Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Falland Cleaning up Your Garden...What are YOU doing??, 0 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
doc,

I have several pots of X-mas (ahem...Thanksgiving) Cactus. I keep them outside all Summer in part sun/shade. I also keep them outside well after the "bring-your-plants in" date. As of right now--they are starting to have a lot of flower buds at the tips of the leaves. Another week outside--and i will bring them in. They need that cold snap! Then--they will all burst forth in full bloom in time for Thanksgiving.

I am interested in your "pinching". Do you mean you are pinching back your "X-Mas cactus"? Or--are you talking about your Coleus?

I have tried (once) to root Coleus in water--and they DID root--but it just became too long a time to keep them healthy and going as cutting until planting time and I gave up.

DO you pinch X-mas Cactus? When? How far down the stem?
I have done it--but have NO serious expertise in doing this.
I have seen VERY old, and thriving, X-Cactus. What is the secret? My oldest one is all woody and Yuk! Pieces of it keep falling off. NO! I am NOT over-watering it--at least I think I am not! It just seems the older stems rot off after a while and are no longer productive.

NOT overly concerned--as I can always buy new ones on clearance after the Holidays.
I also pick up any broken off sections and try to root them. Sometimes it works---sometimes it does not. no BIGGIE!

VERY few people know that there is a TRUE Christmas cactus. NOT the one we all call that. There is a difference in the leaves of the TRUE one.

The third one is the Easter Cactus--also called "Star Cactus". This one blooms around Easter--DAH!

Her is what that one looks like.