Friday, March 19, 2010

Christmas leftovers.........


This is another photo I took at the Showhouse, greenhouse, that I visited a few weeks back. Christmas cactus has always been a mystery plant to me.  I have heard of all the stories of people in the older times when greenhouses were few.  They would put them in the basement or cave for a period of time in the winter and then could bring them out once buds had set on the plant.



Another leftover set of plants from their Christmas displays.  The plants look like they have kept well in greenhouse conditions.

7 comments:

The Retired One said...

I have a few Xmas cactus. I think their flowers are beautiful....once mine bloomed straight thru from Xmas to Easter!

claude said...

I have a Xmas cactus. Its flowers are red. My husband gave me a pink one but it died.

Alan Burnett said...

Lovely colours. The deep reds in that second image are so rich you could almost spend them.

Prospero said...

I love these forest dwelling cacti.

Glennis said...

The Christmas Cactus looks so pretty, never heard of keeping them in a cave! They flower quite readily here, but our Christmas is in Summer.

L. D. said...

I maybe should explain caves. In the central United States there was a practice of digging out a six foot or deeper area and covering it over with brick ceiling and I guess brick or stone walls, in order to store food. There would be a slanted door that opened to steps down into the cave. Some of the caves had a small ceramic tile to allow air to circulate up and out. The harsh winters would not freeze items kept in the cave. My grandmothers house in Murray, Iowa still has it's cave. They usually were close to the back door of the house so they could go into them. Basements were not made back then.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Root cellars! I have never had much luck with Christmas Cactus..some people put them in dark rooms or a closet in November so they set their flower buds:)

Big and Small...

 The miniature daffodils are so petite compared to the normal sized daffodil. I don't think I have ever brought the small ones inside be...