8 feet tall, 4 feet wide....waiting next to the garage for its new owner12 years ago I saw a large cactus at Home Depot for a very good price. I really, really wanted it....but couldn't figure out how to bring it home.
I phoned Jim at work, and being such a wonderful husband, he brought it home that very evening.
That cactus and I have been very happy together for 11 years, and it grew and grew....thriving on my strict houseplant protocol.
- Plants in our household must be able to survive low's in the 50s on winter nights
- Plants in our household must thrive on being watered once a week or less
Now that we actually use this room, the plants have been scattered throughout the house. Except the giant cactus.
Don't be alarmed by the snow in some of these pictures. They're from a previous post. (I confess that I find it a little alarming though!)
One of the four projects I planned to quickly finish in January, was re-potting and relocating the cactus. It was still in the plastic landscaping pot it arrived in.....and while I was OK with that in the sunroom - especially with other plants surrounding it....I wasn't so OK with it in the living room.
I searched for a blue and white pot that didn't cost too much. No luck. Friends suggested painting a pot, trying different stores, modge-podging fabric to a pot.
Yesterday, I started to wonder if I was making this project too hard. The cactus wouldn't really look right in our living room. I couldn't find the kind of pot I wanted for it. I decided maybe we should find a new home for it.
Jim listed it on Freecycle.org yesterday, and this afternoon my beloved cactus left for a new home. The new owner was very knowledgeable about plants....and said she would trim it and plant the parts that she trims, so that our cactus will turn into 10 or 12 cacti. I'm so happy that it will thrive, and I'm happy to not have that nagging "what should I do with that cactus" feeling.
Plus, Jim, Bailey and I will enjoy walking through the sunroom without getting snagged on cactus spines! A replacement plant snuck downstairs into the vacated cactus spot.
I'm sentimental.....and my family has strong packrat tendencies.....so I'm a little sad. But all in all, I'm pleased with how this thorny issue got resolved.
What cacti are sapping your energy? What can you do to resolve those thorny issues?
13 comments:
Bravo on finding a happy home for your well-loved cactus. And I LOVE that sunroom!
I love your cactus story....I do that with looms sometimes.....
Oh, your sun room and house looks cozy and lovely. I know how you feel about letting things go. I have a hard time too, even if it is only rocks! -Renee
You must be a cactus whisperer! That plant is huge.
Gld you've found a good home for it though. Maybe the gal will send back a little piece to grow again.
This cactus was enormous! I like your household plant protocol, the two surviving plants in our house live in a quite similar conditions.
You guys are so nice to read and comment on my cactus post!!
I woke up this morning with that "why did I post that" feeling.....because it was so long. So thanks for humoring me!!
If finding a new home for a cactus was hard, I can't even imagine what I'd go through with a loom. Even though when I bought my Toika, I told myself it was just temporary....of course now I've convinced myself otherwise!
Thank goodness I wasn't there when the new owner talked about re-potting pieces of the cactus. I would have almost certainly asked for one....and soon I'd have another ginormous cactus!!
Must not turn into a packrat.....
Sue
When everything keeps working against me is when I stop (when I am aware) and see that I should let that thing go or do it a different way...like that. What a relief when the light hits me!
Anyway*****I got my Sabina loom from Freecycle!!!! I like it better than Craigslist since its local and usually the people come to get what they said they would get!
It is more satisfying that you found a new home for the catus rather than tossing it out! And that it will have a new life in so many other places! The sun room looks great!
This morning on Gardening By The Yard hosted by Paul James he was facing the same decision about his "about to out grow the house" cactus just like yours. He kept his but I agree with your decision on giving it to a "happy home". As hard as it is sometimes you just have to let go.
I absolutely love your shawl!!!! The color and lace work so well together. The two different reds does add interested to the plain weave section. I also like how you did the stripes. Wonderful!!
I'm glad to know the Toika isn't temporary now!!
I have a number of plants around the house that ought to be re-homed, your tale of the cactus going to a happy new home is encouraging - I could organise a little collection and contact freecycle, it could be that there's someone out there with an empty windowsill.
Thanks for the support as I say bye to my cactus!!! When I watered the plants today, my watering can held just enough for all of them....instead of having to refill for the cactus.
I did have a moment of temptation this morning when Jim said he was sure the new owner would give me one of the mini-cacti she makes out of my behemoth. But it reinforced my decision to let go when I realized I really don't even want a small piece of it back!
I definitely love freecycle! One of our best experiences with it was getting rid of some pavers that we didn't need any more and that were in a pile in our woods. At the very same time, some one came to pick up a wheelbarrow that we were giving away because it had an unfixable flat tire - it would work for a few hours, then deflate...but that type of tire was no longer made.
Anyway, the two families that came to get those items had met years before when the woman getting the wheelbarrow was a neonatal ICU nurse for the other couple's premature twins. The twins were here too....
At first we thought the freecycle community was a little huggy - since we looked outside and saw our two freecycle families hugging.....but then they told us the story. Too cool!!
Hope you all had a good weekend! Thanks for visiting and commenting!!
Sue
I understand how hard it must have been to let go of that cactus! My husband and I have a banana tree that we bought 37 years ago!
I want to live at your house! It's stunning and seems just the right environment for inspiration!
I fully understand. I get attached to inanimate objects like "Big Blue" my 1999 Tahoe.
Glad to hear your cactus is going to a new home. I'm sure it will miss your lovely sun room.
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