Holiday Cacti General Discussion Forum

Logee's is great. I have the Xmas Flame. Bought it for $4.99 from Whitton Greenhouses. They sure do not look like the same plant..........just for the heck of it. Go to Whitton and look up Xmas Flame and see if they look alike. How can they be so different and have the same name?

Just popped in for a second and now I do not want to leave, but I must. I have that darn doctor appt. tomorrow and I am scared poopless......so, I must get some sleep. See you all in the morning. Let;s solve this mystery too. Don't you love this. LOL.. Nite all. JB

JB--I just looked in my "Time Life" book on Christmas Cactus....
Your middle leaf in the above Post sure looks like the one in my book as a Christmas Cactus....

...and the mystery goes on.....

JB

Very pretty. Good luck at the doctors tomorrow.

yes, very pretty! Hope all goes well for you at the Dr. too! I'll say a little prayer for you.

Gita, hate to say this but I would not change the ID of Easter Cactus based on the Time Life book. I say JB's roundly scalloped middle leaf is clearly the other, non Xmas/ thanksgiving cactus.




(JB) hope things were good at Dr.'s)

It was just a follow up on a recent "procedure'.....Nothing serious...
Thanks for caring, though...

I am off to VA in a couple hours with my daughter and SIL--Close to a 2 hour drive.
Back later today....
This is the last of the Holiday get-togethers We call this the "Cousins Get--Together".
One cousin lives here--her brother and family all live around VA. They alternate houses.

More pigging out...Then I have to try to cut some calories....getting too much winter pudge....

Gita

Hey Gang, can we discuss scabbing over when we take cuttings. Please anyone, tell me how you keep your cuttings during the scab over period. Where do you keep them, what kind of containers are they in. Do you keep them cold, warm? Every little detail, please. I would like to have it from the beginning when you first take the cuttings. (when). Thanks.

We are having another snow storm today. It is supposed to be a clipper and move out fast, so I am hoping so. My appt. is 12:45 and my kids are driving me. They both have off work at noon. They are good kids that way. Anyhow, it started about 7:30 and hopefully two or three inches is all we will get. Tomorrow another one is due and Tuesday another. This is crazy. LOL JB

Ughhh! I don't like snow!

JB, I can't believe you are getting more snow! We are getting rain and the temps are supposed to take a nose dive beginning tomorrow.

I haven't ever let the christmas cactus scab over, but when I root orchid cacti, I just find a spot out of direct sun ( or in my kitchen) where they won't be disturbed and lay them on a table. ( my hubby always thinks I am trying to just let them die. LOL). I don't do anything to them. If they are indoors, they are at room temperature, or ambient temperatures outside.

I tend to root mine in the fall, but I have been told they won't root then. I basically root them whenever I find a piece that has fallen off.

I have never left the CC scab over either, that is why I was interested in how people did it. Thanks Ibartoo, I am hoping this stupid weather clears up by February. LOL

JB--

I just keep mine on a table as well. Or om a paper plate--nothing special...
One or two days is enough--but longer won't hurt.
Remember the broken off ones in my shop here--over a month--and the
pieces were all blooming. Fair to say that when they all broke off, they were already in bud.

I took cuttings right after they stopped blooming and all the blooms dried up,
Picked them all off and added to my huge bin of potpourri for color.

By now--I am realizing that I should have waited and taken the cuttings in late spring,
as many people here have mentioned.
I took them now because doc said so.....I think they are all rooting....

I have to pot up (to root) all the rest of them today. They are sitting in zip bags with a
damp piece of paper towel in there for humidity.
Mailed off another bubble envelope today to Sandi in WY. Hope they arrive OK.

Here's a hoot for today.....
I got all dressed up, make up, nice outfit and drove to my daughter's house as we
were all going to VA for that Cousins X-mas get-together....
I rang the bell--and Mark opened the door and said--"What brings YOU here ?"
I said--"We're going to VA--eyeballing him in his sweats and grubbies...
And I said--"Where's Aina (my DD)? He says--"She's at work! Today is Friday!"

