BREWER – This time of year, Stan White is seeing red. And that’s a good thing.

White, who co-owns Enchanted Gardens greenhouse in Brewer with his daughter, Marian Jerome, is one of the few remaining poinsettia growers in the region, and with nearly 5,000 plants this year, one of the largest.

Poinsettias aren’t the easiest crop to grow. They’re in demand for a month, tops. They’re susceptible to several pests and diseases. They require months of nurturing – White started his in July – and loads of heat. Even when fuel costs are low, the profit margins aren’t particularly high.

“They’re a long-term crop – they really are – and they’re a very heat-sensitive crop, which is bad news this year,” said White, who also grows a diverse crop of annuals to sell in the warmer months.

But when he walks into his greenhouse and looks out on a sea of crimson, burgundy, pink and white foliage, he forgets about all that.

“I come in here and it’s like spring,” White said, smiling, on a recent overcast afternoon. “You see all the color. It’s just so pretty, all the different colors.”

Still, the colors aren’t enough to keep some Maine growers in the business. About 10 years ago, there were nearly 40 greenhouses in the state that grew their own poinsettias. That number has dwindled to 16, and of those, many have substantially cut back on their stock.

Ann Gibbs of the state Department of Agriculture said competition from Canadian growers may have sparked the decline. In addition, national chain stores have started selling the plants for less than it costs White and his colleagues in the greenhouse industry to grow them.

“What’s happening is, it’s an expensive crop to grow, it has to be in the greenhouse for a long time, and it’s a difficult crop to grow,” Gibbs said. “I think a lot of growers look at the chains selling poinsettias for a very, very low price. They couldn’t even dream of producing them for that much.”

Several years ago, Warren Foss of Foss Farm in Stetson had an opportunity to wholesale to a locally owned grocery chain. He and the chain’s owner were in agreement about everything – except price. A Nova Scotia-based wholesaler could provide the plants for $2.35 per plant. The best Foss could do was $5.25.

“The only way I can compete at all is to have quality plants, to sell high-end plants,” said Foss, who wholesales to florists and specialty greenhouses in the area. “I grow doubles, triples, poinsettia trees. … People are willing to pay a premium price for a premium product.”

Foss grows between 3,800 and 4,000 poinsettias per year, along with a spring crop of hanging baskets and bedding plants such as petunias and geraniums. Last year, he converted to a wood-fired furnace – his oil-fired furnace now serves as a backup. His $21,000 investment has already paid off. In the first year alone, Foss saved nearly $5,000 in fuel costs.

That savings comes with a tradeoff, however. He now spends 45 minutes a day, every day, tending to his furnace. It’s the first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning and the last thing he does before he goes to bed at night. If the outdoor temperature falls below zero, he has to feed the furnace in the middle of the day, too.

Before the conversion, he had considered cutting his poinsettia crop, but although his profit margins are small, the plants are an important part of his year-round business.

“I have always done two crops to try to maximize my buildings,” said Foss, who has grown poinsettias for 15 years. “It keeps my customer base. I’ll have them with the poinsettia crops, and then when I make my last delivery, I say, ‘I’ll see you in the spring.”

Both Foss and White enjoy the relative ease of growing a single crop, as opposed to 100 different varieties of annuals that have different water and fertilizer requirements. And they both love the bold, festive foliage that has become an icon of the season.

“They’re a nice plant,” Foss said, “and they will last a long time if you take care of them.”

Poinsettia facts

. The red, pink and white “flowers” of a poinsettia aren’t blossoms, they’re leaves. The plant’s flowers are tiny, yellow and relatively unnoticeable.

. Though its sap, or latex, can be an irritant to humans and pets, poinsettias are not poisonous. In fact, according to University of Illinois Cooperative Extension, Aztecs used the plant’s sap as a fever cure, while the leaves were used to prepare dyes for fabric and cosmetics.

. The poinsettia was named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the United States’ first ambassador to Mexico.

. Poinsettias are happier dry than wet. If your plant looks droopy, chances are you’re overwatering, not underwatering it.

. Poinsettias love heat. Keep them away from drafty doors and windows.

. If you want to keep your poinsettia after Christmas, put it in a sunny window and keep it there until summer. Pinch it back in June or July and place it outdoors if you’d like. On or around Sept. 15, bring it back inside and – this is important – place it in a room that doesn’t get artificial light at night. Closets work well. If you put a poinsettia in a room with artificial light, its leaves won’t change color. Do expose it to natural light in the daytime. should turn red as December approaches.