Tom Wheeler is standing among 13 of the 25 or so varieties of big, lush poinsettias he grows in the vast greenhouses of his employer, Bell Nursery in Burtonsville, Maryland.
Two or three of them are old varieties – “old” as in poinsettias that have been around for a mere decade or so, but the others are new kids on the block.
Sparkling Punch has big pink blooms with creamy centers; Cinnamon Star has petals – technically, colored bracts – that start lime green before turning to a rich salmon. Visions of Grandeur is full of ruffled, soft-pink blossoms above apple-green leaves. Traditional red bloomers remain the definitive holiday poinsettia, but one in three of Wheeler’s poinsettias is not red.
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