19 December 2011

Proper Poinsettias

I'd never been a big fan of poinsettias, but my first winter here in Michigan, the display at the MSU conservatory changed my mind.
Every year they haul out a huge display of massive, 6-foot poinsettia shrubs in full bloom. Grown like this, they look great. Poinsettias are, after all, big shrubs by nature, and allowed to grow big, they look much more in proportion and attractive than the stubby little things in pots.
My other favorite things about poinsettias are their flowers. The colorful parts, are, of course, not flowers are all, but bracts, modified leaves. Peer down into the center, and you find the actual flowers which are really quite strange looking. 
They remind me of funny little one-eyed aliens.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

5 comments:

Tom said...

Poinsettias really aren't bad when they're allowed to actually do something. I personally have a soft spot for the "rose" series (the ones with the super curly leaves and bracts). When they're grown in a really small pot they're positively charming.

elizabethneubauer said...

I wasn't a big fan of poinsettias either until I visited Argentina and saw big beautiful shrubs of them growing in peoples yards and gardens. It was similar to the "Why that is really beautiful!" moment I had the first time I saw carnations growing in a garden.

PS. Thanks for the brownie recipe. I enjoy cooking and have noticed that some sweets taste really good with a little bit of savory. Like the black pepper in your brownies. Yum!

michael greenfingers said...

The Poinsettia is viewed as the Christmas Holiday plant and is for the most part bought in full sprout as of now of the year. What is the best administer to the Poinsettia plant so it survives the Holiday Season? To what extent would you be able to anticipate that the plant will last? Is the Poinsettia only a regular plant for the Holidays?

editing said...

What are they bright. Straight very. I am amazed. How did such beauty live up to our days? After all, the ancient people dragged home everything that they liked so much. That would get their attention for sure. But I'm glad they stayed.

Micheal Jackson said...
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