WARNING : I was one of the first to write about King Louis, but I regret to take back everything positive I have written about this company in the past, as three separate horrible service interactions with them in recent years leaves me to conclude they are unprofessional, unreliable, unethical and unwilling to service customers fairly and logically. I WILL NEVER PATRONIZE THIS COMPANY OR ANY OF ITS PRODUCTS AGAIN UNLESS THEY HAVE A COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF MANAGEMENT, STAFF AND SYSTEMS.
Marketman’s second holiday tip. Poinsettias are the iconic flower for Christmas. I have written about poinsettias before, and have featured them in all their different shades in posts here, here and here. Because they last several weeks indoors with the proper care, we like to purchase several pots of poinsettias during the first week of December, and rely on them to spruce up the house until our annual Christmas dinners and their more elaborate floral arrangements take place. This year, we got a dozen or so pots of poinsettias at PHP200 a pot, the “wholesale” price from THE SOURCE, King Louis Flowers, which I also featured here, LONG BEFORE locally grown hybrid poinsettias became so popular and readily available. We keep them in old vintage wine crates, or baskets, and you just need to water them every other day or so. Remember, if you keep your poinsettias in a sunny area, their red leaves (they are technically NOT the flowers) are more likely to turn green, so they are best suited to indoors for the period before Christmas so they keep those nice bright red leaves… Oh, and if you have pets, please be wary of the white elmer’s glue like sap or “dagta” from poinsettia stems which can be poisonous to some curious animals.
30 Responses
Poinsettias always make me smile…Christmas is here!!!
I always expect someone to give me poinsettias (julestjerne) every Christmas season. I personally choose amarillo because it’s my father’s favourite flower. But when Christmas is near, both plants grace our home.
I still couldn’t vote on the “reason why I keep coming back”. Wala kasi ‘yung choice na “All of the above and more” :)
atbnorge, that was my comment as well. I wanted to see “all of the above” as a choice.
atbnorge and pinkytab, i completely agree with you. “all of the above and more” should be added as a choice.
1)pictures: this is how i came across this blogsite looking for a picture of kasoy fruit to show a friend 2)ideas: how to take an ordinary recipe to another level, 3)the rants: slice of life in the Philippines; these are the reasons why i keep coming back to your blog marketman –i guess my vote is also all of the above excluding ‘I don’t know why…’
Hely from Plants and Planters White Plains also price their Baguio poinsettias at Php200 per pot. There’s a less expensive outdoor ‘native’ poinsettia which requires hardly any care at all. The indoor ones are too maselan! Their leaves should never get wet, never be under direct sunlight and only the soil needs to get watered, but not too much. Although I do agree that the indoor ones feel more Christmastime than the scraggly outdoor poinsettias.
Nice touch with the wine cases. I’m great with growing and maintaining a vegetable garden. Its indoor plants and florals I have problems with including pointsettias. I shall reference your past articles.
MM, i agree with atbnorge – there should be a button for “all of the above” in your current survey. haven’t voted yet either.
Poinsettia is my favorite Xmas plant and I am partial to the bright red color variety–it brings so much cheer!
Mimi, in the past I have grown a few native variety in our garden– the longest lasted about a year until mealy bugs attacked and eventually killed them! :( So much for my green thumb!
i echo the suggestion to put a choice for “all of the above”.
lovely like always…we had the pink and white ones MM that grows much taller,are they from the same family? bdw, survey answer “all of the above”… :)
Thanks for sharing these nice ponsietta photos. Christmas becomes more festive with real flowers like these.
i also bought my poinsettias from king louis flowers & farms last saturday. the retail price is P225/pot.
the poinsettias brought christmas spirit to my house. they are so beautiful…..
I keep coming back to the MarketMan blog because you write so well about food, travels, recipes, and I very much like the reader discussions (although I seldom take part in them). Even the rants and raves serve to educate some of us. This is like a closely knit group of food lovers with varied interests that everyone shares. May we also have an option that includes everything except the last three choices? Thank you!
