My admiration for cacti (and succulents) has been enhanced by a recent experience with a little Rebutia.
In our Southern Spring, a few months back now, my collection suffered the depredations of a rogue family of Crows, which spent several weeks pecking a wide variety of plants, pulling pots over and even tearing plants and soil out in search of insects in the potting mix. They even participated in a most un-Crow-like activity, which was to clamber all over my flowering Grevillia shrub, eating the honey nectar the flowers produce copiously for the native honey eaters, the prime reason we planted the shrub, in the process breaking a number of the less sturdy branches.
Apart from the Rebutia, the Crows also "topped" an Opuntia vestita. I planted what remained of the growing tip, and presto, it is now vigorously growing, while the plant now has two vigorously-growing new shoots.
But my eye has been caught by the reaction of the Rebutia, which had looked like a partly eaten apple.
Not only has the damage started to heal over, but the plant is producing some seven pups (I will survive!)
How they recover from heat stress and water deprivation is also amazing. I love these plants !!
