Yorba Linda Flowers
Yorba Linda California Flower & Florist Information Directory

Most gardeners and growers think of poinsettias as a tricky plant to grow. This is because poinsettias are very sensitive to temperature and light variations. If the proper conditions are not met, the blooms will not form properly or wilt prematurely.

If you have a large greenhouse full of poinsettias growing and reflowering can be tricky. However, if you only have a few plants in your home it is easy.

Fortunately, there is plenty of information available on how to control these conditions properly.

The main conditions for growing poinsettias:

• Night temperatures above 50 F.
• Daytime temperatures below 70 F.
• A period of uninterrupted long, dark nights for about 2 months in the fall.

The ideal is to have a temperature of about 69 F all the time.

This is true of growing new plants or to get a plant to reflower in subsequent years.

How to make poinsettias flower or reflower:

• Light your poinsettia plants with grow lights until 2 a.m. until Sept. 25. Then cover with a black cloth from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. until Oct. 15, followed with natural day lengths.
• Keep the temperature at 69F all the time.

Read more about Poinsettia Cultivation Flowering and Reflowering.

Poinsettias have long been associated with Christmas. At least part of the reason is that the very deep red of the flowers (bracts) and the very dark green of the leaves go well with other traditional plants and colors.

Legend has it that poinsettias have been involved in Christmas miracles. One especially charming one involves a poor child who gave weeds from the side of the road as a gift to his church suddenly springing to full scarlet red poinsettias.

Read more about Poinsettias in Legend.

Most people are familiar with poinsettias as a relatively small potted plant most often used as a Christmas plant or decoration.

Poinsettia plants have brightly colored leaves (bracts) that are often mistaken for flowers. The poinsettia true flowers are small yellow or green structures at the base of the bracts.

This familiar form of poinsettias are due to careful breeding, cultivation and harvesting. In the wild, poinsettias are a shrub or small tree. Poinsettias are originally from Mexico and Central America.

Read more about Poinsettia Description.

Poinsettias are a Christmas tradition throughout the Americas. The plant is native to Southern Mexico and Central America.

Poinsettias are named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States ambassador to Mexico, who introduced the plant in the U.S. in 1825.

Paul Ecke of Encinitas, California was responsible for the technological advance that made poinsettias a successful commercial plant. One key to poinsettia profits is getting the plants to grow so that multiple branches come off one stem, creating a fuller, more colorful plant.

The Eckes' technique, which involved grafting two varieties of poinsettia together, made it possible to get every seedling to branch. Ecke had perfected this poinsettia secret before 1910 and his family had a virtual poinsettia monopoly for about 80 years. Around 1996 a university researcher made the same discovery and made the technique public.

Since then the Eckes Poinsettia Ranch has adapted and now is a great source of technical assistance and research funding for both commercial growers and consumers.

Read more about Poinsettia Origins.

The climate in Southern California is good for poinsettias with just a bit of help. If you are used to thinking of poinsettias as a small potted plant this picture might amaze you.

Poinsettias are a shrub that; as this photo proves, grow to the size of a small tree with thick trucks.

Image by Martin LaBar

Read more about Poinsettia in San Diego Area Garden.

The top leaves of the poinsettia, known as bracts, are flaming red, pink, or white and are often mistaken as flowers. The actual flowers are the small yellow structures found in the center of each leaf bunch.

Image by Old Shoe Woman.

The photo below is a great closeup shot of the true flowers of a poinsettia plant. The poinsettia true flowers in this picture are just opening. Unopened true flowers is one important sign that the poinsettia blooms will last a long time. This is an important tip when buying poinsettias.

Image by Tzatziki.

Read more about Poinsettia True FLowers.

Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the genus Vaccinium subgenus Oxycoccus, or in some treatments, in the distinct genus Oxycoccus. They are found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

cranberry fruit on a cranberry bush

Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to 10 cm tall (often less), with slender, wiry stems, not thickly woody, and small evergreen leaves. The flowers are dark pink, with very distinct reflexed petals, leaving the style and stamens fully exposed and pointing forward. The fruit is a true berry that is larger than the leaves of the plant; it is initially white, but turns a deep red when fully ripe. It is edible, with an acidic taste that can overwhelm its sweetness.

Cranberries are a traditional Thanksgiving food in the United States.

Read more about the Cranberry.

What could be better than a garden wedding in one of the most famous rose gardens in the world? The Nixon Library Gardens is available for garden weddings, wedding receptions and other events.

The Nixon Library Gardens staff has experience hosting heads of state. This talented group is a good bet to make your wedding planning and wedding ceremony stress free.

The Nixon Library Gardens set up to host a wedding.

The extensive gardens of the Nixon Library display more than 1,400 roses and 80 varieties, making it the largest rose garden in Orange County and among the top five largest in Southern California.

The gardens are an inspiration to gardeners from all over. The Nixon Library Gardens is also a great place to host a wedding or wedding reception.

Highlights of the Nixon Library Gardens include:

• One hundred Veterans Honor roses planted just outside the White House East Room replica.
• The Library's Andrew Jackson Magnolia tree, grown from a seedling given to First Lady Pat Nixon. The original Andrew Jackson Magnolia, featured on the $20 bill, was brought by President Andrew Jackson to the White House in 1835, transplanted from his Tennessee estate, The Hermitage.
• A bed of flowering magnolia soulangiana next to the East Room replica. Identical and in the same location as the White House magnolias, the Alexandrina, with its pinkish-purple saucer-sized blooms, was selected in consultation with the staff of the White House gardens.
• Twenty Debutante camellias, a soft pink that was among Mrs. Nixon's favorite colors, grace the elegant Muth Patio adjacent to the White House East Room.
• Near the cornerstone of the East Room replica is a bed of classic soft pink, 1843 roses, Souvenir de la Malmaison.

Image by Miss Shari.

The Nixon Library and Gardens exhibits many traits of a great flower garden in a Mediterranean Climate.

There is a pond to capture rainfall and the grounds make extensive use of native plants.Yorba Linda receives most of its rainfall during the winter. This makes water efficient gardens important in Yorba Linda.