Love the poinsettias! Allow me to digress, though: I agree with the other comments regarding the absence of an “all of the above” choice in the survey. I chose “recipes” just because I have bookmarked quite a lot of dishes done by MM through the years. But really, I go back every day if possible for anything and everything posted. :D
I reckon some of MM’s followers come back not because of “all of the above” but because of 007, nyahaha!!! It could be possible, no? There was one time I came to browse because of the cuff links Mrs. MM gave to MM. But seriously, I always come back because of the integrity of the blog and the blogger.
i love poinsettias, haven’t bought one yet, will do next week as i plan to put up the xmas decor this coming weekend, and echoing others, where’s the all of the above choice in your survey ?…. i love everything in this blog !!! :)
MM – This comment is out of context to what you posted here. Read the post on Facebook about your decision to close your Zubuchon restaurants for the safety of your crew due to Typhoon Pablo. I HIGHLY COMMEND YOU FOR PUTTING THE SAFETY OF YOUR STAFF OVER PROFITS. I just wish other business owners would have followed your suit. Mabuhay ka!!!!
I second Netoy’s comment.
For those too harried to mosey over to the Wiki entry, poinsettia was named in honor of the first US ambassador to Mexico who also founded what we know now as the Smithsonian Institution (worth a detour when you’re in the DC area if only to gawk at the Hope diamond). It’s Latin name is E. pulcherrima which is the superlative of pulcher, latin for beautiful as in pulchritude, comeliness. Not to be confused with poinciana which is also a red flowering flamboyant decorative tree known locally as fire tree or cavallero.
Whose name gets to get applied to which flower fascinates me. For example, the all too common bougainvillea. I lift verbatim from Wiki: The first European to describe these plants was Philibert Commerçon, a French botanist accompanying French Navy admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville during his voyage of circumnavigation, and first published for him by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789. It is possible that the first European to observe these plants was Jeanne Baré, Commerçon’s lover and assistant whom he sneaked on board (despite regulations) disguised as a man (and who thus became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe).
Knowing bougainvillea only on the basis of the samples mother grew in pots, imagine my utter amazement to be walking and gazing up in the shadow of giant bougainvillea trees in the South of Brazil.
Another example, there was this French Minim monk botanist who named an unusual pink/purple flower he found in the Caribbean after an earlier German botanist Leonhart Fuchs which gave us fuchsia (few-sha, reputedly Erap’s favorite color). Then Charles Plumier, that monk’s name got slapped on another flower from that vicinity which gave us plumeria (our kalasuchi). Plumeria of course is known in French as frangipane and frangipane as we pastry cooks all know also refers to a delicious almond custard paste.
Happy Holidays!
That was fascinating, Footloose! Maybe MM’s future cookbook should also feature a few pages — perhaps as chapter breaks — that dwell on flowers and flower arrangements. Imagine sumptuous food shots interspersed with gorgeous floral pics!
Regarding the poll, I agree with Jessie (#14 above): reasons for coming back to this blog are all those stated except the last three.
=)
For those in the US the cheapest poinsettas are at your local Costco. I hardly buy food at Costco, certainly not meat or poultry, fish, produce or dairy so that leaves only sugar, flour, and poinsettas at Christmas. Right now they are four 8″ pots for $14.99 or one humongous 12″ pot for $14.99. The 12″ pot opens to a bush about 3 ft. high and 3-4 ft. across. They were in very good color and shape and will last through New Year. The wholesale and farmers market are at least twice that price. Available the first week of December and well worth the trip.
i remember when i was still small na there’s some poinsettia plants in my lola’s backyard. actually those plants were planted by her uncle who bequeathed the adjacent lot. noon, i knew that Christmas is near na (i don’t know what the calendar is for yet, that time) not because of the cooler weather but because of the specialized leaves that were growing forth. those red leaves made the wait for christmas more exciting and festive and they made me happier whenever i see them, even now.
There a Christmas I gave poinsettias out to colleagues. Was very tense coordinating pick-up (fr King Louis in Manila Seedling Bank) and delivery (to Makati) of 100 or so plants. Had a recurring nightmare they would die before they reached their recipients :) they’re a very happy gift though.
You always get the best price MM! Php 200 is a really good price for these flowers! The most reasonable i have come across are at least Php 250.00.
can’t view your recent post on Gangnam style….:( MM, password please….
I would dearly love to read the latest post but don’t have a clue as to how to gain a password. I have been visiting the blog since 2007 but must have missed the announcement on passwords. There is an old reference to passwords under Nov 19, 2006 but found nothing under the post on ‘persimmons.’
HELP!
odessa and Jessie, MM is a Bond fan, and the latest Bond flick is?
lovely flowers for wallpaper. will you let me MM? thanks!
sasha, yes of course, go ahead.