UGA Horticulture Students Are Ready to Cover Athens Area with Poinsettias

Christina Conner

Monday, November 26th, 2018

Having trouble jumpstarting the old holiday spirit? University of Georgia horticulture students have the answer — poinsettias. And lots of them.

Students in UGA’s Tau chapter of the national Pi Alpha Xi (PAX) horticulture honor society have launched their annual poinsettia sale and will taking orders until Dec. 8.

Each year, students grow a large crop of poinsettias as part of UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Professor Paul Thomas’ advanced greenhouse management course. They sell the poinsettias and use the funds to travel to horticulture conferences and purchase supplies like plant cuttings and soil.

This year’s crop features several traditional and nontraditional colors of poinsettias, including new varieties introduced by international breeders. The plants will be available in 4-, 6-, 8- and 10-inch containers with optional foil wrapping, with prices ranging from $4 to $15.

Photos of each variety can be found at pialphaxitau.wixsite.com/pialphaxitau/poinsettia-sale. Those interested in poinsettias are urged to preorder by emailing [email protected].

Poinsettias can be picked up at the UGA Riverbend Greenhouse Complex in Athens on Dec. 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The greenhouses are located at the corner of Riverbend and College Station roads.