Two of my Thanksgiving cacti are blooming again, both of the bright pink variety. This seems to be the most robust of my cultivars -- perhaps closest to the native plant. Both were originally cuttings that I took from a plant at work. It's still alive, too, and it's been there since before I started work in the library in 2013. These plants hang around.
I always think the flowers look like flying dragons.
Here they are in their home by the back window. The cactus in back, with the small fern growing in the pot, came from a cutting that reader Frances mailed me a couple of years ago. It's got lots of buds and will no doubt bloom sometime in the next several weeks, with its white to pale pink blossoms. (The fern just appeared on its own.)
The one under the table -- well, let's just say that plant is struggling. It produces salmon-colored flowers, which I've blogged before, but big chunks of it have died over the years and now all I have left are those little stubs. I almost threw it out but I decided to keep trying. I don't expect it to bloom this year.
We've had a couple of wintry nights here. As I write, it's 36º F outside (2º C). I didn't bring in the avocado or anything else so I hope we didn't get any frost. After today it's supposed to warm up considerably -- back to overnights in the mid-50's. I'll have to shift that avocado indoors soon enough but I'm trying to maximize its outdoor time.
Here's Olga on one of her walks yesterday. We started out from the house but I realized I forgot to bring a tennis ball, so I had to run back and get one. She's looking at me perplexedly, wondering why I'm going home so soon. I had to leave her on the sidewalk because she resisted walking back with me.
She's a downright cranky cur. She is very insistent about walking where she wants, and if I take a turn she doesn't like, she digs in with all four paws, stares at me and will not move. She's even very insistent about what side of the street we walk on. She must do everything according to routines that she knows -- which is why Dave calls her "Asperger Dog." If I try to assert myself I wind up basically dragging her, which looks terrible and leaves me feeling like someone's going to call the RSPCA.
You can see Olga's stubbornness (and bossiness) in that stance. It looks adorable from here. I have never had that kind of success with a Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus.
ReplyDeleteI noticed yesterday that the " parent"plant of yours also has tiny buds all over it, and the 2 buds on the cutting you sent me are about to open. Can't wait to see the colour!
ReplyDeleteI used to look after a Yorkie that dug her paws in during a walk....most annoying!
Yes, it is cold here isn't it? We have had frost this last 2 nights.
You must have a bloody good imagination to think that those cacti blooms look like dragons! Either that or you have been partaking of mind bending drugs once again!
ReplyDeleteLove these cacti. I just brought mine inside from the garden where they always spend the summers until I can see first buds and/or nights are getting too cold. I find that cuts work well but can take two years before blooming. Mind you, some of the cuts bloom straight away, so it's all possible.
ReplyDelete♫ ♪ Whatever Olga wants ... Olga gets ♪ ♫
ReplyDeleteI had a chuckle about Olga, I’d looked at your photo and wondered why she was seemingly by herself. I love Christmas cacti, when we get to our 30 below days here and everything is deep in snow outside I appreciate its vibrant blooms inside. Also, the plant I have was given to me by my future daughter un law when I met her for the first time. Thats what I love about plants too, they often have a back story, a cutting from someone, or bought on an outing somewhere, a gift perhaps. Jean in Winnipeg.
ReplyDeleteThose blossoms are lovely! I just realized that I haven't seen my dad's ancient Christmas cactus in a while - I wonder where it has gotten to? Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteI suppose we all have routines that cause us to dig in our heels if someone else messes with them.
ReplyDeleteOlga is just a woman who knows what she wants and like many of us older women, she has her own routine and feels comfortable sticking to it.
ReplyDeleteI've never been able to keep a Christmas cactus alive. Isn't weird?
Minnie's the same way sometimes. fortunately, I'm way bigger than her.
ReplyDeleteDogs are like people, they all have their own unique personalities. I have a Christmas/Thanksgiving cactus myself, though I don't see any buds on it yet. Is there something I am supposed to be doing to encourage the blooms?
ReplyDeleteI love Olga's stubbornness. She knows what she wants, and she knows you'll give it to her. She loves you for that.
ReplyDeleteLovely blooming flowers there, Steve.
I enjoy hearing how Olga is the boss of you and Dave! :)
ReplyDeleteChristmas cactus seem to go on forever. I got mine in 1969 from our vice principal. I don't know how long he had it. Probably for many years.
