| Flowering Cactus
Living in OH we do not get the opportunity to see a lot of cactus in the wild. I have been growing a few cacti at home for a couple years nursing them back from some tragic circumstances.
About 45 days ago I was in Columbus, OH walking down the sidewalk and saw a large prickly pear cactus growing in front of a parking lot. It wasn't wild, it was used in the landscaping and was probably the first time I had see a cactus growing outside around here that I can remember.
Thats cool!
I grabbed one of the pads and gave it a twist and it came right off. I'm sure the cactus didn't mind it had hundreds more and from what I have read they are considered weeds in most circles. However, it is not advised to touch these little monsters...you can't see the needles they are small and thin like hair and they seem to stick in you and are hard to find. Quite the mess I had on my hands litterally.
At home now I put the pad into some cactus soil and a pot to try and get some roots on it and get it started. I plan to eventually plant it outside in the landscaping haha. Well after a few weeks in the pot the thing starts growing fingers out of the top. Amazed I watched these fingers grow into what looks like a flower. I'm not an expert, but it looked like a stem to a flower. Everyone else (not experts either) said it couldn't be a flower and must be another pad growing off the top.
The odd appendage sat there for a few weeks along with 2 others that were not as large. A few days ago the other smaller ones fell off and died. And the large one just stood there looking at the sun. Today, I wake up and Bam! Flower!
After so much stress and getting pulled out of the ground why would this thing still decide to flower? I would have thought it would be using all of that energy to create some type of root system.
-MrSarge | 
06-07-2006, 11:05 AM
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