This was so embarrassing!!!! Wrong day! That's what happens when you don't keep track
of what day it is. I work Tues. and Wed.--then am off Tr. Fri. and Sat. And work again on Sun.
Maybe it is just too many days off in a row.....

I am sure my DD will have a chuckle--and I already feel like a fool!

Gita

I wonder if the scabbing over practice was done because the newly cut end rotted due to overwatering and poor quality soil.
Reminds me of the story of the ham. Every grandchild cooking ham would cut the end off. One day grandmother was over for Christmas dinner and walked into the kitchen to find grandson sawing away at the ham. What are you doing? she asked. Grandson, "well that is the way you do ham and it is always good." laughing she say's "Silly, I only did that because it was to big to fit in the pan."

Love the ham story! That is great! Gita, I'm sure that the CC will do great that you sent me! Afterall, you got all dressed up and everything just to get them to me! They will be the prettiest ones ever! lol!

Gita, I forgot to mention, it was better you be a day early then a day late.

Chuckles to both of you!

Yes! I got all dressed up just to go to the PO.....and I am sure that your CC will be the
prettiest of them all. Too funny! BUT--It may work....
I do not care to dress up! It is always just nicer slacks (than jeans) and a nice top.

I live casual! Too many years working at Greenhouses and garden centers in jeans
and tennis shoes--it has sort of, become a habit.

Sandi--
I just hope they won't freeze along the way....It is a long way to go for them....

Let me know when you get them.. Gita

Will do, Gita, but I'm thinking that they should be fine. At least all the post offices along the way will be heated, and the bubble envy should act as insulation against the cold, I'm hoping ;-)

Well--I potted up all my remaining cuttings. Didn't want them too long in zip-baggies.
I sure will have a slew of them at out next Plant Swap--wherever that may be.

I counted--now--all told--I have 41 tiny pots of Zygo cuttings rooting.
All the pots have 2 cuttings in them..Mostly--the fuchsia ones--but a bunch of reds as well.
Too bad there were not too many broken off pieces at work.

Running out of window sashes.....:o)

G.

I know I posted this before--just a refresher......

Morning everyone. It is snowing here again. Second day in a row and more to come. Oh well, you can not do anything about it. I remember as a little girl my grandpa used to hold me on his lap inside a big window and tell me he had a magic button to push that turned off the snow. It was just part of the window but I was too young to know. He would push it and I would wait patiently for it to stop. I never questioned why it took so long sometimes. How funny it is to remember things like that. That had to be over 75 years ago. Wow.
I can not wait to take cuttings and I think I will try and scab some over this time. I have never done it and have had great luck with new cuttings, so I will see what happens.
Have a good day. Hugs. JB

JB, Sorry you are getting more snow. We are supposed to get more snow too. I don't ever remember it snowing twice in 1 winter here. I love the story about your grampa. I can remember very little about mine.

Anyway, I worked in the greenhouse a little yesterday and hubby put new plastic inside to help insulate it a little more so I am hoping that everything will be ok.

Gita, I love your window sashes. I too live casual! LOL. One of the best criteria I had when looking for a job was that I could wear jeans.

Lady, that is a funny ham story. It does make us wonder at times why we do things the way we do. Hope everyone has a great day.

Jb, I enjoyed your childhood memory, thanks for sharing. My father use to feed the birds and squirrels in the winter, he always told stories of what they would be saying to each other as we looked out the window watching them.
I will be looking for CC when I get to Walmart, will have to wait till the roads are clear and no snow is predicted. My Walmart is in the snowbelt area and I could leave home and drive into a blizzard about 2 miles out of town. I am not a fan of winter driving since a bad fenderbender 2 years ago.

Sandi ..... glad you found your way over here and are getting some good info. Told you they were smart folks!

Got starts of Gita's lovely fushia and red Thanksgiving Cacti. Would love to get starts of a bright yellow and an orange if anyone has any cactus with these colors. Doesn't matter which 'holiday' it is.

