JB, anyone with older CC could weigh in on this issue of woody stems. Hope we get more input on the subject too.
Holiday Cacti General Discussion Forum
Oh absolutely Lady, anyone with any HC is welcome here. I would like to know too. In fact I never gave it a thought until it was mentioned here, and then I ask what they meant because only the older stems look different on my plants and only on the older plants. Have a good evening. I am going to have dinner. JB
Yes! I am at work! Another 20 minutes and I am out of here....
My oldest Th.-Cactusalso has woody stems. This one may be 10yrs.
old???? Not sure.
I di agree that it is an age thing....
Someone here at work said she has a Th. Cactus that is close to
100 years old. Can you imagine what that must look like?
She said it was all woody but still bloomed every year.
Doc---where can one buy Merit? Allan Summers here used to talk about
it all the time. I forget in what context, though.
Most of my Hybrid Roses suck! They get blackspot and then all the
leaves fall off and when october comes, and they should bloom again,
they look pathetic. Bare stems and some measly blooms...
My most hardy and beautiful Rose is "Sweet Surrender".
The fragrance is old and sweet like Granny's perfume.
I should get rid of most of them and get some newer ones that are
more disease resistant...
Gita
Merit 75 WP "SIX WEEK CLEAN UP" Use 1/16th of a Teaspoon wiped level in a quart of water which may be a quart spray bottle. Spray and drench three weeks apart. In six weeks the major insects of this forum will be totally cleaned up both on the plant and in the planting medium. The label will call for a four week or eight week program. That is good for outside use. The three week program causes the treatment to be a bit stronger over a shorter period of time. It considers the life cycle of the insect and gets them in the soil as well as those that may be above ground. They both go back to soil to lay their eggs. This spray and drench gets them both by direct contact above the ground and in the soil. The cycle will be broken and the infestation stopped. Take the same action if the problem reappears.They are far more damaging to the roots than the adults are above ground in my opinion.
Google will find Merit for you. The small container is two ounces.
I would really like to get back to trying to find a leaf from an Easter Cactus so we can compare it with the ones we already have pictures of. Gita, could you help us out on that?
Lady, I think you are correct the two end ones are both pretty much the same, but the leaf on the left came from the old one and the right was the younger plants. The younger plants are Zygo for sure. IDs from Hirt. The old one I got at either HD, Acme, and of course, No ID was on it. It was sold as a Chistmas Cactus, when in fact they are Thanksgiving if I am reading the information correctly.
Would really appreciate having a picture of an Easter leaf available. JB
Plamtfiles- no 'single leaf closeup" , most people want to post the flowers LOL
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/72479/
JB--
Making a mental note to photograph my Easter cactus for you.
Will take a close-up of the lwaves for you as well.
Off hand--if I remember--they are similar to the Christmas cactus
but thicker....Can't do anything right now--I am at work....
Playing on DG...ahem.....
Gita
JB, When you get some cuttings from your yellow cactus, will you please let me know? I thought I had one but if I do it either didn't bloom, or I can't tell which one it is.
Gita, does the easter cactus come in any color besides red?
I am more inclined to say the woody parts are the oldest. The parts of my cacti that look sunburned turn a reddish color.
Sally, did you look down the page on that plantfile link and see the one that was not bloomng? Those leaves look to me like the one in the middle of my leaves. But yet I can not be sure. I need to see them like side by side. Thanks for that I am going to try and hold up one of my leaves to that plant picture and see if that works for me. LOL
Ibar, i will be glad to see you get a cutting of the yellow when I take them. I will not be taking them for another month or more because they are still blooming. That is why i like the zygo-cacti because they bloom forever. Please forgive me for caling them Zygos because that is how they are ID in the pot and I have others that are not ID that way. It depends on where I get them. Look on that link Sally send, pictures of all colors. JB
Sally, I just tried comparing the leaves on some of the other pictures and there are some that look like the middle leaf, and some that do not...........now it is confusing. But,. if the buds mature and bloom, I am hoping I will be able to tell because the flowers are different. They are just beautiful The White one is so pretty. I wonder if they have an odor? JB
JB--
Just took a few pictures of my Easter Cactus for you to see.
I must say--that, since I am guilty of letting these dry out for too long--
they are not as plump and brilliant green as you see in books and sites.
So--here they are....
