I got Chris, my first cactus, shortly after starting my job at my former employer – around 2011. My Facebook Memories yesterday showed me Chris from a 2015 photo that I snapped in my office at the time. He was still a wee one, and I put a little note on him, because the housekeeping staff would come in overnight, water all the plants in an effort to help, but eventually they would drown them and the plants would die. Everyone knew if you had a plant you’d better stick a post it on it and write, “Please don’t water, thank you!”
Eventually – and most likely unbelievably by looking at the photo above – Chris outgrew his spot on the top of the bookshelf. I had to carefully carry him out to my car at the end of the workday, being careful not to tear any limbs off in the process. I put him on the floor of the passenger side of my car, where he proceeded to tip over three or four times on the thirty mile journey home.
Chris had a spot on my bookshelf at home for a while, then he outgrew that space as well as a few pots. I’ve read that cacti don’t like to be repotted. They like to be root bound, which I am all for, because trying to repot a cactus is not an easy task.
After Facebook showed me my memory yesterday, I decided to snap a photo of Chris present day. He ended up on a perch all by himself right next to a southwest facing window. You’ll understand why he’s by himself when I show you what he looks like now.
Chris has thrived at home, and he has cousins in another room who are not quite as large as he. They all usually start blooming in October, so I’ve taken to calling them Halloween cacti. Sometimes they bloom around Thanksgiving, so they become Thanksgiving cacti. They don’t really have a timeframe. They do what they want. That’s cool with me. I’m simply glad Chris likes his pot, because I am never going to be able to repot this lanky gentleman.
