Belgian Mums Newsletter November-December 2014

Belgian Mums Newsletter November-December 2014
Dear customers and brokers,
I hope your poinsettias finished well this season and you are busy delivering the late varieties to your
customers this week. I always wait until my favorite variety Prestige Red shows up at the store and buy
several of them for holiday decorations. This has been always the perfect variety in my mind as a
grower and also as a consumer. Prestige red is very easy to grow, has very attractive bracts, incredible
shelf life and I always manage to keep one until Easter.
When one of the growers, I was visiting last month said that Staviski family is becoming his Prestige red
I couldn’t agree more. The Staviski family is becoming the favorite of many growers in North America
for early to mid-October sales under natural day and summer black cloth production. The first 3 colors:
white, pink and orange were introduced in 2011, followed by yellow in 2012. With the recent
introduction of red last season the sales of all Staviski colors grew rapidly and almost surpassed the
Padre family.
Figure 1. Staviski family, 5 colors
Staviski family, which now consist of five main colors (Figure 1) has all characteristics of a proven
winner. Each plant has countless mid-size decorative flowers arranged in a perfect spherical shape.
With that perfect shape and growth habit comes an incredible flexibility that is hard to match by any
other variety on the market. And most importantly Staviski family will perform well outside and inside
under reduced light condition. This and the short response time of 6.5 weeks make them the best
choice for inside blackout production among large growers.
1
Most of the Staviski crops this year were produced without any PGRs. This is one of the varieties that
will gradually increase in size over time and is resistant to sudden uncontrolled growth spurts. Staviski
family has medium vigor and is suitable for most pot sizes, plants will adjust perfectly to soil volume and
amount of moisture that is available. They will stay short and compact in smaller sizes (Figure 2) and
easily size up in large 14” containers if needed.
Figure 2, Staviski in quart size under blackout
Staviski varieties flower late under natural day and that makes them more resistant to premature
budding during cold summers. No Florel is needed if produced inside under blackout or planted outside
after July 1st. Please keep in mind that crown budding (Figure 3) is a part of natural branching process
and it is normal to see crown buds in early growth stages.
All Belgian mums and especially Staviski family will finish best if not pinched. Plants will start branching
well in plug stage and as a result never develop a dominant shoot.
Figure 3, Crown budding as a part of branching process
2
The Staviski family is one of the best options for black cloth production. Growers are able to program
Staviski for a specific finish day and all colors will flower uniformly 6.5 weeks after the start of short
days. The average grow time for 8” Staviski under black cloth is 13 weeks from unrooted cuttings. Most
natural day crops are planted the first week of July for finish in early to mid-October.
Figure 4, 8” Staviski yellow, Natural day, October 1st NJ
Staviski family will make outstanding color combinations with any 3 or more colors combined in the pot
(Figure 5). All colors have the same vigor and will flower on the same day whether it’s under black cloth
or natural day.
3
Figure 5, Staviski tricolor combination
These genetics also come with great disease resistance, I rarely see any root rot or foliage problems in
the Staviski family. They are also one of the most resistant varieties to Fusarium wilt and White rust
which could be a problem in some parts of US.
Staviski family has also very good shelf life, the color will last well into November like in the picture
below taken after snowy day in Ontario, Canada.
Figure 6, Staviski and Jasoda on November 18 th in Ontario, Canada
Bernard Chodyla (Gediflora US-Canada)
Sales & Technical Support
bernard@gediflora.com
850-445-2591
www.gediflora.com