was that POT i saw??

[kochh2]

OMG, DH and i are freaking out-- We just moved recently to a very nice neighborhood, and the best part of it was that our next door neighbor has a small in home certified daycare- walk them to daycare, drive to work, easy!! plus, it is a small neighborhood, so we felt very close knit from the start. Anyway, We often go for a walk in the evenings, and the other night we needed to drop off $$ to pay for daycare for last week, so we took a walk and stopped by the babysitters house... on the porch i saw what i swear was a marijuana plant. OMG! our babysitter is in her either late 30- early 40, and has 3 teenaged children. she is also a highschool Bball coach, and a very athletic woman. her husband used to play big leage Baseball and even tried out for the yankees once. i know, that is history, but now we have to say something. but WHAT?? i was thinking, something like "i just have to ask, what WAS that interesting looking plant on your porch the other night?? " oh, yes, i have never once seen it there before, and we checked tonight, it wasn't there...
DH also thought thats what it was... though, we are in no way experenced with this type of botany :)

before i jump to conclusions (who am i kidding, i obviously already have) or make any big mistakes, please help me figure this out!!!

aside from the fact that its illegal, i do not want my kids around that-- until then, i had NO problems w/ her, like her better than any other babysitter we''ve even had, and am still in shock!!!! heeeeelllllpppp!!!!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I like your, "what an interesting plant" line. :)

I don't know...I don't see the huge deal with pot except that it is illegal. (I don't even really think it should be illegal. Alcohol isn't.) The big thing is that she is not using it around the kids she babysits. On her own time I don't think it should really matter. I imagine my feeling isn't the norm though. :)

Beth

[elizabethkott]

Before you totally freak out, you should know that there is a sort of weed (no pun intended!) in our area (LI) that looks like marijuana. My parents who are avid gardeners, had a "crop" of what I swore was pot growing in the back by their bbq. My dad thought it was HILARIOUS when I asked him if they had started a little business on the side in their retirement...
So it could be a weed. Not "weed" weed, but weed nonetheless. :)

Or, it could be one of the three teenaged children who got caught doing a biology experiment in their closet. :D

[Laurel]

I'd be more likely to question the judgement of a childcare provider who would be dumb enough put a pot plant on their doorstep than I would one who might smoke pot.

You should just ask if it is going to bother you until you know. I don't think any question is off limits to a childcare provider.

Also, I just don't see a pot plant doing well on a front porch. ;) I bet it was something else- have you tried google to compare?

[MelissaTC]

I doubt it is a pot plant. They require special care and heat lamps.

[buddyleebaby]

Maybe it was a hemp plant (of the non-pot variety). I imagine they would probably look pretty similar.

[GlindaGoodWitch]

I doubt it is a pot plant. They require special care and heat lamps.

((((tee hee)))) That made me giggle. Sleep deprivation anyone?

What kind of planter was it in? Because maybe you could ask about the planter in order to get a better look at the plant itself. It would also give you an opportunity to see her reaction - "What plant?" or "this one?"

[randomkid]

I doubt it is a pot plant. They require special care and heat lamps.

And, you know this...how? - LOL!

Seriously, to the OP. I would likely be freaking out as well. Personally, I do think there is something wrong with marijuana other than it being illegal. My brother has smoked it since he was a young teenager and it's not as innocent as they make it out to be.

I doubt it was pot, though. Do you really think she'd leave that on her front porch? Not likely. As a PP said, no question is off limits with a childcare provider. I like your line about "interesting plant". I'd use that one.

[kransden]

If your dcp actually had a pot plant on their front porch, I would remove my child immediately. Just due to the fact if they are that stupid, there is no way my child could be safe with them kwim? Of course it could have been a Japanese Maple :).

[SnuggleBuggles]

If your dcp actually had a pot plant on their front porch, I would remove my child immediately. Just due to the fact if they are that stupid, there is no way my child could be safe with them kwim? Of course it could have been a Japanese Maple :).

Despite my casual reply earlier I have to agree with this. The more I think about it the more it bothers me from the standpoint of the childcare. If it were just a neighbor I wouldn't care. But, I think I would ask about it.

Beth

[randomkid]

So, I did a little research for you and found these...

