Poinsettia trials

Claudio Pasian, of Ohio State University, studies a plant during the poinsettia trials at Bostdorff Greenhouse. (Photos: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

The Bostdorffs are doing their part to perpetuate the beauty and variety of the poinsettia plant, which over the years has become an iconic symbol and the unofficial plant of Christmas.
On Monday, growers and breeders and other horticulture experts participated in the Ohio State Poinsettia trials held at Bostdorff Greenhouse in Bowling Green. At the trials, 55 different varieties were examined and evaluated.
“We have the largest collection of poinsettias in one greenhouse in the entire United States,” boasts Dick Bostdorff.
The display at the North Dixie Highway business was coordinated by Claudio Pasian, associate professor in the department of horticulture and crop science at Ohio State University.
In the trials the visual impact is obviously important; however, those trained eyes on Monday were looking at many other aspects of the plant such as shape, height, attention required, hardiness, ease of growing and, as Bostdorff notes, how well will it sell.