Monday, July 13, 2020

My Cactus Takes a Drink!


Every Tuesday for the last few years I have given this cactus two ice cubes, which slowly melt into the soil. I water it on Tuesday because that way I won’t accidentally over-water it. So far the cactus seems to be growing more and more shoots, so I guess I’m doing ok.

For a while the cactus tried to spread out, and it looked
rather strange, but I’ve convinced it to straighten up.
My granddaughter gave me this cactus, along with the very nice hand-made ceramic flower pot, for my birthday a few years ago. She was visiting us during the Ann Arbor Art Fair, and she could see that I would like the work of this potter, which I did. Sadly, for the first time in over 50 years, there will be no art fair this year. But I have my cactus! I also have many other wonderful things I’ve bought from many past art fairs, or have been given.

Well, by chance, recently I have been participating in a blog event which is hosted every Tuesday at Altered Book Lover’s blog. Many bloggers share posts that include some reference to a beverage, often tea. Usually they are drinking it themselves, or depicting some drink-related theme like coffee cups or wine glasses. But I thought I would share the habits of my cactus for this event.

This blog post © 2020 by mae sander.

25 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Your cactus looks good, never heard of giving them ice cubes before. I never had any luck with them, perhaps I gave them too much to drink. Happy T Day, Valerie

Angie's Recipes said...

I gotta try the ice cube trick! Thanks for sharing, Mae.

Pam said...

Your cactus looks nice and healthy! My Christmas cactus has been growing well for several years now, sits in a shaded South window, but only gets water the first of each month, and blooms gorgeously at Christmas time. The poor thing must be confused though, as it bloomed this Easter also. Sounds like to me, you have a unique contribution for your event. 😉

Amy said...

My daughter and I, we are both cactus nutters - I think I recognize this one, you can grow many new plants off it from cuttings.

Jeanie said...

I like that you cactus is joining in T!

Tina said...

Good planning to water only on Tuesday. I dont thinkmive ever kept a cactus long. I do have spider plants and they multiply.
I'll go check out the Altered Book Lover blog.

Linda Kunsman said...

what an unusual looking cactus, and I never heard of giving them ice cubes! No matter, I can't keep any plant alive in my house:):) Happy T day!

Nil @ The Little House by the Lake said...

What a clever way to water plants. I’m going to try it with my indoor plants. 😊

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I love the way you shared your drink this week. I've often said the MORE UNUSUAL the drink reference, the better I like it. It's probably the best one this week, too.

Sorry about the fair. Our STATE fair has been cancelled in September. Apparently this is the first time in over 100 years it has been cancelled. Looks like we are all in the same virus boat this year, Mae.

BTW, TRUST ME, this is the one and only time a year I use Inlinkz like this. I've not tried to get everyone to just leave their name in the past, and IF I must use Inlinkz in the future, which I'm not fond of, I won't ask the caption be changed. The only time I use it is if it and my Second on the 2nd overlap too soon. I much prefer Mr. Linky, but because it's a free account, you (or I) can't change your link once you send it.

kathyinozarks said...

When my husband I were newlyweds-almost 40 years ago now-he had a huge collection of cactus-all kinds and sizes-I over watered and killed most of them-I felt horrible over it.
so great way to water them-guessing the cold water doesn't bother them
Happy T

Abbe@This is How I Cook said...

This is a great idea! I'm going to pass it on to the resident cactus grower in our house!

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

I do the same for my cacti, succulants, orchids and bonsai. My step son has told me you can grow new cacti from cuttings which I want to try.

Iris Flavia said...

LOVE your drink-reference!
Sad thing about the fair, wonder if our September festival will be held or not. So far they still count down...

Nancy Chan said...

I have never heard or thought of giving ice cubes to cactus. This is something new and interesting to me. How did you managed to convince your cactus to grow straight instead of spreading outwards?

Meggymay said...

Its a fantastic pot to hold your cactus. I'd not heard about ice cubes to water plants, but it seems that you are more in control of the quantity you give and your plant sure does look healthy.
Happy T day wishes.
Yvonne xx

Eileen Bergen said...

Very clever way to water your cactus. The pot is lovely. It looks like a mug. Maybe you can slide by with that as a beverage reference.

Happy T-Day! Eileen xx

Kate Yetter said...

Your cactus is beautiful and looks like it enjoys what you are doing. I water all my cactus and succulents once a month and so far they seem to be growing. That is sad that so many events have been canceled. Hopefully everything will be back to normal next year.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

CJ Kennedy said...

I have a black thumb, but that is such a clever way to water a plant that doesn’t like a lot of water. Happy T Day

pearshapedcrafting said...

My Mum, a gardener, often used to give plants an Ice cube drink! Your cactus is obviously thriving on this drink! Its a lovely pot for it too! Happy T Day, Chrisx

Let's Art Journal said...

Fabulous and glad your cactus enjoyed the ice cubes, so clever 😀. Happy T Day wishes! Hugs, Jo x

Debra Eliotseats said...

I have too many cacti and succulents to count. I just found two that I had forgotten to move out from the greenhouse. They had not been watered in weeks! I think I am going to save them. The ice cube trick is good for most houseplants.

My name is Erika. said...

This is a clever T post Mae. I like it. And what an interesting way to water your cactus. Hope
it was a super T day. Hugs-Erika

Lisca said...

Your cactus really looks nice and healthy. You don't actually divulge how you got it to grow upwards, but the ice cubes are a wonderful trick, that I shall definitely copy. I water my cacti once a week with filtered water and they are doing fine. (They live outside in the summer).
Happy (belated) T-Day,
Lisca

Anne (cornucopia) said...

What a clever idea. And I love that celestial looking pot. Happy belated T-Day!

Sharon Madson said...

Love that you shared with us that your cactus drinks 2 ice cubes a week!
Happy T Day. So glad you have joined us!