We were filled with visions of poinsettias having strolled among over 30,000 of them at Homewood Nursery in North Raleigh. On our way out, we walked past a man sitting on a garden bench talking with a young boy. The gentleman appeared comfortable and relaxed and for whatever reason, that led me to think he worked there, so I stopped to ask a quick question. I just had to know if they could possibly sell ALL of these poinsettias within the next month!? Not only did he assure us they would sell them all, but he went on to share fascinating information about this very special, signature piece of the nursery’s horticulture business. The more he talked, the more questions I had and he enthusiastically told their story.

- He told us about the various commercial customers that buy large quantities of poinsettias for office displays and events…

- That about 1,000 poinsettia plants leave the nursery every day in the hands of the many walk-in customers that come from miles around - even other states…

- He said they start growing their plants in greenhouses in April from cuttings they purchase, and those cutting grow very quickly so they continue to propagate more plants…

- That they pay royalties per cutting (yep, every variety is ‘owned’ by someone) and it costs about 10-12 cents per cutting. Obviously payment is based on an honor system that is respected in the industry…

- He explained how the natural light conditions Mother Nature provides - beginning in September - triggers the bloom of color on the plants…

- That the 35 acres upon which the nursery sits, helps keep ambient light out of the greenhouses at night. You see, the plants need complete darkness for a certain number of hours per day…

- They even turn their headlights off when they enter the parking lot in the evening or early morning so as not to ‘disturb’ the coloring process

- He told us that his dad started growing poinsettias many, many years ago and would host a little open house, complete with punch and homemade cookies, and folks would stop by to purchase their Christmas poinsettias - a tradition Homewood Nursery carries on to this day on a much grander scale.

And then with a big smile he said, “Well, that was probably much more than you wanted to know!” Oh, quite the opposite. What a treat to learn so much about a family business from the friendly, enthusiastic company president and owner himself!

Nice to meet you, Joe Stoffregen.