currently, late-season Bonzi drenches have been sufficiently tested that both Northern and Southern growers can safely use this technique, provided that the proper guidelines are followed.

Taming the Wild Calibrachoa   Greenhouse Product News July 2002   Erika Berghauer, Jim Barrett and Rick Schoellhorn
As with many vegetatively propagated items, producing Calibrachoa hanging baskets does not come without challenges. Taming vigorous growth to produce a more attractive basket, facilitate shipping and keep plants untangled in a high-density growing situation are concerns. At the University of Florida, we have evaluated the use of growth regulator drench applications to slow the growth of Calibrachoa, which should make this high-value crop more appealing to growers.
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Which Poinsettias do Consumers Prefer?   Greenhouse Product News April 2002   Jim Barrett, Rick Schoellhorn and Allen Hammer
Consumer surveys were conducted at Purdue University and the University of Florida, and the results are presented here. While there are some differences in the details of the results, the general information generated by the two studies provides important information.
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Media surfactant effects on post-production   Greenhouse Product News April 2002   Jeff Million and Jim Barrett
Research conducted at the University of Florida indicates that applications of media surfactant made during production can help alleviate potential wetting problems that arise during postproduction handling and sales, raising the probability of a longer shelf life and greater sell-through. Our experiments indicate that a media surfactant drench prior to shipping can help reduce the stress plants are exposed to in retail display, as well as when consumers do not water adequately.
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Best of the Best: 2001 Poinsettia Trials   Greenhouse Product News February 2002   Jim Barrett and Allen Hammer
The following are the cultivars that we judged to be the best of the 2001 trials. In most cases, they are newer cultivars that offer a new characteristic, an improvement over current cultivars or fill a void in availabilities. A few are older cultivars that continue to be outstanding.
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2001 Poinsettia Trials: Regionally Recommended Cultivars   Greenhouse Product News February 2002   Jim Barrett and Allen Hammer
The following poinsettia cultivars are recommended for growers to consider. The recommendations are based on university trials and observations of commercial crops. Primarily, this list includes cultivars that the authors have grown at least two years. The cultivars listed as “worth watching” are the new ones that performed well in the Fall 2001 trials.
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New at the Trials   Greenhouse Product News February 2002   P. Allen Hammer, Jim Barrett, Terril A. Nell and Roy A. Larson
With the introduction of so many new and unique poinsettia cultivars, it has become impractical for a grower to evaluate them all. In conjunction with the breeding companies, we organized these trials several years ago to screen the new introductions and help growers in selecting the ones they will evaluate for their own production. Every poinsettia cultivar is different and performs better in some climates and production situations than in others.
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Size Control for Lantana   Greenhouse Product News September 2001   Jim Barrett and Rick schoellhorn
Lantana may be gaining popularity with consumers, but its spreading habit is causing headaches for growers. Here are some treatments to stop lantana spread.
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Growing the Newest Poinsttia Cultivars   Greenhouse Product News August 2001   By Jim Barrett and Allen Hammer
Breeders have introduced a large number of potentially important new poinsettia cultivars in the past two years, and this fall many growers will be producing some of them for the first time.
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