Fishbone Cactus

There’s a saying in Hebrew that goes: “When you have a child in second grade, everyone else has a child in second grade, too.”

Suddenly you begin to notice all the second graders! The same goes for plants...

I had never - to my recollection - seen a fishbone cactus until I visited a greenhouse store in London, Ontario a few weeks ago. 

Now I’m seeing them everywhere!

I noticed this one in my neighborhood Canadian Tire store here in Ottawa - so, of course, I had to get it! 

As an aside, when I saw its name, I wondered if the plant was named by someone who likes to fish - or whose job was to clean and fillet fish! To me, it resembles “ric rac” - a zig zag trim sewn on clothing...

I see it’s called ric rac cactus, too!

I hope this one grows well enough to divide and give half to my daughter - if it’s not toxic to cats. In the meantime, I’m learning what conditions this plant needs to thrive. Hopefully our house won’t to too cold for it in winter. Our home definitely doesn’t mimic the tropics!