20
November
2019

Princettias for Décor

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Pure, clean star-like bracts of ‘Princettia Pure White’ 

Princettias have several features that make them useful for professionals working on Christmas décor projects, or retailers who want to offer Poinsettias that are a cut above. In a season when it’s important to set out the best, everyone turns to the Poinsettia and choosing a better Poinsettia helps make a display stand out from the crowd. Princettia delivers the best white in the business, but it is a better Poinsettia for other reasons as well.

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Princettia’s clean ‘Pure White’ is especially evident when contrasted against red

The Whitest Whites

White is the first reason we want Princettias—this cannot be understated. Suntory delivers the purest white in Poinsettias, the kind we associate with freshly fallen snow or the purity of hope and kindness. It pops when placed against a contrasting color like a strong red. This is helpful whether we want to represent the Holy Ghost, snow among a scattering of gifts, or a starry holiday night.

Unfortunately, white is also vulnerable to the slightest touch of extra color that might show up in the bract, which makes ‘Princettia Pure White’ such a stunning achievement. The pure white is clear across the entire bract, across the top of the plant, across the entire crop. We've grown Princettias since Suntory released them into beta, so we know this white is very reliable.

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‘Princettia Hot Pink’—notice the flatness across the top

The Flat Top

The second reason is how Princettias hold their bracts. By their nature, Poinsettia like to curl, bend, or warp their bracts as they grow. For some varieties this is a selling feature. Princettias work the issue in the opposite direction, with a very flat cluster and stiff bracts that stand straight out from it.

Looking down from the top of the plant the small, stiff bracts create a tight flower-like pattern. It’s very easy to see the star-like shape the bracts take, especially on ‘Princettia Pure White’. Princettias also deliver distinctive shades of Light Pink, Dark Pink, and Red, all with clear pigmentation and smooth color.

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Princettias offer “fancy tablecloth” style texture

The Tablecloth Texture

Texture is a subtle feature of the Princettia, the same kind of quiet understatement we experience when we feel a fancy tablecloth at a fine restaurant. Touch the plant—it’s not quite linen and not quite velvet, but it has a consistency that is somewhere between the two. We recommend using the Princettia up close where guests can feel it as well as see it.

This plushness of the bracts combined with the naturally flat Princettia presentation makes it easy to build wide and low tabletop displays in a variety of interesting pottery. Height is an important part of interior décor design because guests want to see each other easily over an arrangement as they mill about and mingle.

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Princettias anchor a short, wide bowl as part of a whimsical arrangement

A Bigger Smaller Size

We grow Princettias in a 5.5-inch pot, which is larger than the usual 4.5-inch pot we use for other varieties. This size is small enough to serve an important role as a component in, but big enough to anchor the centerpiece. It can also act as a central display for businesses, or as a nice gift for friends and colleagues. Big enough to make a nice presentation but small enough to be affordable is the sweet spot of retail, in our opinion.

One style that takes advantage of this versatile size is a fresh take on Poinsettia centerpieces, mixing in other plant material for a botanical theme to holiday decor. Green, red, pink, and white make up the color palette used in these types of combinations, with the Poinsettias holding center stage. This is where the premium feel and extra heft of the Princettia anchors down a design.

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A trendy vignette with items chosen to highlight Princettia’s incredible whiteness

The Modern Look

Another trend takes the Princettia a step further by using it to create a vignette. Plant up one or more Princettias in a smallish container—the more unusual the better—and surround it/them with complementary objects. Choose seasonal items, mementos, or color-themed accessories. Books, ornaments, antique jewelry, fancy teacups, treasures from a nature walk, toys—any object, old or new, is fair game. 

Our ‘Pure White’ Princettia above takes center stage among neutral urns and candlesticks, accented by chartreuse gourds and seedpods. We are seeing more and more of these tableaus for the holidays and we like them. Whenever we turn a corner we don’t know what’s going to pop up on a desk, a shelf, or a windowsill—kind of like that sneaky Elf who keeps his eyes peeled for bad behavior this time of year.

Princettia Red, Hot Pink, Dark Pink, and Pure White are available in the 5.5-inch pot.

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A stand of ‘Princettia Dark Pink’ fills out an unusual container