Calling All Volunteers...

Don't worry...I'm not asking any of you to come to the Cheapskate's house to do free gardening...

See that pretty flower at the top?  It's from a Christmas cactus.

We have it hanging in a basket in the backyard and it's a spectacular bloomer...especially in the dead of winter. Wonder why it got it's name...

Anyway, we're not here to talk about the Christmas cactus, we're here to talk about volunteers. You know what a volunteer is, don't you?

No? Well, there's a picture of one just above this paragraph. You know what a weed is. That's a plant that grows without you planting it, taking up valuable resources, for no value returned. 

A volunteer is almost the same thing.  It's a plant that sprouts spontaneously without any input from you but, hey, this guy's not bad. In fact, it's kind of cool.  

That's the difference.  A weed is a spontaneous plant you don't want, a volunteer is a spontaneous plant that you like and decide to keep.

This one grew out of our Christmas cactus basket. It sort of looks like an alien from another planet. It's succulent, like the cactus, so we're guessing it came with it.  

For the longest time, we had no idea what it was. Finally, after much googling, I found it...Kalanchoe daigremontiana...also called "The Mother of Thousands."

It gets its name from the many leaflets that line the edge of the plant. They fall off and make new plants...mother of thousands. An apt name.

Cool pink flowers too...we'll keep it around.

- Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved