ThereB次元官网网址檚 only one major poinsettia producer on the south Island and business is strong.
Hilltop Greenhouses on West Burnside Road in Saanich started in the early 1970s and while poinsettia producers around the country are rare, business is steady with poinsettias covering a good range of HilltopB次元官网网址檚 four-acre covered growing space.
The family run company sells most of the 100,000 poinsettias it grows each year on the Island. They can be found at grocery chains, independent florists and garden centres and are becoming a popular fundraising item.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 a growing segment for us, churches, schools, clubs and hockey teams,B次元官网网址� said Richard Murray, whose parents started the business. B次元官网网址淪ome groups buy 1,000 plants off us, groups from as far as Parksville-Qualicum, itB次元官网网址檚 a big fundraiser for them.B次元官网网址�
There are easier crops to grow than poinsettias. B次元官网网址淯nrooted cuttingsB次元官网网址� are planted in June and July and Hilltop grows about 20 different varieties, mostly reds, yellows and combinations as such. They sell as four-inch, six-inch and 10-inch plants.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e not easy, theyB次元官网网址檙e pretty tricky actually, but with years of experience, itB次元官网网址檚 repeatable,B次元官网网址� Murray said.
Otherwise, Hilltop produces bedding plants and hanging plants in the spring, and relies on a daily harvest of long English cucumber production in the summer. Workers are still picking cukes three times a week in December, albeit from a smaller crop.
The City of Victoria and Butchart Gardens are known to grow poinsettias but not for sale.
For now, itB次元官网网址檚 poinsettia season at Hilltop, though the floor of one greenhouse is covered in fuschia seedlings ahead of MotherB次元官网网址檚 Day, the next crop in an ongoing cycle. Hilltop poinsettias are only sold at a commercial level but are easy enough to find in stores around town.
