An After-Christmas Cactus · Cold-Climate Gardening

An After-Christmas Cactus

I guess I could call it a between Christmas and Easter cactus, right?

My daughter found some on sale after Christmas so I asked her to get me one. It had tiny buds on it when I got it that had all but dried up.

I brought it home, put it in my office window (south-facing), gave it a good drink of water, and left it alone.

Within a couple weeks it was getting some new leaf growth and more recently (to my amazement) flower buds. I do believe this one is going to have white flowers.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is these guys don’t like to be disturbed. All too often they’re moved from one spot to another in homes as soon as they’re in full bloom, just so we can enjoy their beauty. Shortly after the relocation they start to drop blooms and buds. It’s simply their way of telling us to leave them alone.

I had a beautiful pink one about 20 years ago…until the kitties decided it was a good place to sleep. Needless to say it wasn’t beautiful anymore; in fact they completely killed it. (They weren’t using it at a litter box, just liked to sleep in it.)

Now that this one has its happy place that’s where it will live. I just hope the temporary move when my blinds are being installed doesn’t hurt him.

Have you experienced something similar with these plants? Let me know in the comments below.

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