Local NJ farm grows over 40,000 poinsettias ahead of the holidays
TABERNACLE, New Jersey -- The emblematic Christmas flower, the poinsettia, is grown by the thousands at the family-owned and operated Lennon Farm Greenhouses.
The farm, located in Tabernacle, New Jersey, grows over 40,000 pots of poinsettias every holiday season.
"Poinsettias are the traditional holiday plant. There are other holiday plants that can be grown but we only grow poinsettias," said Gunter Lennon, owner of Lennon Farm Greenhouses.
The poinsettias, which arrive at the farm as unrooted cuttings from El Salvador, Mexico, and Guatemala, are then placed in soil, propagated with mist, until they bloom for the holidays.
They are later distributed throughout a 100-mile radius, which includes Delaware and New York, to independent garden centers.
The delicate but vibrant Lennon farm poinsettias have ended up in places like the St. Patrick's Cathedral and in the homes of Bruce Springsteen and Derek Jeter.
Lennon, who prides himself in growing the highest quality poinsettias available, enjoys how his poinsettias brighten people's faces and ring in the holidays.
"I just love putting smiles in people's faces when they see poinsettias because poinsettias bring the holiday spirit into the month of December," said Lennon.
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Contact Community Journalist Miguel Amaya
