News - Local/State

Monday, Dec. 01, 2008

Stacy's sales blooming thanks to poinsettias

Local nursery sells about 10,000 each season

Pearl Flanagan made her yearly trip to Stacy's Garden Center last week.

For many of the 40 years she's attended York's Divine Saviour Catholic Church, her unofficial job has been buying flowers for Christmas and Easter.

This time of year, that means poinsettias.

"You give it in memory of a loved one," Flanagan said. "That's the idea."

These traditions are why demand for poinsettias remains strong, despite a sluggish economy, said Louis Stacy, who owns the garden center on U.S. 321 between York and Clover.

"We're a holiday-oriented society in this country," he said. "Poinsettias are right there with Santa Claus and Christmas trees and Christmas wreaths. ... You can't look on any TV set without seeing poinsettias."

With more than 70 million sold every year, poinsettias are the most popular flowering plant in the United States.

Stacy's has been offering the Christmas staple since 1970, starting with 200 plants.

Today, the center sells about 10,000 poinsettias each holiday season, making it one of the largest growers in the area.

"It takes a lot of space to produce that crop," said Paul Thompson, a horticulture agent with Clemson Extension Service. "There's just not that many large operations like Stacy's around."

Many of Stacy's customers are churches and florists, said Linda Koon, manager of the garden center. Businesses and schools also buy them for fundraisers.

By far, the most popular poinsettia color is red, but the flower comes in numerous other hues.

This season's crop includes colors such as "strawberries and cream," a pink and white variety, and "ice punch," a red with pink highlights.

Stacy's usually buys its poinsettias in August from a Florida grower, Koon said. They raise the plants from just a few inches tall until flowers stand more than a foot above the pot.

Although this year has been good for the garden center business, the last one was tough because of the drought, Stacy said.

Typically during slow economic times, he said, the greenhouse industry doesn't see a slowdown.

People are staying closer to home, and they want their homes to look nice. Flowers are an obvious choice.

But poinsettias' connection to Christmas makes them a yearly essential -- Stacy's ordered about 10,000 last year -- and with some as cheap as $5, demand remains strong.

"It is a strong traditional Christmas flower, and people need at least one of those for part of the Christmas spirit," said Gary Stone, an economics professor at Winthrop University. "And probably poinsettias are seen as a really nice gift that's not super expensive, a thoughtful gift of the season."

For Pearl Flanagan, this year's order was 25 red poinsettias and 10 whites.

The names of those honored with the flowers will be listed in the church bulletin.

"It's just one thing the Catholics seem to do a lot of," she said. "Really, you pray for that person who has already gone. Hopefully, they've gone to heaven."