Plymouth Greenhouse Prepares for Christmas Poinsettias
In a nondescript greenhouse near the western edge of Plymouth, you’ll find Nikole Michealson hard at work.
“I like that I’m always moving,” said Michealson, a greenhouse technician at Len Busch Roses. “I’m not someone who can just sit at a desk all day.”
Michealson and several other employees have an important job.
“They have these pots that go around and we have plugs, and we put them in the middle of the pot,” Michealson said.
These poinsettias may not look like much now, but in roughly five months, they’ll bring the Christmas spirit to thousands of homes and businesses.
“Today you got to see us planting our 2019 poinsettia crop,” said Sara Bacon, Len Busch Roses production crop manager. “The crew on the robot is planting stuff that will be ready right in time for Thanksgiving.”
Preparation for the 2019 crop began immediately after last Christmas.
“How much we’re gonna grow. When we’re gonna grow it. What colors,” Bacon said. “And then the material is ordered so that we can start planting them here in June, July, actually through September.
On a recent Wednesday when CCX News visited, the crew working the assembly line planted about 500 poinsettias.
“Today is the first time I’ve done the poinsettias on the robot,” Michealson said. “But last year we did it all by hand.”
Thankfully, the workers now have a machine to help with the process. Immediately after they place the plants in their pots, the poinsettias go into large trays, where they’re doused with water before being moved to a different part of the greenhouse.
And that’s where they’ll stay for the next few months.
“Poinsettias want to be about 20, 18 inches tall,” Bacon said. “So they have a ways to go.”
Once it’s all said and done, Len Busch roses will produce 113,000 poinsettias this year.
“That’s a lot of plants,” Michealson said.
They’re plants that will eventually play a big role in spreading holiday cheer.
Michealson is happy to play her part.
“How do you think these things are grown and done? Cause they can’t just be grown outside by themselves,” she said.
