Talking About the Mundane, Headcanons, and Meta

Christmas is fast approaching where I'm at, and so the grocery stores bring out the GOD DAMN poinsettias. Y'know, these things.



Ever since studying horticulture, I went from feeling neutral to hatred towards these plants. Seriously, anything time I see them a spark of rage burns inside me. I hate them so much! Let me tell you they are the worse to care for!

Poinsettias are the most fragile plants I've ever cared for! Trying to water them is a pain because for you are slightly too rough with them, the stems will break and latex (that milky, white sap) will get everywhere! Water temperatures isn't the worse hassle to deal with, I water my plants with lukewarm (sometimes a tad warmer) water anyway. The occasional cool water won't hurt most of them, but for the poinsettia it will. It has to been "just right" or else you'll kill it. For the love of god, why?!

Ugh... Okay, how about a few fun facts about them to calm my nerves. Did you know? They originate from Central America (Mexico is one place you can find them). Poinsettias are actually a shrub/small tree, and so they grow up to 2 to 13 ft (0.6 to 4 meters) tall. Here's a photo of what they typically look like down south.



The "petals" are actually modified leaves called bracts that draw the attention of insects for pollination. The flowers themselves are much smaller and aren't that showy. They look more like this.