Poinsettia Origins, The Plant Of The Season – From One of Our Customers

Earlier this month, we received a phone order from a customer in Greeneville, SC for a Challenge HandyCart. He gave me the delivery address as being on Poinsett Avenue. I asked him if it was like the Poinsettia plant and soon a simple order turned into an interesting learning experience.

He gladly shared a story on how the plants were brought from Mexico into the USA – specifically to Greeneville by Joel Poinsett in 1825. The town even has a statue of Mr. Poinsett. He was also noted as being the first U.S. Minister to Mexico from 1825 to 1830.

The famous plant that he brought back to the states was referred to in Mexico as  “Flor de Noche Buena” (Christmas Eve flower).

Here’s some quick facts about this famous holiday plant that you can easily remember and share:

• In their natural environment, poinsettias can grow to be as tall as 10 feet.

• The red portion of the plant that we love so much is not the flower, they are actually modified leaves.

• Poinsettias are grown in all 50 states with California as the top producer.

• 90 percent of all poinsettias grown in the US are exported.

• Poinsettias account for over 85 percent of holiday plant sales.

• Contrary to popular belief, poinsettias are not poisonous.

A special thanks goes out to Rex at Sourcelink.com for sharing the great story with us. I really enjoyed talking with him and it became more than just a phone order-taking task. We made a connection with our customer, something that we value and appreciate more than just a sale.

Do you take the time to listen to your customers? Listen up, you may learn something new, maybe even about your company/offerings. Do you have any interesting facts about your business that ties in with a holiday? Feel free to share in the comments below.