K & S Greenhouse knows poinsettias

by John Dowd

It is hard to think of Christmas without picturing the poinsettia, a plant that to most people represents the holidays. The plant is grown and sold primarily during the holidays in the U.S., during a short two-month period, and over 70 million are cultivated every year. 

For those looking to find locally grown poinsettias, they need look no further than K & S Greenhouse, outside of Corvallis. According to Gale Price, owner of the greenhouse, they grow all their poinsettias in house from starters. Because of this, they are not limited to only traditional colors, and some of their plants contain speckled or multicolored leaves. In fact, they carry at least 20 varieties, some of which can be found nowhere else in the valley.

Price said they also sell evergreen wreaths and “porch pots,” which are arrangements created from evergreen boughs meant to sit on the front porch. The greenhouse also holds classes to teach people to make their own. These Christmas crafting classes are a huge hit, according to Price, and they “give people something to do in the winter.” 

The porch pots can last for months, even into the spring, so Price said a lot of people will keep them around, and change them as the holidays change. For the classes, the evergreen pieces are free, and Price gathers most of them herself. Some of the other adornments can have an additional charge. Her classes include lessons on flower arrangements, winter brooms, tree centerpieces, swags and more. Price has been doing the classes for around eight years, and even offers private classes. Entrance fees range from $26 to $70. 

Price also highlighted their very popular Christmas Craft Sale, going on now until Christmas, where local vendors set up booths people can peruse whenever the greenhouse is open. All the vendors are local and most make their own products. The greenhouse features over 100 vendors, and most are repeat vendors. However, they “try to rotate some new vendors in to keep things fresh,” said Price.

K & S Greenhouse was started by Price’s father in 1982, out of his backyard. He sold only tomatoes and moved to the current location in 1999. Eventually, he added some flowers and by 2009 he switched almost exclusively to starts. He even did poinsettias, though they were never financially viable. He also got a lot of varieties, and grew them himself.  

Price’s father stopped doing poinsettias for a while, but she wanted to bring them back. Price took over in 2017, and said, “We knew we wanted to bring the poinsettias back, and we wanted to keep our employees during the winter months.” In fact, that is a huge motivation for K & S; to “Keep people employed,” said Price.

According to Price, the place looked so empty in the winter. They also had trouble keeping employees, who would have nothing to do over winter, then they might not come back in the spring. Price added that it is tough to ask someone to do that, and it is hard to survive without a job in the winter in Montana. That is what started K & S on the road to the Christmas Craft Sale. 

They reached out to the Bitterroot Arts Guild and started with six vendors. However, it quickly grew to over 100. They even have a wait list with over 25 vendors on it. Price said there are not a lot of greenhouses that have the full vendor set-up.

The various Christmas additions worked out to help keep employees at the greenhouse during the winter months, and while the vendors and classes have done very well, the poinsettias took some practice. According to Price, she killed her whole batch the first year. She said it was a combination of the plants getting infected, and her using something she should not have used on them. 

Though Price said this was a “good learning experience,” she wanted to try again. After some advice from her father, and some practice, now the poinsettias have become a great product with a lot of interest. “Poinsettias are one of those things, because they are a long crop, they are hard to make viable,” said Price. Growers need to start them in July, and the plants do not sell until November or December, both when they are desired and when they are ready.

The greenhouse also wraps each poinsettia before it goes out the door to keep them from freezing. Price said people need to remember that these are tropical plants. “They don’t like getting cold,” she said.

K & S Greenhouse carries traditional red-leafed plants, as well as yellow, pink, and various color-splashed varieties, with the speckled ones being pretty popular.

K & S Greenhouse is located at 204 Black Lane, in Corvallis. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week. To sign up for classes, interested parties can call the greenhouse at (406) 961-1612, or stop in and inquire.