As you see here, Malilda is ahead of the others. However, when I unboxed her, she was white, already large, and bent over every which way, so much did her burgeoning self resist dark confinement. When planted, and placed in a sunny window, Matilda straightened up with two days, turned green on the third, and, as of two days ago, this! Since that time, it looks like nothing is happening, but you know damn well that she’s getting ready to burst into bloom.
As ever I bow to her, and Mother Nature’s mysterious regenerative capacity, as we await the darkest, holiest moment of the year, 10:27 pm EDT, December 21, 2023: Winter Solstice.