EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State University Horticulture Gardens will host their Holiday Open House from noon to 7:30p.m. Dec. 10.
On display at the open house is the annual poinsettia tree, filled this year mainly with red poinsettias and a few rows of white plants at the top.
At the age of 21, the wire frame skeleton for the poinsettia tree has seen many color variations over the years. At about 16 feet tall, it takes between 250 and 300 plants to fill the frame. Past designs range from alternating rows of red and white poinsettias plants, to mostly red spotted with white to look like ornaments. This year the tree is almost entirely red.
“We chose based on what’s looking good in the greenhouses,” said Dan Bulkowski, manager of the teaching greenhouse and horticulture gardens. “This year we had mostly red ones doing nicely. The pinks and the white and the other off-colors were not as big this year.”
At the open house the poinsettia plants will be for sale and there will be activities in the indoor children’s garden. Santa also will arrive at the gardens around 5 p.m.
Along with hosting the open house, the Horticulture Gardens are busy with weddings, receptions and parties hosted in the conservatory. Lining the hall to the conservatory are trees which have been decorated by local school children with handmade ornaments that represent different stories with a horticulture base.
More information can be found at www.hrt.msu.edu.
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