MISSISSIPPI STATE -- More than 50 varieties of poinsettias will be on display, and some will be for sale at Mississippi State University’s annual horticulture holiday open house Dec. 5.

The open house and sale is from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday in the greenhouses behind Dorman Hall on campus at MSU. The event is free and open to the public.

Hundreds of people come each year to see the greenhouse display. Flower colors include pink, white, burgundy, marble and many shades of red. Students in MSU’s Horticulture Club will sell poinsettias they cultivated this year.

In addition to the plants on display and for purchase, free educational seminars will be available to visitors. Mengmeng Gu will speak at 9:30 a.m. on gardening with annuals for winter color; at 10:30 a.m., Richard Harkess will discuss plants other than poinsettias that can be used for holiday decorating; and at 11 a.m., Brian Trader will share ways to cut costs by using the landscape to decorate for the holidays.

The open house is sponsored by MSU’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. Contact the Plant and Soil Sciences Department at (662) 325-2311 for more information.