As I recall, my very first plant was a cactus. My aunt gave it to me as a birthday present. I was so excited to have a plant of my very own. My mother had tons of plants hanging around the house and in the gardens outside, so I felt a bit more grown up when I was given the cactus plant. There are many reasons I like these prickly little things. I'll give you 5 reasons I like cactus plants, just for starters.
Snapshot Survey
Snapshot Survey
5. They Come in a Number of Sizes
I adore the tiny cacti that I can place in my kitchen window or on the window sill in the bathroom. The bathroom window is the best because the cacti can get plenty of sunlight during the day and lots of humidity when the family takes showers. Cacti seem to love the bathroom window as much as the cats love licking the water off the shower walls.
4. The Blooms Are Very Exotic
My parents recently brought home a cactus that was growing in the greenhouse down the road from them. No one seemed to want the cactus, probably due to its enormous size. Not everyone has a place to store a plant that huge! The bloom that appeared on this cactus was like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was just a spiky as the cactus itself and the most beautiful orange. It was amazing!
3. I Can Go on Vacation and Not Have to Find Someone to Care for My Cactus Plants
I don't like bothering people with my personal issues, such as babysitting my plants or animals while I take a trip. With cacti, there's no need to try and find someone to water them if I have to be gone for multiple days. I won't come home to wilted and dead plants, like I would if I left a house full of ferns, geraniums, or other type of common house plant.
2. My Cats Don't Try to Eat Them
No matter how many toys I give the cats, they always seem to find something much more fascinating in the dirt of my plants. They dig in it. They throw it all over the floor. They even go so far as to uproot the entire plant and drag it into the next room. When it comes to cacti, my ornery feline companions steer clear of them. It only takes being stuck in the paw once for them to get the hint.
1. I Can't Accidentally Kill Them by Forgetting to Water Them Now and Again
If I don't make myself a watering schedule, there are bound to be plants that I've forgotten to water at times. I don't often know which plants were involuntarily skipped when I hurriedly water, that is until the leaves begin shriveling up and fluttering to the ground. I have yet to kill a cactus from forgetting to water it. Hooray desert plants!
If you've never had a cactus plant, you might actually like to buy a small one and see what you think. Who knows, you just might decide that you could become a cactus person and start raising nothing but cacti. What do you like best about cacti?
Top Photo Credit: pine-tree