Resurrection Cactus

I wrote back in January and February about my acquisition of a Christmas cactus, a plant I’d long wanted to grow. My dad grew huge Christmas and Easter cacti and every holiday massed them in front of the fireplace. I remember just splashes of bright crimson, magenta and peach from the cascades of blossoms. I purchased two small Christmas cacti at Lowe’s. Both had seen better days. They looked as if someone had left them on the truck too long and the cold weather got to them. Neither had blooms, and I had to guess at the color by the dead and shriveled flowers strewn around the shelf. For $2 and $3 respectively, I wasn’t complaining. I knew from my dad’s care of his Christmas cacti that they’re fairly easy to grow. My little plant room in the back of the house has the perfect bright eastern sunlight too. My African violets love it, so I thought the Christmas cacti would too.

Well, as you can see, my little plant is confused. It thinks it’s Christmas! It’s not an Easter cactus. This article talks about the difference between the two types, and given that Lowe’s had this guy out along with the decorations and Christmas trees and fake Santa Clauses I think it is indeed a Christmas cactus.

But I feel like a proud mama…look, my child has graduated! It’s blooming! I am calling this one my Resurrection Cactus, because it’s blooming just in time for Easter…and it pretty much DID come back from the dead, given the state it was in when I bought it a few months ago.

My plant room is also the place where I sit and meditate each morning. Then I have my coffee and breakfast while enjoying the warm morning light and my houseplants. Pierre often sits with me. Actually, he’s usually climbing up the plant tables, destroying something, crashing a pot off a shelf or generally making a nuisance of himself. Today, though, he decided to hang out on the back of my chair during meditation, every once in a while interrupting me by tapping me in the head with a paw. He posed so nicely I had to snap his picture.