A poinsettia story

When Christmas was over last year, on the way out of the Baptist Church the preacher's wife asked me if I wanted a poinsettia plant.  She doesn't even remember doing that, by the way.  I think she just wanted it gone, since it had served its seasonal purpose.  For some reason I accepted it, knowing I'd just toss it out when I got it home.

I sat it down on the side of the kitchen table closest to a northern-facing window and pretty much forgot about it.  That's why I don't have  house plants; once something sits in the same place for a couple of days, it becomes invisible.  I didn't bother to water it for a long time; the sad plant just sat there turning browner.  I did notice it when I wiped off the table, and wondered why I hadn't gotten rid of it.  At some point, for whatever reason, I gave it some water; it was refusing to completely die, so why  not?  Sometime in February, Cliff said, "Is that plant dead?"

"Pretty much," I answered, and gave it another drink of water.  In the back of my mind I began wondering what would happen if it had enough life in it for me to put it in the garden come spring, where it wouldn't be bothering me and making me feel guilty.

I believe it was mid-April when I dug a hole and put it in its new home; we had a hard freeze or two, and some frost once or twice; but since I was covering up my first two tomato plants, I went ahead and covered the poinsettia too.  In May I put some zucchini seeds right beside it.  By July, the zucchini plant had practically covered up the poinsettia, and I honestly forgot all about it.  It's been a dry summer, but I did water my zucchinis from time to time, so I suppose the poinsettia got some water too.

In August the squash bugs arrived and the zucchini plant died.  There was the Christmas plant, looking quite healthy!

   

It was so pretty, I shared it on Facebook.  There were many  admirers, and one couple told me to bring it in the house, give it 12 hours of total darkness every day, and it would turn red by Christmas.

I don't even have a flower pot to put it in, and I do NOT intend to be nursemaid for a silly plant that you can buy in December for a very reasonable price.  It can sit out there until the cold weather kills it and I'll know it had a happy life.

However, I did go to Google out of curiosity:  I found out I did nothing right when I put the silly thing in the garden and forgot it.  They are only supposed to have four or five hours of direct sun each day, so maybe being in the shade of the zucchini plant saved it.  They are supposed to be fertilized once a month: Ha!  I don't even fertilize my  tomatoes!  Before I put it in the garden, I should have cut the plant back to almost nothing; I even left all the brown, dead leaves on it.  

Everything I did to the plant was wrong!

But a seed has been planted in my mind, even knowing that if I bring it inside, it will never live to see another year... because that's how I roll.