I bet when you think of cactus you see this round ball covered in spines that loves sun and doesn't need to be watered. And most of them are like that (just that some are almost spineless or don't like so much sun at all).
This one here is a totally different type though! And even though I have had him for about 25 years I just recently searched more info about it.
Rhipsalis pilocarpa
The most surprising thing I found about it, is that it is an epiphytic plant! That means it does not grow in sand or soil like most cacti, but it will grow on another plant. Like orchids, or mistletoe :)
How freaking cool is that!
Another surprise - it comes from Brasil! Never heard of any cactus that would come from there. It also likes to have a bit more water than most cacti would handle and the soil to be more organic. I read that even an orchid mix would do (epiphyte, remember?). That would also indicate not too much sun since the grow among (on) the trees.
I was really blown away!
Now I can imagine the tough life my old cactus had with me though all these years. I simply treated it like a regular cactus. It didn't get too much sun, but I was constantly underwatering it and with very dry air! It did grow though. Very slow, but it did. It never bloomed though.
That plant is now it my mum's house and still doing fine. Few years ago I took some cutting to plant it in my place - I just really like how the sticks look. And after I read all the shocking info I started to treat it a bit differently. I left it in a clay pot with cactus mix, but I did water it more. I already read in cactus group that some people mist it every week when the temperatures rise. That makes sense too... Brasil... hot climate.. high humidity in forests... yep, it does.
So I started to mist mine when I remembered.
And my gosh.. what a change it was! My few years old plant is already bigger than the over 20 years old one! And this year, for the very first time I saw flowers on it! And now just one. Dozens of flower!!
They are not very big - maybe 1 cm across and the coour is very delicate, beigey white. The petals are almost transparent and they face down. But with a large amount the plant looks like its covered in snowflakes!
Plus the fragrance. The smell like Lily of the valley flowers! And I love it!
Bonus photos: my always present assistant :)
»« Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.
