Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
I was chatting with my friend, Mary Partin, the other day and she sent me a picture of her 80 year old Christmas Cactus. I was surprised because I did not know a cactus could live that long.
In fact, I have never had a green thumb and any kind of plant just withers for me. So, I asked Mary, “How do you care for it?”
She replied, “I just water it once a week every month except for October”
“Then I water it in November and it will bloom in about 2 weeks.”
She told me that the cactus was as big as a piece of furniture and one year had over 300 blooms on it.
So I asked her where she got the plant and she replied, “My mother-in-law gave it to me about 40 years ago.”
So I surmised that her mother-in-law must have had it for 40 years.
Many stories have been told about the origin of this holiday plant.
A bit of research leads to a charming bit of history. One story goes: “A Jesuit missionary known as Father Jose was trying to convert Bolivian natives. However, in spite of his good works and attempts to pass along the Word, he was met with failure. The native people appreciated his help but did not believe in the Christmas story he tried to convey. As he was praying at his crude alter on Christmas eve, he heard his congregants singing a hymn he had taught them. When he looked up, the children of the village were heading his way bearing plant stems decorated with beautiful flowers. These were the blooms of what became the Christmas cactus which they gave to him to decorate the altar.”
Another story was about a family traveling in a covered wagon, a long time ago. They were carrying supplies during a cold winter to a newly formed town, Phoenix. The family got lost. Then they came upon a cactus, in a fork of the trail, wearing a Santa hat. It was kind of leaning towards the trail on the right .
They thought it was cute and that perhaps someone from town used it to give them a hint as to which direction they should go. The family wished and hoped that they were right because it was getting cold as the sun went down.
If you’ve ever been to the desert in the winter, you know how cold it can get. They followed the trail that the cactus was leaning towards and made it!
The interesting part is that nobody in town actually put a Santa hat on the cactus! Nobody knew anything about it. The Legend began.
One old Christmas Cactus belongs to Marci Kraft of Bozeman, Montana. Her Christmas cactus once belonged to her great-great-great-grandmother.
“We know that it goes back to the 1860s,” said Kraft’s mother, Leona Martha Kent (the great great great grandmother) had brought the cactus by wagon train when her family homesteaded in Cottonwood Canyon in 1863 or 1864.
Kraft’s mother, Leona, has records of everyone of the family who has had the cactus. She said “We’re keeping it in the family and hope it lasts another 100 years.”
Mary, my friend, said that she did not know if any of her daughters would want it or not. Who knows where it will wind up but we know it’s 80 years old now.
Have you ever had a Christmas Cactus? How old is it and where is it going and where has it been? Let me know and I’ll give you A Penny For Your Thoughts
