The subject of my very first photo ever to be posted on Pbase.

I originally got this cactus in the 80's as part of a small dish garden. When the other plants in the dish garden went to Plant Heaven, I planted the tiny cactus in its own little pot. For years after that, it didn't seem to grow in size nor do anything else.

Finally in 1999, the cactus flowered for the first time. That lone flower was bigger than the rest of the plant!!! It again flowered in 2000. Then in 2001, the lone flower for that year became the initial test photo subject for my new original Olympus C-2100 uz digital camera. I was new to digital photography and wanted to do more than just point & shoot. Although I wasn't "into" doing flower photography, this cactus flower called for me to photograph it...

Over the years, the cactus slowly grew. However, it only produced one single flower each year for 16 years through 2014.
Because this cactus has been such a slow grower, I have only repotted it once again (around 2005). Although IMO, the current pot looks balanced to the size of the cactus, maybe this second pot is too big.

Winter 2014 was when the plant uprooted itself. Cacti have shallow roots. Becoming too top heavy, this one just fell over. Not wanting to throw a 30 year old plant away, I stood the Cactus back up, added a little dirt to cover the bare roots, & finally propped it (for support) against the brick wall in the Solar Room. Then, I hoped for the best.

Amazingly, it didn't die. The uprooting seemed to instead invigorate its flower production. In the Spring of 2015, it produced more than a single bloom. Each year since, it has been more and more prolific in flowering. When I saw it start to tilt under the weight of the Spring 2018, I turned the pot a little to give it more support against the brick wall that has held it upright for the past 4 years. I don't know what will happen as it continues to grow bigger and bigger. It's not a huge plant (about 15" tall and about 4 1/2 " in diameter at the widest point)). But it also is not straight. It curves dramatically and is bigger at the top than at the bottom. It is top heavy with very shallow roots.

Over the years, I have become very fond of this cactus. Unlike my other cacti, it is a reliable bloomer & like an old friend.
So I hope I can find a way to keep it going for many more years to come.