Keep those poinsettias going

I've seen large trunked obviously old poinsettias in California and they probably have a lot of them in Florida and possibly in the Rio Grande Valley, but I never expected to hear of one this old in Lousiana.  I am sure someone could do the same here in the Rockport area. It's a great story of one poinsettias long life.

Giant 70-year-old poinsettia thrives in Lake Charles

Lake Charles LA (KPLC) Most poinsettias you see are just small potted plants in the stores or nurseries. But how about a 12-foot tall poinsettia?

For one Lake Charles resident, Karen Bryant, there's one growing right next to her home and it has been doing so for close to 70 years.

The poinsettia was planted in the 1940s and was owned by Bryant's neighbor. When Bryant moved into her current home more than 30 years ago, she would often help the woman care for her plants.

When the woman passed away in the early 2000s, and a new family moved into the home, Bryant asked the new residents if she could have the poinsettia.

"She told me if you plant it on the south side of a building, it will come back every year. So, when he decided he was going to destroy it, I asked him for the root system and he gave it to me," Bryant said.

And that's what she did. She removed the poinsettia roots and replanted them on the south side of her home next door.

"But this plant, this root system comes from the 1940s when this street, Auburn Street, was just a dirt road and that's when they built their home," she said.

Today, Bryant tends the plant every year. She even re-planted some around her home and she's given pieces of the giant poinsettia to her neighbors.

To Bryant, the plant is a gift that keeps on giving.

"She loved flowers. And I have a love of plants because of her," Bryant said.

Check out the attached video of the story to see more of the giant poinsettia.

I hope someone in our herb group has a story like this they can tell us.