Weidner's Gardens continues poinsettia tradition in North County
Story and photos by Leslie Crawford
I’ve driven past Weidner’s Gardens for decades. The Encinitas nursery is easily spotted on the east side of Interstate 5, just past the Leucadia Boulevard exit.
On a recent Friday morning, I ventured to North County for my first visit to Weidner’s Gardens to go on the Poinsettia Open House tour and check out the rest of the nursery. Weidner’s, which is renowned for begonias, fuchsias and hanging basket displays, has a wide variety of plants.
Weidner’s Gardens celebrated its 50th anniversary this past July. When Evelyn Weidner and her husband, Bob, opened the nursery, they named it The Begonia Gardens, and customers could dig up their own begonias. After Bob died in 1988, Evelyn continued the operations with her daughter Mary Weidner Witesman.
In 2013, Evelyn decided it was time to step back. She sold the nursery to longtime employees Kalim Owens, the wholesale manager, and Oliver Storm, the head grower. They are like family to Evelyn and were the natural choice to take over the business.
Although Evelyn retired from daily operations, she still visits the nursery occasionally. I was fortunate to find Evelyn and Mary there the day I visited. There wasn’t much time to chat before the tour, but it was great to meet the matriarch. Evelyn has a reputation as a knowledgeable and gregarious garden-industry professional, and she still has a twinkle in her eye when it comes to Weidner’s.
When it was time for the poinsettia tour, I learned the guides would be the co-owners Owens and Storm, each leading a group.
“I have a more pragmatic approach in my tour. Oliver’s tour is more on the scientific side,” Owens said. I picked Oliver’s tour and queued up.
Leaving the main nursery through a side gate, our group was led behind the scenes to the greenhouses where poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are cultivated. The greenhouses at the nursery are filled with healthy, hearty poinsettias in a multitude of colors, varieties and sizes. It is magical to see thousands of these beautiful plants gathered in one place.
The nursery grows 70,000 poinsettias annually to supply theme parks, cruise ships, hotels and the general public. The nursery has grown poinsettias for decades because of the family’s three-generation-long relationship with the Ecke family. Both families had been growers in the Los Angeles region.
The Weidners came to San Diego from Long Beach more than 50 years ago. They were looking for a more rural area to grow flowers. At the urging of the Eckes, they decided to settle in San Diego County.
Paul Ecke Sr. promoted the poinsettia and made it famous as a Christmas plant. At one point the Ecke Ranch, which was also in Encinitas, produced 90 percent of all poinsettias grown in the United States.
The Ecke family sold off business in 2012, but Weidner’s still buys cuttings from companies who have rights to sell and grow patented Ecke family varieties. Cuttings now come from Mexico, Guatemala and Kenya. Large poinsettias available for the holidays start from cuttings in March, and smaller plants are from cuttings that arrive in July and August.
The blooming season for poinsettias is typically four to five weeks long. The red leaves that most people think of as the flower are called bracts and are not the true flower. The flowers, known as cyathia, are greenish yellow at the center of the bracts.
As a soft leaf perennial, poinsettias can live more than one season and will rebloom if proper care is taken. Poinsettias are daylight sensitive, so much so, according to Storm, that even a streetlight outside a window can affect the growth rate of a poinsettia. Setting up growing conditions timed to a successful holiday season of blooms requires precision planting and care.
The original wood-framed Weidner greenhouses were rebuilt in 2001 with strong metal framing and sophisticated lighting and watering systems that allow for controlled growing conditions.
In addition to the greenhouses at the nursery site, there are two other greenhouse locations (called ranges in the gardening industry) for a total of 48 greenhouses that grow poinsettias as well as other plants.
To get an idea of the work that goes into growing poinsettias, these are the steps recommended by Weidners to rebloom a plant for the following growing season:
Around mid-March cut the plant back, leaving about 8 inches of growth. Put it outside in a warm spot but not direct sun and keep the soil moist. Once you see sprouts, fertilize to promote growth. In mid-summer, cut the plant back again to keep it short. For the plant to develop colorful bracts for the holidays, it will need 13 hours of darkness a day for eight to 10 weeks, meaning this regimen should start at end of September or the beginning of October.
It’s a lot of work for one plant.
If you multiply that by 70,000, you gain an appreciation for the work at Weidner’s Garden to bring us the iconic poinsettia each year.
Weidner’s Gardens
695 Normandy Road, Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 436-2194; weidnersgardens.com
Open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Leslie Crawford is editor and co-founder of Coronado 365 and a San Diego Master Gardener. Her garden is much tidier than her house, and she’s OK with that.
Loved the article about Weidner’s nursery!