![]() The plants that grow in my kitchen get no special treatment and they blossom just as well. They usually bud right up and start to bloom after that. I put some of my plants outside all summer and wait until the nights start to drop below 50☏ before bringing them in for the fall and winter. They need 13 hours of darkness and nights at 50° to 55☏ for at least 1 to 2 months before they will set buds. The keys to getting your holiday cactus to blossom are short days and cool nights. Feed 2 times a month while the plant is actively growing (usually spring and summer). Optional: Fertilize them with an all-purpose fertilizer such as a Miracle Grow Tomato water-soluble fertilizer (1 tablespoon to a gallon of non-chlorinated water). ![]() Misting the plants frequently helps increase humidity.Don’t let them sit in water because if they get too waterlogged they will rot! Neglect is better than over watering! You could get a hydrometer to help you know when to water. Let the plants dry out between waterings by watering them when the top 2 inches of the soil feels dry. Do not over water this is the number one reason for their demise in our homes.If put outdoors in the warmer months, keep them under a shade tree or patio. If the leaves turn yellow it means they are getting too much light. They like bright light but not direct sun an east or west window is perfect.Use a cactus mix and add perlite, vermiculite, and orchid bark. They like their forest floor, so give these cacti acidic, well-draining soils.They will need protection when temperatures drop below 40☏. The conditions in our houses are nothing like their native rainforest homes, but still they do fine in normal household temperatures of 65° to 70☏, with a drop at night to 55° to 60☏.The holiday cactus is not your typical cactus. We are all familiar with the desert cactus but the holiday plant is a forest cactus-an epiphyte that lives in decomposing leaf litter found in the forks and on the branches of trees in tropical rain forests of South America. Photos and graphic by Caroline Shotton Caring For Your Holiday Cactus Additionally, the Christmas cactus is more difficult to ship as the stems are more fragile and often break. Most nurseries and stores actually sell the Thanksgiving cactus (not Christmas cactus) because it blooms around American Thanksgiving. While the Christmas cactus stems hang down like a pendent, the Thanksgiving cactus has stems that grow upright at first and then arch.The Thanksgiving cactus has a very toothy stem with two to four pointed teeth.The true Christmas cactus has a flattened stem segment with smooth, scalloped edges.It can start flowering in very late October or in November. The Thanksgiving cactus has flowers that face outwards and the plant comes in a wide range of colors. This plant blooms nearer to Thanksgiving than the Christmas cactus.The range of flowering is late November through early February. The Christmas cactus has hanging flowers in shades of magenta and blooms, of course, near Christmas.Look at their bloom color and the way the flower blooms: Many of the plants available for sale are hybrid crosses of Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) that come in a rainbow of exotic colors including orange, purple, yellow, red, pink, white, and two-tones. More Ways to Tell a Christmas Cactus from a Thanksgiving Cactus Their star-shaped petals open at sunrise and close at sunset and last for several weeks. If you find that your holiday cactus has spring flowers, it may very well be an Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) blooms in late winter and spring, often from March until May.Īlso called a “Spring Cactus,” the Easter Cactus has flaring, trumpet-shaped flowers with pointy petals, which are usually pink, but can also come in red, orange, and other cherry colors. Thanksgiving Cactus growing in a garden center. Its leaf segments are square-shaped with pointed hooks on one end and along the sides like pincers, giving rise to its common name, “crab cactus.” It is native to Brazil, where its 2 to 3-inch long, satiny flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) typically blooms between mid-November and late December, sometimes through January. Just pinch off a “Y” shaped piece from one of the branches and stick it in a pot of sterile soil or vermiculite. I have a plant that came from one my mother-in-law grew from a cutting she received over 70 years ago! They are the ultimate pass-along plant since they are so easy to root. Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) is the long-lived plant our grandmothers grew.
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