Poinsettias died prematurely
The two Poinsettias we had this Christmas have died prematurely. I was especially annoyed that the one our son gave me for Christmas should have died so soon! I think though I can only lay the blame on my own shoulders as I probably overwatered it
The other one was given to my wife by a couple that had been visiting her occasionally. This one had a lot of gold sparkly dust on its leaves & the flower.
I normally don’t like plants that have been treated in this way as I feel it’s unnatural & shortens their life. But when we put both plants together on a small card table, so as to free the living room table one day that my brother came to have dinner with us, I found that actually I quite liked it after all!
After a week or two on the small table they were transferred once again to the living room table. A few days later I noticed the one my son had given me was looking as if it were wilting. Without thinking to check the compost first I gave it some water. During the following days it grew more & more limp. By this time the other one with sparkly leaves was loosing it leaves & the red petals were looking decidedly “burnt” & turning black.
My wife started to comment on how bad they were looking so I took them into the kitchen which is usually quite cooler than the living room &, due to cooking, rather more humid. But the plants just got worse till there were practically no leaves on the one with sparkles & the other one had all its leaves & petals drooping & drying out more & more with each passing day. With great reluctance I decided they would have to go into the bin as there was obviously nothing I could do to help them recover.
I’m especially annoyed at what happened to them in part because they were gifts & in part because I’m supposed to know how to look after plants & have looked after them for 50 years or more. My son, who is a total novice gardener & who has never grown more than a single plant in all his 30 odd years, depends a lot on his father to tell him what to do. He has a house with a garden for the first time in his life & asks me for advice. Then I go & kill the plant he gave me for Christmas! He bought it for me because a few weeks earlier he had bought one very much reduced in a supermarket. It was so dry the poor thing was flagging! Yet as far as I know, 2 months later, he still has it!
The King's garden 