Christmas Eve Flower Is Ready to Be Harvested: SADER

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) reported that floriculturists from seven states of the country are prepared to start the harvesting season for the Christmas Eve flower, also called Poinsettia. Sales of the Christmas Eve flower are expected to start in late November. 

According to data from the Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), Christmas Eve flower production closed with a planted area of 257ha, 17,339,000 harvested plants, and gains of MX$668.54 million (US$34.3 million) in 2021. That year, the gross production of the flower was concentrated in seven states: Morelos participated with 6,97 million plants, Mexico City with 3.64 million, Puebla with 3.18 million, Jalisco with 1.79 million plants, the State of Mexico with 953,991 plants, Michoacan with 765,900 plants and Oaxaca with 19,557 plants.

The Christmas Eve flower is native to Mexico, although different varieties are grown depending on the state. At a national level, more than 30 varieties are produced, 90 percent of which correspond to the red variety and 5 percent to the white and yellow varieties. This leaves the remaining 5 percent to more unusual varieties such as the pink, striped and marble flowers. 

The plant grows in the wild in the states of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, the State of Mexico, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas, which provides the species with a lot of genetic diversity. According to SADER, farmers start preparing the land for seeding in early May for the flowers to be in the markets by the start of December since growing the plant takes over six months.

Every year, the Christmas Eve flower is exported to different countries such as the US, Spain, Japan, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, China and France, among others. In 2020, exportations of cuttings and plants, which accounted for a total of 255 kg, were valued at US$19,768.