Today is National Poinsettia Day...or as I call it "the plant that never dies...it just looks bad". They look so good when you first get them. Then the leaves fall off and you can never get it to grow back the right. At our house we can never bring ourselves to toss the plant out. Is it just us?
Here's the other thing. How do you SAY "Poinsettia"? When I was growing up we ignored the send "I". It was just "poinsetta". Sometimes we even added a "T" and said "pointsetta". When I hear people say "poinsett-EE-AH" it sounds weird to me. Maybe flowers just aren't my thing. I think I can pronounce "mum" correctly.
Here's some Poinsettia facts:
- Joel Roberts Poinsett introduced the poinsettia plant to the United States from Mexico and the date of his holiday was picked to coincide with the date of his birthday! Who knew?
- Poinsettias probably won't kill you, but ask your doctor. A study at Ohio State University showed that a 50-pound child would have to eat more than 500 leaves to have any harmful effect. Plus poinsettia leaves have an awful taste.
- You might want to keep your pets from snacking on poinsettia leaves. Eating the leaves can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Check with your vet, I'm just a guy who plays Maroon 5 songs
Here is what the plant looks like in February. Below is a video on how to revive your plant. Good luck with that. I think I'll go to Michael's and get some silk ones.
photo: getty images