I have observed an unusual phenomenon related to plastic pots.

I have observed that after planting a few plastic pots of violas and pansies, the empty plastic pots replicate. The result is you end up with many more empty pots than you thought you bought with plants in them.

There can be no other reasonable explanation for this peculiarity other than “they replicated.”

How else would you explain to someone who doesn’t garden how you planted “just a few pansies and violas to brighten up the front porch” and ended up with so many extra pots?

Until we can better understand how this happens—this plastic replication— most gardeners do what they can to hide gather the evidence. I myself think the best place to hide keep the evidence is in plain site at the greenhouse where I bought the plants in the first place.

They will take back the replicated pots and add them to a growing pile where the pots can be observed more closely, away from the inquisitive stares of non-gardeners who can hardly believe that “plastic pots replicate.”

Now, astute readers will ask, “How is hiding keeping the evidence at the greenhouse helping us figure out how the plastic pot replication happens?”

It’s going to help because with all the evidence in one place, away from the non-gardeners who ask too many questions, we have time to think about it, to thoroughly investigate it, to offer ideas and hypotheses, all while looking for more plants to buy.

Now. No more questions. No more talking about this phenomenon in mixed company. For the sake of all gardeners everywhere who regularly contend with this plastic pot peculiarity, let’s just not investigate too closely.