Cougars & Mustangs 

NO MENTIONING CHRISTMAS UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING! the voices cry, with various disgruntled noises and waggled fingers. Look, pal, it IS Thanksgiving, or potentially after. Shut your face with some mashed potatoes and hear about an awesome annual sale Cal Poly will be throwing from Friday to Sunday, Dec. 4 through 6, from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m.—that yes, involves Christmas. Every year, Cal Poly pulls out all the stops on the rare and exotic with the Poly Plant Shop Holiday Sale, which, as usual, has a particularly large and focused selection of poinsettias. 

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The plants are tended to by the students of the university’s Poinsettia Agriculture Enterprise Project, who this year are Ricky Lopez, Kelsey Russel, Sonny Bergin, Killian Vendler, Brennan Roy, and Jordan Collins, with professor Virginia Walter hailing as project advisor. You want to talk about no Christmas until Thanksgiving? Like a producer tasked with getting a high-budget holiday special out in time for said holiday, these students began their tending of the Christmas flower in the spring. But what a payoff! 

In addition to the traditional red and white flowers, this year boasts the likes of poinsettias with unusual leaf forms, a wide variety of novelty colors—such as pink, marble, orange, maroon, and speckled. Sizing is anywhere from tiny 4-inch plants to ones as high as 4 feet. Unsurprisingly, prices are as variable, with a range from $5 to $55. With more than 2,800 plants in more than 30 different varieties and colors, there’s sure to be something for you already, but if you’re the stubborn odd one out, never fret! Other items for sale at the event include student-made wreaths, centerpieces, succulents, ornaments, and gifts. 

And if after being caught red-handed you aren’t sure you’re physically capable of transitioning to a green thumb anymore, there is a saving grace for you as well: The poinsettia project students will in fact be on hand to advise you on the proper and best care for your new festive family member. Though the Holiday Sale runs through the aforementioned times, the Poly Plant shop does have regular school hours and will run until the campus closes for the quarter. It’s more than worth checking out the shop at other times of the year, as there are several other events and crops available then—such as “Tomatomania,” which occurred this spring. The group’s presence on social media appears to be inconsistent, so for further information, your best bet is to call the store directly at 756-1106, and peruse their website, polyplantshop.com. Now quit talking with food in your mouth! 

Contributor Chris White-Sanborn hears those sleigh bells jingling, ring, ting, tingling too ... OH GOD, THEY’VE FOUND HER! Send her your collegiate news via [email protected].