You know those little potted poinsettias that are all wrapped up in red cellophane with bows around them at Christmas? Well, here in Musoma we don't grow our poinsettia in a pot - we have one that is a wild and crazy bush in our garden! As you can see from looking at me next to it, it's at least 10 feet tall, despite being severely pruned back not too long ago. We get some much sunshine and so much rain around here (well, lots of rain during some months of the year) that things just go flying up like our backyard is a rain forest.
Our poinsettia doesn't bloom year-round, but seems to go in phases every few months. It's blooming now and we expect it to stay red for another month or so, then it'll go green again. It's not the most healthy plant - as you can see, other than the red parts, it's very short on leaves. But somehow it seems to be growing well, despite its mostly-bare branches.
So the next time you buy a wimpy little poinsettia that is struggling to survive in the cold Northern Hemisphere, remember our somewhat out-of-control one over here and imagine what your plant is dreaming of becoming someday if it were only planted in the tropics!
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