The bright red and deep green colors of poinsettias have
become a traditional part
of the holiday season. But what if red and green don’t suit
your fancy?

No problem.

Poinsettia breeders have now given shoppers many more
choices than just red.

“Poinsettias can be found in strong white, creamy white,
light pink, solid pink,
bright orange-red, deep purple-red and traditional red,”
said Paul Thomas, an
Extension Service horticulturist with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. “There are speckled and marbled
varieties, too.”

Of the new colors, Thomas said, shoppers favor the white
varieties, especially Gutbier
V-17 Angelika White. It has large bracts and is a big,
vigorous plant.

Shoppers are split on pink poinsettias. “The pinks seem
to be a tossup,” he
said. “People either love them or hate them.” He
recommends “Pelfi
Flirt” to people who fancy pink.

“The speckled poinsettias come from two cell types that
create natural
variegations,” Thomas said. “The marbled varieties are more
smoothly blended and
look as if an artist painted on the bracts.”

Not all of the new poinsettia colors survived. “About
four years ago, a yellow
variety called Lemon Drop was released,” said
Thomas. “Consumers said, ‘Yuck,
that’s not a Christmas color, and we don’t want it.’”

Despite the new colors, red still ranks highest in
poinsettia sales.

“A typical greenhouse propagates hundreds of reds and
only dozens of the other
varieties,” Thomas said. “The marketing surveys show that
people still prefer
red, and 90 percent of the poinsettias sold are red
varieties.”

Thomas said the new variegated and marbled varieties may
be hard to find, but not
impossible. “You can call your local greenhouse or florist
to search for a new
variety such as the marbled poinsettias,” he said.