Monday’s Macro: Holiday Cactus
Whether it’s for Christmas or Thanksgiving, the cactus blooms for the winter holidays for which it deserves many things. Hardly anything is blooming that time of year and I’m ever so grateful to have something flowering in the winter, especially when my lovely cactus decides to do a double blooming. It is also a great place for taking macro shots. The flowers are so interesting!
Desaturated macro
Love the striations of color
Another macro
Macro bloom
Share this:
Categories: #Flowers, #gallery, #Photography, Christmas cactus, Macro
AMAZING BUT THE CACTUS IS STILL BLOOMING! – Marilyn Armstrong 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Lovely flowers and shots Marilyn. I especially love the last one
LikeLike
It was one of those days when I managed to convince my macro lens to focus close. It’s SUPPOSED to do that, but sometimes, it decides it only wants to focus long (it’s a 60mm lens, so long is 120mm) and convincing it to change views requires that I coo softly to it, turn the camera on and off a few times until it decides “Oh, I’m a MACRO lens!”
Macro lenses are finnicky. I always warn people who are planning to buy one that they are different from other lenses. Most cameras have a “flower” setting, but a real macro lens is two lengths with no controls to make it one or the other. It has to “feel” like being a macro lens. This can make you crazy. It has been known to make me growl at the camera 😀
LikeLike
Our cacti also bloom during the winter, Marilyn, but they aren’t as gorgeous or spectacular as yours.
LikeLike
I’ve gotten lucky with this pair. I’ve had others, but these bloom better than anything I’ve had before. They were a gift from a friend who brought them with her from Russia. Strong seeds?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Could be. Russia is very cold, tough for plants to survive in some parts I would think.
LikeLike
I’m sure this lived indoors. But they do have different seeds and these plants are really sturdy. They aren’t the first of these I’ve grown, but they are definitely the hardiest.
LikeLike
I love them! They are so predictable from year to year; my Thanksgiving cactus still has a few flowers on it, but has been delighting me for weeks.
LikeLike
I love that they can have a blooming season that goes on for months, too. And this time of year, to have ANYTHING blooming is a great joy. I’ve just got my fingers crossed that the orchids come back. I had a nice long shoot coming up in one that I accidentally broke off while trying to tie it to a stick. These plants are so fragile. I wonder if I killed off it’s blossoms for the year. I might have.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Don’t worry about the orchid, it will send out another shoot. They are remarkable plants. I have a lovely phalaenopsis that just lost its last flower and had been blooming since May. I see a little shoot already coming. Just water as usual, but ignore it for a while; it will probably surprise you!
LikeLike
I’m very good at ignoring plants. It’s still moist and won’t get watered until it’s dry. I think there IS another shoot coming up, but I don’t like to handle it much. It really IS fragile. I just wanted the shoot to come up straight and not droop down, but as I was attaching it to the stick, it snapped. I felt like an idiot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It will survive!
LikeLike