Christmas Cactus Clone

The Christmas Cactus we got from Mom's (and that she got from Nanny's) has gotten big. Like, really big. John wants to cut it back, but I love it, even though it is a little out of control. It is out of control but still very beautiful. I think we might just transplant it to a bigger pot and let it be as big and awesome as it wants to be.

Some of the cactus did get trimmed a few years ago, and we made a little plant from it. This week it started blooming and I continue to be impressed by how hearty this 60+ year old plant proves to be.

Previous posts about the Christmas Cactus:
A Lesson in Perseverance #1
Back in Bloom #2
Guess What's Blooming #3
Well Hello #4
Christmas Cactus - 2012/2013 Season #5
Christmas Cactus - December 2013 #6

Christmas Cactus - December 2013

Our Christmas Cactus started blooming on December 9th. There are currently about ten buds in various states of growth so I expect there will be some blooms for Christmas. Nice and festive.

Always love it when the Christmas Cactus is blooming. At 60+ years old, this guy shows no signs of stopping, and gets bigger and stronger with each passing year.

Christmas Cactus - 2012/2013 Season

Our Christmas Cactus had its first bloom right on schedule this season, appearing on Dec 21, 2012.  Since New Year's it has produced more and more flowers, and today I officially declare it to be in full bloom for another season.  Good job buddy!!

It has been three and half years since it survived a near death experience, and it has recovered and grown to be very full and healthy. One of our goals for 2013 is to clone this little guy (actually big guy nowadays!).

 Happy New Year from the Christmas Cactus! :)

Well Hello!

This is another post about my Christmas Cactus.  You can see previous entries here, here, and here.

So the cactus has been producing flowers since I last posted about it on November 27.  It's usually only one or two flowers at a time, but that is a lot of blooming for a plant I thought only bloomed once a year (and for a limited time!). The flowering has been so consistent, that I actually stopped noticing them as something remarkable.  The cactus caught my eye this morning, however, as it was full of colour with 7 full blooms!  I also counted 14 buds in various states of growth towards flowering.  I asked Mom her thoughts on it's continuous state of blooming, and she said: "It must be happy and healthy".  Way to go, my plant buddy! I hope you stay happy and healthy for many more years to come!

I noticed some blooming action this morning!

Up close flowers.

So pretty!

Guess What's Blooming!

Christmas Cactus!!

I'm pretty sure every time this cactus makes flowers I will post a photo on the internet.

I love this plant. I love that it is 60+ years old.  I love that it is a survivor.  I love that it used hang in my Nanny's house and then in my family home growing up.  I love that it is a daily part of my life. I love how strong this plant is. It is bursting with new growth and is pretty much on schedule for it's Christmas blooms.  Blooming a week out of December? I would say this plant is right on time.  Way to go, buddy! xoxoxo

Back in Bloom

We still have my Mother's Christmas Cactus, and it is doing exceptionally well.  In April of 2010 the Christmas Cactus successfully bloomed a year after almost dying.  Since then it has showed some wonderful new growth and it looks really happy hanging around here.

Just over a month ago, in early December, the Christmas Cactus began budding, but within a few days all the buds fell off.  I don't know enough about how plants function, but I'm guessing that it wanted to bloom in December (hence Christmas Cactus), but it just didn't have the power to do it yet.

This past week I started noticing buds again, and we had our first full bloom on January 21.  So who knows, maybe by Christmas 2011 it will be right on schedule!  As always with this amazingly tough, sixty-plus year old plant, I say: "way to go, buddy!"

The following are some of the Christmas Cactus flowers at various states of growth:

Baby bud.

Next size up.

Showing a little colour.

Getting long.

Full Bloom!

A Lesson in Perseverance

About a year ago my parents moved from the family home they had lived in for over 32 years.  It was a two month process of organizing, sorting, and getting rid of all the junk that had accumulated over all those years of living in one spot. The easiest day during the whole process was moving day, though it was not without its hiccups.  My mother's Christmas Cactus, which had hung in the living room my entire life and had previously belonged to my Great Grandmother Reid, got jostled during the move and fell out of its pot, damaging it and exposing the roots. 

Stressed to the max by the move, my mother said: "Before I change my mind, I'm just letting you know that I am going to throw this out."  That wasn't what she wanted but in the heat of the moment she didn't see another option.  The Christmas Cactus was over sixty years old, and throwing it out would be a tremendous loss.  "John's good with plants" I told her.  "John will fix it."

So I brought the Christmas Cactus home with me and John re-potted it, gave it fresh soil and water, and nursed it back to health.  Over the past year it has shed some dead leaves, had ample new growth, and has made it's will to live quite clear to all of us.  At Christmas time, when it is supposed to bloom, it didn't, but we weren't too surprised.  "It had a pretty traumatic year" Mom agreed.  "Maybe next year."

This morning when I woke up, the Christmas Cactus was blooming!  It is almost mid April, so not quite on schedule, but it has been roughly a year since we started taking care of it.  I patted the Cactus and told it "Good for you!" and I called Mom to let her know the good news.

A Flower of our Christmas Cactus

I can't help but think about the life of this amazing plant.  Over its sixty years it has had at least three different care givers, lived in three separate residences, and as recently as a year ago, almost died.  Not even a year after it's near death experience and it is blooming again.  This plant is teaching me that despite the set backs and traumas we experience in life, we can always bloom again.  Even if it takes a little longer than we thought.