The last time I saw this Rat Tail cactus, there may have been at least 20 buds. I was just counting the days to a bouquet of cactus flowers.

Then the next time I checked, there were only a few buds left. It turned out mom had tossed almost all of them. She thought they were dying!

Fortunately she kept some that had buds and now it’s blooming. I almost missed the last bloom as the other two are already fading out.

I guess I can’t blame her as the buds do look a bit dry and brown. Just imagine the whole cactus covered with these furry buds.

As pretty as they are, the little spikes are annoying. Touching them by accident could be painful.

One plant I like to introduce from my succulent collection is the rat tail cactus. I love it when they bloom, as the flowers come in an orange red color.  

When I first got a small cutting of this succulent (a few years ago) it was just one prickly stem. And now it’s just spilling out all over the pot.

Rat tail cactus originate in the highland plateaus of Mexico, but are cultivated throughout Latin America.  In my case, they are growing very well in our northern California climate.

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