MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Poinsettias in all shades of red, pink and white, as well as a few novelty-type plants, will be on display during Mississippi State University's annual horticulture open house from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Dec. 3.

The Holiday Open House will take place in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences' greenhouses behind Dorman Hall on Stone Boulevard. In addition to the many poinsettias on display, the event will feature educational seminars and a workshop. The student horticulture clubs on campus also will be selling poinsettias, wreaths and garlands.

Lane Greer, the newest faculty member in ornamentals, will address pruning holly and ivy for holiday arrangements. Landscape architecture faculty member Bob Brzuszek, former director of the Crosby Arboretum, will speak on live holiday plants.

The day will conclude with a hands-on workshop at 2 p.m. Jim DelPrince, MSU associate professor of floral design, will help participants create their own holiday centerpiece. A nationally recognized designer, DelPrince teaches three floral design courses and one on interior plantscaping and maintenance. He has demonstrated design techniques in national and international workshops. Most recently, he designed exhibition flowers at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Each person will receive an assortment of fragrant Pacific Coast evergreens, design materials and traditional holiday accents to create a candlelight centerpiece that will last throughout the holiday season. Participants must register for this workshop. Registration is limited to 24 slots, and the fee is $30 per person. Call Kim Chewe at (662) 325-2311 to enroll. The registration deadline is Nov. 23 at 5 p.m. The workshop fee will be collected at the door.