Poinsettia Hunting in Tagaytay City

When I visited Tagaytay some few weeks ago, aside from my goal of having a relaxing weekend there, another goal that I have in mind on my visit there is to bring Christmas to our home. It was 30 dasy til Christmas then, and  what better way to greet the upcoming Yuletide season than to bring Christmas at home!

Reaching the Rotunda or the Olivarez Circle in Tagaytay City is so easy. It is the most widely used thoroughfare in reaching the remaining municipalities of Cavite and the rest of Batangas. And though it is always traffic in this part of the province, there are really a lot of things to do, and I'm sure that you'll have a great time dining, shopping and having fun here.

Aside from the salivating line of well-known restaurants in the area, Olaivarez also holds the public transportation terminal that may take you to Tagaytay's top tourist spots, like the People's Park and the Picnic Grove.  You may opt to take a tricycle which will cost around Php60.00 to Php80.00 per ride, or a jeepney, which cost Php11.00 per ride, per person.

That weekend, I paid a visit to one of its most relaxing hotel, the CrossWinds Resort Suites. And since the whole experience there was so Christmas-y, one thing that pops into my mind when we went out to buy pasalubongs are Poinsettia.

My mom loves having plants in our home, and since it's been her long time request to me to buy her some Christmas plants, I made sure that this time I'll be buying something for her, something red and green, something like Poinsettia.

I honestly didn't how much a pot would cost me, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be seeing some of them there since Poinsettias grow and are sold in cold places like Tagaytay.

So, upon reaching Olivarez, I immediately started my hunt. With my two friends on my both sides, and in no time, we already found stalls selling these Christmas plants.

Trivia: Did you know that Poinsettia is actually a plant not a flower. It's origin is in Mexico and its name derives from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the United States in 1825. And lastly, its scientific name is Euphorbia pulcherrima, if in case you wanna know. :-P

I was able to buy two pots of Poinsettia that day. The price of each pot is Php250.00, which is kinda expensive, but now, as I see it everyday in our house bring delight and cheers, I guess, it was one of my best buy this season. 

It never fails to delight my mornings and nights because of its vibrant red color. And the thought of it being a Christmas plant always excites not just me but the rest of the family.

According to "nanay", the vendor who sold me these plants, who happens to be generous too and gave me extra fertilizers on my purchase, these plants, despite of being a high-altitude plant can actually grow in the metro. It is very important to water it at least 3 times a week, and not forget to add a pinch of the fertilizer she gave so that it'll live longer. She added that the red leaves will remain til probably the end of March and it'll be back a week after September. It is important to keep them in the shade, but on mornings, it's okay to place them under the sun in a few hours for the leaves to keep its vibrant color.

I actually would want to buy more, but since I'm on a tight budget too, I guess, next time, I'll buy my next set of these Christmas plants months before the "BER" months hit the town.

Thank you, Tagaytay, for that wonderful early Christmas experience! And thank you too for these amazing and lovely Christmas souvenirs! I can't wait to buy more of these in the future, and maybe next time, I can have these as gifts to my friends!

Happy Holidays, everyone! Happy Rammmpa!