This is in a 3" clay pot and has been for 3 or more years. Need to move it up.
This was a small section that broke off the bigger pot. So--of course--
I rooted it.
I took all these under my bright reading light on the kitchen table--
WITHOUT a flash! Just the light. I like the colors better w/o a close up flash.
Just need a steady hand....
Here is a close-up of a leaf segment.
If anything--you can notice a slight "scallop" around the edges of the leaves.
You can see the scalloping better on this leaf.
It is a bit older and larger....
This is the older plant...Gee! Must be...maybe...8yrs. old?
The above leaf was from this one.
This is a leaf closest to the center of thee plant--so it must be as old as
the plant. These base-leaves are almost hard as rocks and quite thick.
Not yet woody--but definitely thick and hard....
Here is the last picture of a "fan" of leaves from the larger pot.
I can only imagine how good these would look if I took proper care of them.
Especially watering and fertilizing....That seems to always get pushed to the back..
Kind of--Out of sight and out of mind.....
This message was edited Jan 5, 2011 7:35 PM
And here is another picture of it in bloom--from 2006.
Someone asked earlier if they only come in red. I believe so.
In PF--all the pictures of this are red-blooming.
To me the leaf difference is===. Xmas has pointy bits coming off the sides where Easter is rounded indents.
I just found this thread and will have to go back and read the previous posts. Attached is a picture of the plant that bloomed from early December until just before Christmas. Can anyone identify the species or variety? It is an old plant, and similar to another I have that is a direct descend from a plant my great-grandmother had in the 1920s.
Thanks
Grayson
I am sitting here holding a leaf up to all the pictures and it seems to me, the only difference is that my leaf is longer and thinner than your leaves, it could be because of the way I am looking or whatever, but I think the middle leaf on my pictures is extremely close to the pictures shown by Gita. I think the only way I am going to find out is wait until it blooms;
Thanks to you all for your help. I get very frustrated when i want to sell some starters and do not have the proper ID for them. I usually call them the Surprise Starters and tell the people strait out that I do not have the proper ID to give them. Would you believe they sell like little hot cakes. LOL
Thanks again. Gita the plants are great. They are alive and well and you need not explain anything about them. Those of us who have a lot of house plants know we tend to ignore some of them.
The sun has faded my starters in the GH and they all look pinkish instead of the normal deep green.
I merely tell the customers and they still buy them.
I can hardly wait to begin cutting again and transplanting some of my new ones. I like to transplant them into 6 inch pots so they can get a good root system and just leave them grow for a year or more before I start cutting. I usually buy about five or six at a time and that is how I have been collecting them. I feel sure I will be getting rid of many of the other plants I have to make room for HC. I am totally hooked.
Off to take a walk. JB
Garyon, I would say you have a Christmas Cacti. Rounded leaves, no spikes and the flowers are hanging down.
Glad you fround us here.
JB,
Please look again at your middle leaf--especially the margins.
Your leaf has three big "scallops"....mine has small, shallow "scallops"
all around the leaf. I just see that as a difference between the two....
Do you have a picture of your yellow X-mas cactus? How yellow is it?
I would love a start of it--but I want to see what it looks like...
Thanks, Gita
Gita, You may be right. I think I was just pushing it because I wanted it to be that so bad. LOL I will wait until it blooms.
The Yellow close up I have is not that great because the flower is almost ready to wilt and I am too shaky. If this does not do it, I will look back into the file to see if I have a better one. JB
This is my Peaches and Cream CC. It has been blooming since November.
Hello Garyon, I just saw your post, please do not think I was ignoring you. Thanks to Lady you got your answer. I agree with her on her ID of your plant. It is a lovely old plant and seems to be very happy.
I hope you hang around and participate in our little group. We are in the process of trying to identify a cacti that someone gave me. Never had an ID either. I keep hoping it is an Easter Cacti, but I am afraid it is a Christmas, which is fine, but I WANT AN EASTER. If I were just patient, I ordered one but it will not be shipped until the weather gets warmer. LOL
If you have any more questions, we have some people on here that are full of information. Ask away.
Have a great day and oh yes, Happy New Year. JB
Take a look at the difference in the leaves in the previous posts. That may help you in learning to identify. Also, the links way early are great, especially the one about the History of the Christmas Cacti.
enjoy.
