Cactus

I have been regretting not being more interested in plants and gardening when I was younger. It doesn't do much good to regret things in the past, but I still have the tendency. Which brings me to the purchase I made on Sunday. I found the perfect red "Holiday" cactus plant. I'll have pictures soon, as my husband is still working on setting up the final destination.

I had been thinking about my Gram's Christmas cactus. She had one in particular that was very old, and it bloomed beautiful every year at Christmas. I remember her sticking it in the back bedroom closet every fall, only to pull it out a couple months later. It would then go back to the sunny bedroom spot where it would thrive for the rest of the year. When she died, there was much discussion on what would happen to her cactus plants. We finally decided on a neighbor who was thrilled to be the recipient. Had I known how important that plant would have been to me, almost 8 years ago, I would have taken it home.

My Mother also had a very old cactus. Her's was beautiful each year too, though she says it would bloom at Easter if she forgot to put it away for a couple months. My Mom's has been passed on as well, because she wasn't able to bring it when she moved south. So, I figured I would start my own plant and hope for the best.

I have learned that there are actually three types of these cactus plants. I'm amazed at this, but now that I see the pictures, I know mine is called a Thanksgiving cactus. That forum I linked to is a wonderful source of information. I like Gardenweb as well.

I am not disappointed at all. My son is thrilled that we have a new plant to add to our small indoor collection(cat you know). We have been doing a lot of reading on houseplants lately, and I can see him picking up all the knew information like a sponge. So, this may not be my Gram's Christmas cactus, but it is now a new generation started.