CATCHING UP

      A couple of my recent posts were not really complete, As a result I have people asking questions. 

     I should have had a photo of my Christmas cactus so here it is. This plant blooms in November, Christmas and Easter. So it blooms three times a year. There are a variety of colors and times of bloom. A person should really have more than one plant. 

     I have been retired for almost 28 years. I taught for 37.116 years. I did not get full pension as some of my Arctic time was not counted. 

   So this shows that I still have a difficulty with organization. I would being doing a lesson plan after school and suddenly I would see that I should have ordered a film last week. I would go down to Central Office and ask if they would please let me have the film. After a bit of a lecture and wink , wink I would get my film but I had to go down and get it and not get it in the delivery. 

CHRISTMAS CACTUS.

     I have had a Christmas cactus since about 1982. It has gone through some ages and stages. This summer I took it outside for it's annual bath and this year the micro manager insisted that it get a good haircut. So I trimmed it back as it was really overgrown. When Christmas cactus get a short haircut they usually don't bloom that year. Surprise , surprise , there are blooms. The November blooms have just finished and Christmas buds are showing. 

    So life is good. 

    When I came here in 1969, the Vice Principal had quite a few plants in his classroom. He's in the staff photo I shared in the last post. He's second from the left in the second row from the top. He retired in 1982  and guess what ? He had some plants to dispose of. I took them all. There was a very elderly Christmas cactus which didn't do well in the classroom. I kept the plant and found a large pot. When I retired I brought it home and started new plants from the old one    

      By the way, those people wondering which was me in this photo? I'm third from the left in the bottom row. This is a long time ago when I was about 40. 

    Now I'm wondering how long ago this plant was started. 

   Now today I wanted to do some research on the Christmas Cactus. I was very disappointed to find that most of the sites were about sales of Christmas Cactus plants. Commercialization!

    I make sure my cactus sits in the same light all year. They are very sensitive to light and if they are moved from place to place do not bloom very well. 

    So this old cactus is going to have some nice blooms for me at Christmas. 

I'M ABOUT TO BRAG AGAIN!

       I have a fantastic Christmas cactus. It is blooming for the fourth time this year. 

        It bloomed in November. It bloomed for Christmas . It bloomed in January and now it's full of buds and ready to bloom in March. 

      What's been happening is when the last couple of blooms are ready to fall off, new buds are being set. 

     It was a slow bloomer because it took about six years before it bloomed. But that could be because of the poor care I took of it. 

     I wrote about my Christmas cactus on Jan. 28.

NOT BRAGGIN...JUST SAYIN

      My Christmas cactus is setting blooms for the third time this year. It bloomed in early November and then again in December. And now it's in bud again. I thought they were to bloom only once. 

     I started this plant close to 10 years ago. The micro manager insisted that it be placed in a certain space. She's the plant waterer. She thought that since it was called cactus that it didn't need much water. It was not in a good place for light. The plant did not grow. 

    Three years ago I took over the management of the Christmas cactus. It developed quickly. Last year it bloomed. This year it's been very surprising. 

    For a little history of this plant. I started teaching in a new school in 1969. The vice principal had a few plants and he knew a few things about plants. He retired about 1974 and didn't want his plants and gave them to me. So one of them was a large Christmas cactus with dark blooms. 

    I kept the plant until 1997 when I retired. I "dragged" the plant home. The Micro Manager complained that the plant was too large. I took some cuttings and started several new plants. I kept one and gave the others away. So the plant I have now dates back to 1969. 

    This is a plant I won't part with as I always remember Nap with this plant.