Totally Seattle Poinsettias

Two facts:

1) I have been watering my poinsettias with leftover coffee, and
2) They are all still alive.

I know I have already written about the fact that my poinsettias are still alive, so you're probably bored with this fact. But for me? It's kind of a miracle.

I usually buy poinsettias in December, then forget to water them, so that by the time I take them to the yard waste bin, the same day I take down my tree, I'm leaving a long trail of dried up leaves and petals between my living room and my garage.

And what I have left by the time I get to the garage are bare stalks, completely denuded of any kind of greenery or color, kind of like the ones Grinch left in the little Who houses. (Along with the crumbs much too small for the other Whos' mouses. But you don't want to get me started reciting the Grinch. We'll be here all day.)

But anyhoo. My poinsettias are not just alive, they are alive and kicking. I have almost killed most of them at least once by forgetting water, but when I remember, I just stick them in the window and water them with coffee and they come roaring back. A couple of them have even started blooming again.

In fact, they are doing so well that I'm starting to feel guilty about not repotting them, because their little bitty pots are all getting kind of smushed and crowded. But bigger pots wouldn't fit on my window sill, so I'd have to move them someplace where I couldn't enjoy them all day, and basically? What't the point of that? I'd rather keep them where I can see them and have them die sooner.

Because I'm selfish that way.

And so, in the meantime, I'm just continuing to water them with coffee and waiting to see how long they last.

For the record, I have no idea why I water them with coffee. It's something I read, somewhere. My memory is saying that I didn't even read it an official, plant expert kind of source. It was just somebody unofficial saying, "I water my houseplants with leftover coffee." And since I can't live without coffee every day, and I rarely drink the whole pot (and if I do, I generally regret it,) I figured, What the heck? It will make me feel less guilty than dumping good coffee down the drain.

I wonder if the person who came up with the idea lived in Seattle? I wonder if it would work as well in, say, Louisiana, for people who can't draw a circle with a one-mile radius around their house and hit at least seven Starbucks, plus a couple of Tully's? Or is this caffeine craving something poinsettias get from us, the people who raise them?

When even your plants become addicted, perhaps it's time for a 12-step program.