I’m happy to report that the cuttings I took last year from my dying Rick Rack Cactus are thriving, and have been transplanted to a bigger pot. I had a lovely one that I killed last summer in a hot window with not enough water. Bummed out, I half-heartedly took some cuttings before I threw my former pride and joy out.
The Rick Rack, or St. Anthony’s cactus, or Zig Zag cactus as it’s also known (Cryptocereus anthonyanus), is a very interesting plant. It’s extremely difficult to coax a bloom out it, but the leaves alone make it worth cultivating. They literally zig zag. It’s a member of the night-blooming cereus family (a relative of my Queen of the Night), and it’s easy to grow so long as you don’t fry it the way I did. It’s native to the jungles of the Chiapas region of Mexico, and prefers indirect light and slightly moist soil. Propogation couldn’t be easier: Take a cutting, stick it in soil, and wait.
POLLENATRIX 