Thanks, JB
We have always called it a Christmas cactus. I remember seeing it in my great-aunt's dining room when I was a child. It was huge: several times larger than mine with a main trunk as big as my wrist. It took up the corner of the room. I don't think she ever moved it. That was the plant she inherited from her mother, and family members got cuttings from it until she died in the 1960s. Is there any way to identify the variety/species?
Grayson
JB
I just went to one of the sites given earlier in this thread as you suggested. I think I'm going to get the info I need there. Thanks for the help.
Grayson
JB -
Your Peaches & Cream is a lot lighter than mine.... Mine bloomed at the very end of October into November. Could mine be a Thanksgiving cactus and not a Christmas cactus?
Carolyn
Carolyn, I got mine from Hirt and it is a Zygo...so it is marked as such. Go to their website and see if there are any pictures there. I do not have the link but it is Hirt's Gardens. I think they are a DG member.
I bought them in April of 2009.
It was listed as LinerZygocactusPeaches & Cream Christmas Cactus Plant........9.99
At the same time I bought the Rare Yellow and an Orange
You will love their website. JB
JB -
I got mine from them too.... There was a tag on mine as well - I am pretty sure it said Peaches & Cream, but I should double check it.
Love this, as am very new to these holiday cactus, as a matter of fact, am just starting to root some shoots from one, so when it does root I might know something, (not much, but maybe something, lol) Thanks for the link to this Crit! I do have one question now tho, how long does it take for the pieces to root? Wouldn't have known how to root before I ran across all you wonderful info people, so thanks for that!
Carolyn, yours looks like the orange, could be my eye, but it is beautiful whatever it is. When I have more time I will get on there and look around to see if I can find any other Peaches and Cream pictures on DG.
Hi Skell, I am glad you are having fun. We are a great bunch. As for how long, I have no idea because when I take cuttings and root them to sell, I just water them and when they start getting new shoots and look like they are growing, I sell them. I honestly would guess about three weeks, maybe four or five. I am just guessing. I guess now I will have to find out for you. LOL.....I will look it up and see what I can find if no one here actually ever made note of it. I should have a guess, but I never did. I usually put a date on them, but only because I want to know how old they are when I planted them. I promise you will have an answer. JB
On the peaches and cream, are they really a peach color, or more pink? The starts I am rooting are a very pale pink fading to white, so was curious, is all.
Skell, Look above at the pictures, there is one I put up of yellow and one of P and C....also, Carolyn has one called P and C also that there is a pic of. You will catch up soon. there is alot to see and read if you are new to the group. Take your time and enjoy. When your little one blooms we will see what it looks like. You do not have a plant marker on the old plant?
I am out of here for now. I am tired and need to eat something. Have a good evening. I will see you in the a.m. Hugs JB
skellog---
I have a lot of new cuttings sitting on my windowsills.....
I SWEAR one of them must have rooted in 3 days! WHY do I think so?
I did the gentle tug test--and it resisted.
When rooting anything from cuttings---in due time--do the gentle tug test.
Grip the cutting and, ever so gently, try to pull it up. If it resists--it is already rooting.
If it comes right up--it has not yet rooted. Simple!
Carolyn--Yours has to be a Thanksgiving (Zygo) cactus. See all the spiky edges on the leaves?
This is like a "Mystery Thread"......So exciting!!!
Hey! As you know, I offered cuttings of the Fuchsia and Red Th-Cactus....
A couple of people asked--and I have sent off 4 cuttings of each color to them.
Just5 for postage. NO trades needed.
Cuttings do not last forever, sitting in zip-loc baggies. I need to pot them up soon--
which will double the number of what I have already potted up.
If any of you want cuttings of either of these--please let me know ASAP--in D-Mail!
Next week--I will be potting up all the ones I have--hoping to get rid of them
at our Plant Swap this Spring.
This one is pretty, I have never ordered from them but I like to look.
http://www.logees.com/prodinfo.asp?number=S7692-2
Lady--
.
That looks like one someone posted hat they got a cutting from Doc....
I also saw this one at HD--early in the Holiday season. I wanted so much to pinch off a stem from it--
but my conscience got the best of me. So--I did not...
Had there been a broken off piece--I would not had any of these feelings....
G.
Chris
I have ordered from Logees before and have only ever been very pleased. They are in the Garden Watchdog's top 5. http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/35/