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Ashley's Flowers, specializes in flowers for all occasions and offers delivery thought the Los Angeles California area.

The Flower Florist Information Directory has set up several ways to navigate and locate local florist across the United States. We have identified and categorized over 10,000 florist in all fifty states and Puerto Rico.

The best way to find local florist for your delivery area is to use our "Florist Search Box" in the top right of the window. By providing the delivery address of where you would like to send flowers. We can show you a map of all the florist within 20 miles of your delivery location. This important tool is not only useful in selecting the best florist but practical for those far out places who may not have local florist in their area. By using our Florist Search Tool you can see if there are any local florist available to deliver flowers to your destination. If no florist or few florist are available for delivery you may want to consider buying Grower Direct Flowers. Grower Direct alternatives ship fresh flowers direct to the consumer fresh from the grower and are delivered almost anywhere because they are delivered by private overnight mail courier like FedEx.

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We would like to thank you for using the Flower Florist Information Directory and hope you find it a very useful tool in finding flowers, flower information and locating local florist.

Poinsettias are beautiful flowers and a Christmas tradition. Poinsettia quality is at an all time high because poinsettias can be shipped directly from the greenhouse to your house quickly to retain high quality and freshness.

These tips will help you buy the best poinsettias for your Christmas holiday season.

This picture is a nearly perfect example of a poinsettia from Bloomdepot.com.
Click below to buy poinsettias from Bloomdepot.com.
Red Christmas Poinsettia	Pink Christmas Poinsettia	White Christmas Poinsettia

Buy these Poinsettias:

• Choose a poinsettia plant with dark green foliage down to the soil line.
• Choose poinsettia plants with bracts (modified leaves) that are completely colored.
• The poinsettia should look full, balanced and attractive from all sides.
• The poinsettia plant should be 2 1/2 times taller than the diameter of the container.
• Check the poinsettia's maturity. Check the true flowers which are located at the base of the colored bracts. If the flowers are green or red-tipped and fresh looking the bloom will "hold" longer than if yellow pollen is covering the flowers.

The National Poinsettia Cultivar Trials were established in an effort to bring a thorough body of research and information to poinsettia growers across the country.

The site contains recomendations for growing poinsettia cultivars useful to large commercial growers as well as small specialty growers and home gardeners.

The research is the result of efforts by:

• Universities:
• Purdue University
• University of Florida - Gainesville
• North Carolina State University
• Commercial Site:
• Homewood Nursery, NC
• Commercial Breeders:
• Paul Ecke Ranch
• Oglevee, Ltd.
• Fischer USA
• Selecta First Class
• Dummen

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.

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.

The short answer is no...but don't eat them.

Poinsettias will make people or pets ill if they are eaten.

Individuals allergic to latex might have an allergic reaction to poinsettias since the plant produces a similar substance.

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.

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.

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.