Cleome or spider flower
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.robsplants.com/images/portrait/Cleome040618.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.robsplants.com/plants/CleomHassl.php&h=456&w=340&sz=34&hl=en&start=5&sig2=yg1y3qJhIYNUPuiK8ytRqg&um=1&usg=__BQvysQCnVdgLCVO2x286I84UyII=&tbnid=tNIV89F0MMBBlM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=95&ei=DBnPSP63HIeKvAW-66HRDg&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCleome%2Bplant%2Bphotos%26um%3D1%26hl %3Den%26sa%3DX

Lupine
http://www.wiseacre-gardens.com/plants/perennial/lupine.html

Japanese Maple
http://www.fotosearch.com/NGF005/72932483/

http://k43.pbase.com/o6/91/43791/1/83712765.yOK4XvwG._S8E9068_japanese_maple_leaf_sta rs3_LAB.jpg

[gatorsmom]

If your dcp actually had a pot plant on their front porch, I would remove my child immediately. Just due to the fact if they are that stupid, there is no way my child could be safe with them kwim?

Besides the fact that they are stupid, you have to wonder what kind of people are hanging around there. What I mean is, do they only grow what they need, or are they getting it from "dealers?" Do dealers come around their house? Are they supplying this stuff to others who come to their house? I wouldn't want my children around that.

[bubbaray]

If they were dealing, the last thing they would have on their doorstep, or anywhere visible from the road, is a pot plant. They wouldn't want any attention from the police.

Besides, all the good pot comes from Canada -- not from your local daycare. You send guns north, we send pot south. Apparently, its a booming business.

I'd probably say "interesting plant you had outside the other night" and see what response. But, honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Its highly unlikely that it was a real pot plant.

[s7714]

I doubt it is a pot plant. They require special care and heat lamps.

Theoretically yes, but that didn't stop one of DH's college friends from growing a couple plants on his balcony. They never made it past a foot tall and the leaves were pretty small, but they did grow. (Although they were never ahem, usable for anything but visual interest.)

There are a fair number of plants out there with leaves that look an awful lot like MJ leaves, so I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about a plant sitting on someone's front porch. If you're really concerned, then I'd by all means ask what that "pretty" ;) leafy green plant was on her porch the other night!

[tiapam]

Doesn't it take a whole lot of marijuana plants to make something worth smoking? Also, they don't sound like pot smokers to me. I know I am stereotyping, hopefully the pot smokers won't get mad at me :).

[Kyras mom]

My guess would be a plant called "False Aralia". Looks like a pot plant. I highly (pardon the pun) doubt someone would put a pot plant on the front porch, esp. a dcp.

http://www.silkplantsusa.com/silkpics/falsearalia.jpg

[mdb78]

Did you ask yet? I'm curious. I think its probaby one of those plants that resmembles a pot plant. I remember one summer vacation we went to Seattle and went on some tour. We were walking by some plants and I yelled to my mom, "look they have marijuana out in the open!" Everyone was laughing. The tour guide said that they get alot of questions if those plants were really weed.

[writermama]

I grow cleome in my front yard. They ultimately get about 6 feet tall with big pink flowers, but when they first sprout out with leaves they do look a lot like cannibis.

I've seen the UPS guy do a double-take and had neighbors ask "Gee, what are those big leafy plants?" Mine self-seed and I've collected a few pods of seed this year to give to neighbors. I don't think any but the dwarf varieties of cleome would be happy in a container, but then there are many similar looking houseplants that would.

Hmm, at the risk of dating myself, wasn't there an episide of Three's Company when the roomates found a plant that looked like cannibis in Mrs. Roeper's garden and (allegedly) comic hijinks followed?

For comparison, here's what the real plant looks like:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibis

[randomkid]

What about a swamp hibiscus plant?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25578666@N00/249975571/

[trales]

Hmm, at the risk of dating myself, wasn't there an episide of Three's Company when the roomates found a plant that looked like cannibis in Mrs. Roeper's garden and (allegedly) comic hijinks followed?

OMG, that was my first thought when I read the post. Funny, the things we remember. I guess I just dated myself too.

There are so many plants that look like cannibis out there. Watch their electric meter for a few days, are the basement windows darkend. That would concern me more.

[BillK]

I'm shocked just how many people on this forum have all this "botanical" knowledge. :ROTFLMAO:

[maestramommy]

I'm shocked just how many people on this forum have all this "botanical" knowledge. :ROTFLMAO:

Me too! I um, have no idea what pot looks like. Didn't know what it smelled like either until my little brother told me at a DMB concert. :loveeyes:

[fortato]

My cousin convinced my Great Grandmother that the plant he wanted her to grow on her window sill was a "Rare White Marigold". It wasn't, it was a pot plant...
It will grow anywhere... we have it in NH in random places, like under High Tension Wires and in back yards.

I would definitely ask what the plant was.