Christmas cactus and Salinity

[Yeah1Yeah]

Hello all everyone, all else, regards,

I have a pale looking Christmas Cactus, sometimes called a Easter Cactus. It has almost five seperate plants in the pot. I have them in topsoil and desert cactus potting mix after they were rootbound in a previous medium. These cactus I've found are very prone to a few odd conditions I've found. First of all after an indoor winter dormancy the pot was subjected to overwatering rather heavily. It dropped a lot of leaves prematurely and I have had 0 success rooting any of the healthy segments. All parts are very tender and subject themselves to rotting very easily at the base and the unrooted segments. Luckily, I have this under control now. My concern today is that the green color seems to be not as vivid as I would expect. I did move it to a cool shaded porch where it gets direct sun for an hour or two. This helps any overwatering issues.

I'm opening a can of worms, but would saltwater help this plant regulate it's water like it does for people?

yeah

[Steve Johnson]

Hello all everyone, all else, regards,

I have a pale looking Christmas Cactus, sometimes called a Easter Cactus. It has almost five seperate plants in the pot. I have them in topsoil and desert cactus potting mix after they were rootbound in a previous medium. These cactus I've found are very prone to a few odd conditions I've found. First of all after an indoor winter dormancy the pot was subjected to overwatering rather heavily. It dropped a lot of leaves prematurely and I have had 0 success rooting any of the healthy segments. All parts are very tender and subject themselves to rotting very easily at the base and the unrooted segments. Luckily, I have this under control now. My concern today is that the green color seems to be not as vivid as I would expect. I did move it to a cool shaded porch where it gets direct sun for an hour or two. This helps any overwatering issues.

I'm opening a can of worms, but would saltwater help this plant regulate it's water like it does for people?

yeah

Nope, saltwater kills cacti.

[Yeah1Yeah]

Well, originally my plan was to fertilize everything in my garden. Unfortunately Christmas Cactus don't respond well to repeated waterings and fertilization. You don't want me to go dumping salt water in my garden?

[toadstar]

Where did you hear to use salt water? Salt will kill just about any plant.

[Yeah1Yeah]

Why is christmas cactus so gosh darn tender?

[esp_imaging]

It's helpful if you say where in the world you live, so we can tailor advice to your local conditions.
My Christmas cacti vary in colour, from deep green to a much paler yellowish green, often with reddish areas if they get dry in the summer. Any of these can be healthy, in response to typical ranges of light, moisture and fertiliser, and the actual type of plant.
They can tolerate moderate drought quite well (but nothing like as well as "desert" cacti), and will dislike being in waterlogged compost for any length of time. Make sure they are in a container with drain holes, so excess water can escape from the pot.

[williamsii823]

Christmas Cactus, generally Schlumbergera or Zygocactus, are "so gosh darn tender", because they are originally semi-tropical plants. And require more moisture than desert plants. Christmas cactus, Easter cactus and Thanksgiving cactus are closer to Epiphyllum type plants. I've seen small leafed Epiphyllums, and even broad leafed Rhipsalis, passed off as "Holiday cactus". Most of these plants like moderate watering, a dry period (not too dry), and tend to grow up trees. Some eventually even becoming epiphytic. Ever notice roots growing out of leaves? Treat them more like "regular" plants, and less like "cactus", and they'll be fine.

[Yeah1Yeah]

Thanks! I buried them 1 segment up in almost dry soil. Compliments to the "chef" or the guy who PM'd me about common Zygocactus problems. Cheers

[Yeah1Yeah]

Isn't the chloride part of most fertilizers what "burns" plants? I know SodiumChloride shouldn't be used on plants in excess. My fertilizer contains no Chlorides [or Ammonium for that matter]

Maybe I should lay off the salt