Stan's has started moving the garden mums from the back greenhouses where they are grown, to the retail area in the front parking lot. We know that they're not showing alot of color yet, but we also know our customers have been asking for them and you know Stan's......We always try to do whatever we can to please our customers!!! So stop in and start thinking about how your house will look this fall. It will be here before you know it!

Stan's first redemption period with our new Loyalty Loot card ended on July 5, 2010. We want to thank all of our loyal customers for coming in to use your free dollars, we hope you got what you wanted!! Remember, you can spend the dollars you've earned on everyday things like plants or chemicals or.....splurge a little and treat yourself to something you maybe wouldn't buy if you had to pay full price! If you didn't get a chance to use your free dollars this time ......Don't worry, this is a permanent program. You will continue to earn dollars on every purchase as long as you are not redeeming and you can spend them during the next redemption period in November or even next year! So don't throw your loyalty loot card away.....we've gone green and it's here to stay. If you have any questions please feel free to give us a call.

Even though Memorial weekend is over, we still have a wide selection of plants available. Don't forget Tuesdays are senior citizen days. Customers age 55 and older receive a 10% discount each and every Tuesday. Stop in on Wednesdays to find out about the "Wednesday Wonder". Each Wednesday we have a special on a certain item, either from the greenhouse or nursery. This special will not be advertised or announced, you need to stop into the store for details.

We have changed our loyalty loot program. We will now be using a Loyalty Card instead of paper coupons. Stop in soon to sign up and receive your new card.

Your poinsettia questions answered, from where they're grown in Erie to whether they'll really kill the cat.

Pondering the poinsettia?

Want to know who grows them locally or whether your cat will keel over dead if she consumes a leaf or two? We've got the answers to your most probing poinsettia questions here.

First, a bit of background: Poinsettias, native to Mexico, were introduced in the United States in 1825.

In 2008, Americans spent $220 million on poinsettias during the holiday season, according to numbers from the Paul Ecke Ranch in California, which grows more than 80 percent of poinsettias headed for the wholesale market in the United States.

Q: Who grows poinsettias locally?

A: Stan's Garden Center is the most prolific local grower of the tropical plant, producing 4,000 to 5,000 pots of poinsettias each year.

Stan's owner Jim Skarzenski said the garden center began growing poinsettias in 1982 as a way to keep employees on the roster during November and December.

"It's something that keeps my full-time people busy this time of year," he said.

But while Stan's sells a lot of poinsettias, it's no comparison to sales of other plants during other high-profile holidays.

"We do more Memorial Day weekend than we do for the whole winter season," he said.

Poinsettias at Stan's start at $3.99 for a 4-inch plant and go up to $29.99 for a 10-inch plant.

Q: Can you keep poinsettias coming back year after year?

A: It takes a green thumb, but it really is possible to get the red leaves the plant is famous for to come back next holiday season, said Jim Potratz, who grows about 15 percent of the poinsettias that his business, Potratz Floral Shop & Greenhouses, sells.

He said a poinsettia, a tropical plant, can be safely transplanted outside when the danger of frost is well past. Cut them back in late summer and bring them inside again in early fall.

Skarzenski said the secret after that is artificial light: Don't use it.

"They're sensitive to the length of day -- when the day shortens, that's when they bloom," he said. "So you can't have any artificial light on them at night. That's why it's hard for people at home to get those red leaves."

Poinsettias Are Poisonous, Right?

Turns out that the poisonous poinsettia is a myth. The Mayo Clinic reports on its Web site that the worst that can happen if a child eats a poinsettia plant is an upset stomach. And that's only likely if a lot of the plant is ingested -- doubtful given the fact that the plant tastes bitter. In pets: Dogs or cats can also ingest the plant without owners worrying about them dying, though poinsettias could cause a pet some temporary gastrointestinal problems -- just as ingesting many other types of houseplants can do.

Story by Kara Murphy - Erie Times-News

Click here to read the article on the Erie Times-News website