ReplyDeleteI love those cacti blooms. The color is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteOlga is a lady with mind of her own.
Maybe that plant would be happier if it wasn't relegated beneath the table!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to argue with a big dog whose mind is set.
After years and years of cats, followed by one dog, if we've learned anything it's that each animal has its own personality, just as much as humans do.
ReplyDeleteMakes me look at the squirrels and turkeys in the back yard and think about how they probably differ individually, too.
I love those buildings across the street from Olga, especially the one with the scalloped top.
ReplyDeleteDexter did that when he was an old man, but he was small enough to carry …I carried hi,
ReplyDeleteM a lot in his old man years! Olga might be too big for carrying so, guess you just have to roll with her wishes.
It looks like a gorgeous day for your walk -- and you live on a pretty street. Sounds like walking Olga is similar to leashing a cat -- except you can unleash her at a certain point (don't do that with a cat.)
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas Cactus is beautiful. I always wondered why the Christmas Cactus blooms in October-November; hopefully it will still be blooming in December. Olga is a girl after my own heart. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. Sweet girl. My Caesar knows how to work the system too! Got to love our fur-babies.
ReplyDeleteAsperger dog! That is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI love the Christmas cactus blooms - they're such a flight of fancy. Olga looks very sure of what she wants there. Feet are firmly planted.
ReplyDeleteThe salmon cactus may need more sunlight. My neighbour here has one on her front porch which gets late afternoon sun and it flowers prolifically each year.
ReplyDeleteI can well believe Olga is stubbiern about routine, it happens with all of us as we age. I'm noticing it now in Lola as well as myself.
Your Christmas cactus plants are beautiful. I had one of the pale orange ones but it died after about a year. It seems to be a rare colour - maybe it's less robust than the traditional pink. As for Olga, she is like a lot of us - as we age, we put up with less because we know what we like and we're willing to fight for it, lol
ReplyDeleteMitchell: She does look bossy, but mostly she's wondering what the heck I'm doing.
ReplyDeleteFrances: I'm so glad your cutting is prospering! As you can see, the parent plant is not happy!
YP: Oh come on, doesn't it look like something right out of a Chinese new year's parade?
Sabine: Maybe I should put mine outside? I don't do that. I keep them in all year.
Bob: That's for sure! Mama Olga!
Jean: Yeah, I love that too -- when someone has a special connection to a plant. Several of mine are like that.
Bug: Hmmmm...hope he still has it!
Ed: I suppose so, but she's getting worse and worse about it. She used to be much more adventurous. It's interesting to see a pet's personality change with age!
Ms Moon: That IS weird! I don't do much to ours to keep them happy. (Well, mostly happy -- except that salmon one.)
Ellen: Ha! Yeah, Minnie is smaller than Olga!
Michael: I don't do anything special to ours. They just seem to know when to bloom.
Robin: She does love us, it's true, but she shows it in very demanding ways! LOL
Ellen D: She really is!
Red: Wow! That IS a long time! I wonder how long they can live?
Sharon: I'm not sure how "mindful" she is, but she's very strong-willed!
Kelly: Ha! Actually I JUST put it under that table. It was on the windowsill before. Maybe I'll put it back because now I feel guilty. :)
Marty: Yeah, you gotta wonder how much individualism there is in the animal world that we can't even perceive.
Catalyst: They do make a nice view!
Linda Sue: Yeah, there's no carrying Olga. She weighs about 40 pounds!
Jeanie: It was a beautiful day, but chilly!
Susan: Years ago I learned that there's a difference between true Christmas cacti and Thanksgiving cacti, which bloom slightly earlier. The leaf shapes are slightly different. At least, I read this online, so it must be true. LOL
Debby: Probably not politically correct, but hilarious!
Allison: She is always very sure of herself.
River: That's what that window gets -- late afternoon light. In the summer it's somewhat shaded by a big buddleia outside the window, but otherwise it's quite sunny. And as I mentioned to Kelly above, it usually lives right on the windowsill, not under that table!
Jenny-O: I think that's exactly the case. In the plant world, it often seems the more exotic and unusual the hybrid, the less vigorous it is.