On our recent trip south through one of the several deserts we explored, I managed to collect a cutting of a Beavertail Cactus. These little guys are deceptive: they don't have the big spikes common to most cactus plants, but they do have these little nubs all over them that have very small spines that can get lodged in your skin and are very difficult to remove. I potted the cutting when I got home (using BBQ tongs to manipulate it) and assigned it a place in the south window - it's new life as a house plant. It had the flower bud on it when it was collected but I wasn't sure what would happen to that. Yesterday the bud started to open and today it was in full bloom.
I haven't seen many cactus in bloom on our trips south - we're usually there well before the flowering season, but on this last trip I saw several blooming on one of our hikes down into the Grand Canyon. They are truly a colorful feature in the desert and I was constantly looking out for more of them as we traveled.
I'm hoping that this one will develop roots and thrive as several others have, all sharing space on my window ledge, looking south.
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