I had been looking for another cactus to join the Christmas cactus in front of the patio door. The east-facing space that kills less hardy plants and melts candles with abandon. But I balked at the prices for the ones I did find, mostly in floral shops. Eighteen bucks was the least expensive one I found and the prices soared to well over two hundred for one of any size. Plus I wasn't terribly fond of any of them. For some reason I have to fall in love with things I take home and I just didn't like what I was seeing. Then, last week in Trader Joe's, I spied this little beauty for the bargain price of six dollars.
As if I hadn't fallen in love already, the name of this darling, prickly little wonder would have won me over.
Now my fairy castle is in a pot with room to grow and all the sunshine she could possibly need. After some quick internet investigation, I discovered that fairy castles are supposed to be easy to grow. About the only mistake you can make with an Acanthocereus tetragonus is watering it too much. It does bloom but not until it is several years old so I'm not holding my breath. I was patient enough waiting for my hoya to bloom, over twenty years, so I'm good with my fairy castle just as it is. They reach a mature height of six feet tall. Let's hope this brown-thumbed gal can keep it alive that long.
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