2 This plant has not bloomed in several years and the tips of some leaves are turning brown
3 Can someone advise on best soil, and care and how I might get it to bloom again in the future?
Christmas Cactus? 40+ years old needs help
Christmas Cactus? 40+ years old needs help
1 Is this a tru cactus?
2 This plant has not bloomed in several years and the tips of some leaves are turning brown
3 Can someone advise on best soil, and care and how I might get it to bloom again in the future?
2 This plant has not bloomed in several years and the tips of some leaves are turning brown
3 Can someone advise on best soil, and care and how I might get it to bloom again in the future?
Hi!
(1) Yes! True member of family cactacea
(2) The 'blooming trigger' is primarily the shorter daylight periods as the winter solstice approaches. During this time, it's very important that the plant not be exposed to light after the sun has set. If the plant is indoors, turning on the lights in the room for even 10 minutes is enough to reset the plant's "clock." and interfere with blooming. These plants also prefer cool temperatures in the winter. Excessively warm temperatures can interfere with blooming.
One trick that people have often done to get these plants to bloom is to put them in a cool, dark basement around the middle of November and leave them there until buds start to form.
(3) 'Christmas cactus' (Most of these plants today are hybrids) like to be watered more often than most 'ordinary' cactus, but they don't like to have their 'feet' wet for more than a couple of days at a time. How often you need to water mostly depends on the type and size of the pot and how humid it is where you live. You don't want the soil to get bone dry between waterings, but you don't want it to be a perpetual swamp either.
I've got dozens of Schlumbergera hybrids and I grow them all in a commercial off-the-shelf cactus mix. Ordinary all-purpose potting soil doesn't drain quickly enough.
These plants don't like a lot of direct sunlight or excessive heat. (They won't grow outdoors in the summer here where I live.) Bright filtered light is best if you can arrange it.
Even though it hasn't bloomed lately, your plant looks very nice. You're growing it in a clay pot too, which helps with drainage. I don't know quite what is going on with the segments turning brown. A lot of things can cause this and a picture is unfortunately, not the same as being there.
I hope this was of some small help though.
(1) Yes! True member of family cactacea
(2) The 'blooming trigger' is primarily the shorter daylight periods as the winter solstice approaches. During this time, it's very important that the plant not be exposed to light after the sun has set. If the plant is indoors, turning on the lights in the room for even 10 minutes is enough to reset the plant's "clock." and interfere with blooming. These plants also prefer cool temperatures in the winter. Excessively warm temperatures can interfere with blooming.
One trick that people have often done to get these plants to bloom is to put them in a cool, dark basement around the middle of November and leave them there until buds start to form.
(3) 'Christmas cactus' (Most of these plants today are hybrids) like to be watered more often than most 'ordinary' cactus, but they don't like to have their 'feet' wet for more than a couple of days at a time. How often you need to water mostly depends on the type and size of the pot and how humid it is where you live. You don't want the soil to get bone dry between waterings, but you don't want it to be a perpetual swamp either.
I've got dozens of Schlumbergera hybrids and I grow them all in a commercial off-the-shelf cactus mix. Ordinary all-purpose potting soil doesn't drain quickly enough.
These plants don't like a lot of direct sunlight or excessive heat. (They won't grow outdoors in the summer here where I live.) Bright filtered light is best if you can arrange it.
Even though it hasn't bloomed lately, your plant looks very nice. You're growing it in a clay pot too, which helps with drainage. I don't know quite what is going on with the segments turning brown. A lot of things can cause this and a picture is unfortunately, not the same as being there.
I hope this was of some small help though.
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Spikeygirl
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:57 pm
- Location: New York
Letting them dry out for several weeks in the autumn also encourages buds. Two of mine got pushed back behind a bunch of other plants and didn't get watered for close to a month over the winter. I found them looking quite unhappy, rehydrated the pots - and lo and behold, they were both covered with buds a week later.
I put mine outside in a shady spot for the summer and leave them until frost threatens. They love it, and I almost always get two or three flushes of flowers throughout the winter.
I put mine outside in a shady spot for the summer and leave them until frost threatens. They love it, and I almost always get two or three flushes of flowers throughout the winter.