'Half-dead' poinsettia from grocery store just won't stop growing

The holiday plant has so far survived three Christmas seasons and is now giant

Joanne Hill and Mike Doehl are pretty proud of their $5 poinsettia and say it may even stand in as a Christmas tree. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

Joanne Hill and Mike Doehl are pretty proud of their $5 poinsettia and say it may even stand in as a Christmas tree. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

It's been a huge return on a small investment: Mike Doehl turned a $5 poinsettia bought at a local Maxi grocery store three years ago into a looming giant.

His wife, Joanne Hill describes the festive red and green plant she brought home as "a little, crappy half-dead plant from Maxi."

But Doehl used the magic of his green thumb to help it grow into a behemoth that now takes up a good part of a room in their Mont Saint-Hilaire basement.

"When things are really beautiful, I want to keep them and cherish them," Doehl said about the poinsettia.

"I just love this thing. The colours make me happy, especially during this COVID time."

Besides constant watering and a bit of liquid fertilizer, Doehl says he doesn't do much else to coax the growth. With the help of his nephew, he's transferred the plant outside during the warm months and then back in over winter.

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"Put some lights on it and we won't need a Christmas tree," laughs Hill.

"I'm just worried, will it get bigger?!"


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Original story by Sarah Leavitt, published on CBC.ca