So...this followed me home from Lowe’s

[Pattywack]

A short trip to Lowe’s for light bulbs, had to check out their plants. The Lowe’s in our area never have orchids I would consider buying but they have nice cactus and succulents if you grab them before they drown them.

I gave up trying to keep much of anything alive on our hot sunny deck with the exception of cactus and succulents. The deck is on the south side of our home, second floor and there are two big Pin Oaks and a large Birch tree but not much shade.

Years past I’ve planted many different sun loving plants in pots, looks great out there if you water like a maniac. I would rather spend my gardening time inside with my orchids.

Anyway, I found a nice Crown of thorns plant (I’ve not had one in years) and I also found this odd cactus. This is Opuntia subulata cristata Eve’s Needle Crest. Same family as Prickly Pear cactus. It is so weird looking, I had to have it. I want to repot it into a clay pot, its in plastic currently and seems to need more space. The needles are pretty intense so gloves will be necessary, I hate getting poked with cactus needles. It also has these cool little leaves covering the edges of the “pears”. I think this one will enjoy the sunny deck along with a few others I have.

Here’s the oddball: