Thursday, March 13, 2008

Mini Pet Cactus Update


Most mini pet cactus key chains probably are, by now, lying in junk drawers or have long since been thrown in the trash as the young people who started the fad last year have moved on to the next new thing. Since I love cacti, I was glad to receive this little novelty as a Christmas gift, and I've treated it with care. It receives water once a month, and hangs by a hook in a kitchen window where it receives morning sun.

When I took it down today for its monthly watering, I was amazed to see that this little cactus, which is a seedling of unknown genus and species, has a bloom and will flower in the next few days. It has also clumped and there are two new stems growing. It is following the growth and bloom cycle of many of the other cacti in my garden.

Since it is now pressed up against the wall of its dome, I may try to break open the mini-terrarium and place it in a larger container. I think it would be interesting to see if it will thrive outside its protected environment. If it does, I may be able to identify it as it develops the characteristics of its genus.

One thing for sure, it won’t end up in a dark drawer somewhere!

11 comments:

WiseAcre said...

It grew faster than I would have imagined. At least one of those poor things found a good home.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

It seems that your TLC has payed of! Can't wait to see it bloom. :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow, only in AZ. Here we were cheese on our head for amusement.

Julie said...

Isn't this neat??? I can hardly believe it!! I feel so happy for this little baby...can't wait to see it when it is FREE!!! Weeeeeeee! Happppppyy days ahead!!!

kate said...

I have never seen these before - likely most of them are long gone, but yours is looking great. It'll be interesting to see how it does when you remove it from its glass house. The flower promises to be beautiful.

Your Green Thumb Sunday wildflowers are lovely. The Desert Bluebells look great as do the California Poppies.

Anonymous said...

Wow, how adorable! I've never heard of these, either. Since it's a cactus, I'm sure it will thrive in the open air (and a bigger pot!).

Anonymous said...

I, for one, would love to see you break the little guy out of it's prison. Yee-haw! Be free little cacti... :)

verobirdie said...

TLC is paying off :-) At least one lucky pet cactus, and showing how glad it is! Hope it will like its next container.

Kydi said...

I've been wanting one of these for the past year! But no one seems to be allowed to ship one to Canada! Ugh! I'll take the drawer ones and give em lots of luv!!!!

Anonymous said...

hey, iv just recently recieved a cactus garden and im wondering what types they are. theres some little plants that dont look like cacti...like bob, he looks like a little tree...how awesome are they. best of friends...very talkative:). know any good sites that might show me the different types?

Aiyana said...

Hi Anonymous,
You might try Cacti Guide, http://www.cactiguide.com/
Since you aren't sure of the genus and species, you may have to just look at the photos until you find what looks like your little guys. You'll have to go through a lot of cacti though. There are thousands! It sound like Bob may be a succulent--perhaps a Euphorbia of some kind. Not cactus.
Aiyana