I love Dad and he is pretty damn good at choosing gifts for the most part, but there is one gift-giving habit I wish he would give up.
Amaryllis.
I mean, they're really pretty, beautiful even, and easy to grow (I guess - I usually don't try. That isn't the issue at all).
The problem is that they are poisonous to cats and there are four cats in this house now. I've mentioned this before but he doesn't seem to get it. This year I asked for a gift certificate to Amazon and I got it, along with a cat grass planter and wonderful cash, and an amaryllis planter. *groan* I don't think they can get to it easily where it is now but I can't stop worrying. Besides, I am really bad with plants in general and he keeps trying to give me easy plants in the hopes of giving me a green thumb (I kill cactuses within days, so good luck with that idea).
I don't know how to get him to stop with the freaking amaryllis without offending him. And he knows that house plants can be a risk (he lost a cat that way) and I've tried telling him that amaryllis plants worry me. What else can I do?
I don't want to be ungrateful, but this does scare me and I hate deliberately killing plants...
*grumble*
This one really is blooming like crazy, too. 0 blooms -> three flowers and two buds in three and a half days may be a plant-growing record for me. The cat grass he gave me is just barely even starting to sprout. Tiny green specks count as seedlings, right?
I don't suppose this means I have any real chance of growing something that won't kill the four-foots. Right? *glares at the supposedly fool-proof cat grass that is at least 24 hours late in sprouting*
Amaryllis.
I mean, they're really pretty, beautiful even, and easy to grow (I guess - I usually don't try. That isn't the issue at all).
The problem is that they are poisonous to cats and there are four cats in this house now. I've mentioned this before but he doesn't seem to get it. This year I asked for a gift certificate to Amazon and I got it, along with a cat grass planter and wonderful cash, and an amaryllis planter. *groan* I don't think they can get to it easily where it is now but I can't stop worrying. Besides, I am really bad with plants in general and he keeps trying to give me easy plants in the hopes of giving me a green thumb (I kill cactuses within days, so good luck with that idea).
I don't know how to get him to stop with the freaking amaryllis without offending him. And he knows that house plants can be a risk (he lost a cat that way) and I've tried telling him that amaryllis plants worry me. What else can I do?
I don't want to be ungrateful, but this does scare me and I hate deliberately killing plants...
*grumble*
This one really is blooming like crazy, too. 0 blooms -> three flowers and two buds in three and a half days may be a plant-growing record for me. The cat grass he gave me is just barely even starting to sprout. Tiny green specks count as seedlings, right?
I don't suppose this means I have any real chance of growing something that won't kill the four-foots. Right? *glares at the supposedly fool-proof cat grass that is at least 24 hours late in sprouting*
- Current Mood:
uncomfortable
Profile
thisdaydreamer- Up Too Late
Comments
Option 1: Give the plant to a catless friend or neighbor. When your father asks how the plant is doing (or where it is if he comes over to visit), tell him you gave it to someone who doesn't own cats because it's poisonous to cats.
Option 2: Find info from several reputable sources (as intense as an academic botany or veterinary journal or as simple as a website devoted to educating others about florae or felines) that states amaryllises (amarylli?) are poisonous.
Option 1 is more likely to make him gasp in horror and apologize, but it could cause an argument about you not respecting his gifts or something. Option 2's argument could be him accusing you of calling him stupid or of being a know-it-all. Good luck.
Can you re-gift it to someone, a neighbor maybe?
which is probably not a positive association...