For my lack of green thumb skills I could very easily be called a plant killer. It stems (pun intended) mostly from my laziness to water plants on a regular basis. To be honest, the only reason I have house plants at all is because after a trip to visit then newly-weds Kristen and Charles I noticed houseplants all around the house. This meant that Charles had houseplants as a bachelor, which meant that I was a housewife who didn't have houseplants, and I should probably try to nurture something green. (I bought two plants the week after my trip. I checked the spikey labels and looked for the most drought resistant varieties. Miraculously, they are still living.)
This plant killing can be directly contrasted with my passionate love for flowers. I really love flowers. If I would win the lottery (which is fairly difficult when you don't purchase lottery tickets), I would have fresh flowers delivered to my house daily. The more colorful the blooms the better. Flowers always make me feel better when I am in a bad mood. How can you be mad when you have a daisy in your face? Isn't a daisy the epitome of a happy flower?
All of this is my very long-winded explanation of the best poinsettia plant I have ever purchased. I buy and kill a poinsettia plant every year. I can't help but buy one--they are so pretty and the stores have clever retail tricks that make them even prettier in the store and they send out subliminal messages (which are extra potent to those of us that are floralphiles) that say "Buy me and take me home with you! I am a poinsettia and I am pretty and I help spread Christmas cheer!" This year I fell for the tricks, again. I brought my red flowers home...and my husband laughed.
I can't kill it. The spikey label instructs me to let the soil dry throughly before re-watering. The hybrid-poinsettia-scientists had me in mind when they bred this one! So, for the other plant killers out there: The poinsettia variety for you is the Jester Red.
So, I have a question. What do I do with a poinsettia in mid-January? Should I sabotage the flowers and give them a little non-MiracleGrow blue juice?
1 comment:
If the flowers are still blooming, just leave them. When they stop, you'll still probably be able to keep it green for quite a while. My mother-in-law can force them to flower again...somthing about covering them during the day and putting them in a cool place for awhile. I'll find out if you want to know! By the way, I'm a plant killer too, but last year managed to keep a poinsettia from December till April and it was only from Menards! :)
JNette
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