Supers:
Gainesville, FL
Linda Kubitz Reporting
Dr. James Barrett-UF Horticulturist
VO: WHEN IT COMES TO THE HOLIDAYS, PEOPLE CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF CANDY AND COOKIES BUT THE CALORIES ADD UP. BUT WHAT IF YOU COULD HAVE ALL THE CHRISTMAS CANDY YOU WANT AND NOT GAIN AN OUNCE? WELL, THAT'S WHAT UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCHERS SAY CONSUMERS CAN DO THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. MORE THAN 2 DOZEN NEW VARIETIES OF POINSETTIAS ARE BEING INTRODUCED THIS YEAR WITH NAMES SUCH AS CHRISTMAS COOKIE, SANTA CLAUS CANDY, PEPPERMINT, AND PLUM PUDDING. BUT THESE COLORFUL TREATS ARE A FEAST FOR THE EYES AND NOT THE STOMACH. THE IDEA BEHIND THE NEW VARIETIES IS TO GIVE PEOPLE ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL RED POINSETTIAS. 75% OF POINSETTIAS SOLD TODAY ARE SOLID RED BUT THE REST ARE PINK, WHITE, APRICOT, AND EVEN PURPLE. PLUM PUDDING IS THE FIRST EVER PURPLE POINSETTIA . UF HORTICULTURIST, DR. JIM BARRETT PREDICTS THIS NEW COLOR WILL BE POPULAR BECAUSE IT WORKS SO WELL IN HOLIDAY DECOR.
Dr. James Barrett-UF Horticulturist: "When we look at Christmas decorations, there is a lot of purple used in the Christmas decorations. So as soon as we started talking about a poinsettia that has a purple color in it, we started getting calls from people that had heard about it because of the interest in having a poinsettia with a little bit nontraditional Christmas color." (:18)
VO: WITH PROPER CARE, POINSETTIAS SHOULD RETAIN THEIR BEAUTY AND COLOR WELL INTO THE NEW YEAR WHICH WORKS OUT WELL IF YOU HAVE SOME CHAMPAGNE ON HAND. CHAMPAGNE IS ANOTHER A NEW POINSETTIA VARIETY NAMED FOR ITS DELICATE PINK COLOR. IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA...I'M LINDA KUBITZ REPORTING.