Getting our first measurable snow today. Wasn't suppose to get here until 5 or 6, but started about 2 instead. Predicting 1-3 inches, but so far just a dusting. It's pretty and not dangerous to get out in.....YET. Who knows what tomorrow morning will bring. It's 28* now, a couple of nights this week will have lows of 10*

Good Morning from New Jersey. We had about six inches of snow Sat. and then the temp. dropped and we had strong winds Sunday. Today is sunny and very cold and another six inches plus snow is predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday. Now I ask you, is that a good reason to be cranky or is that a reason to be cranky?
I have decided after I take the dog to the vet I am going to concentrate on plants. I need to keep my mind something other than the weather.
I am starting it right now. I am looking at pictures of my babies that hopefully I will be able to take cuttings from by Spring. I bought these last Sept. from Whitton and they bloomed and now they are resting.
First on the list is Zygocactus x Yantra. This is pretty much a common color that is to me very pretty. I wish the people could decide is it fuchsia or magenta? Depending on where you buy them, you find the sellers using both colors to describe them.JB

Next one is Zygocactus x Madeline.

And then we have Zygocactus x Malinda and Madeline side by side to compare the colors.
Malinda is on the left, Madeline on the Rt.

You have seen the Zygocactus x Xmas Flame but I wanted to show it again in case someone missed it.
This is the one that we have several people who have it and it is different colors. I noticed the spelling of Xmas on this one may be the distinguishing factor.

Those are gorgeous JB. We are getting snow/sleet/rain all at the same time. I don't remember it ever snowing twice in 1 winter. Oh well, snow is good for the flowers right? It sure looks pretty.

Then we have Zygocactus x White Christmas. On this one they have spelled out Christmas.

These are five of my youngest that I have purchased.

I have ordered some others from Direct gardening and I have no clue what they will look like. They were very cheap but the colors were interesting.
I bought an Easter Cactus, Twilight Tangerine and Christmas Yellow. We will see what I get when they finally arrive and bloom. LOL.
I think I will spend some time today looking for some other colors for sale. What else can you do on a day that you can not be outside. It is just to cold for this old body of mine today. I hope you enjoyed my little flower show. Please feel free to show us your babies or stock plants. Any and all photos are welcome.
'
Off to the vet with Barney for his rabies shot. I have already sedated him because he freaks out at the vets and usually poops on their floor. So embarrassing but I can not help it. LOL. Yes, I take him out before we go, but they scare it out of him. He is just one crazy Jack Russell. And he is 13. JB

Hey there Ibartoo, I heard you all were getting something down there. I am just sick of this weather. But, what can we do? These Nor'easters can be a pain in the butt because they usually last a couple of days. In the summer they last about three days, but in the winter only two. I can not imagine being in the south and having as much snow as you all have had. I think I told you, when I lived in Wrightsville Beach, NC it snowed just a dusting and they said that was the first in 15 years. It certainly has changed since then. Georgia, SC . TENN. you are all getting hammered with this one also.

I am glad you enjoy the plants. I must run now. JB

JB--

I especially love the all white one! I have never seen one like that...

Even though I also say "fuchsia"--I think "magenta" is closer to describing the pink color.

Be well in all that snow! It is coming our way tomorrow evening....into Wednesday.
My two days I have to go to work! Bummer!

I own a Subaru Outback--and have a lot of faith in it.....

G.

JB, have you ever used this product?

http://www.amazon.com/Bonide-Systemic-Granules-Insect-Control/product-reviews/B000BWZ9U8/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

MARY

JB-

Your photos are gorgeous!

I am back, dog had nails trimmed and a rabies shot and whimpered from the time we got into the jeep until we were on the way back. I was so upset with him I could have had him put to sleep on the spot. He must feel my anxiety and then he goes off with his own. Oh God. Animals are such a pain but I can not live without them. He is here now waiting for me to hand him some of my lunch. Forget that>

I am glad you like the photos. I am a lousy photographer because if I do get the lighting right, I shake when I take the stupid picture. HA!

Oh, my new phone just came. I want to get it set up, so I will talk later.
Mary, Hi, missed you. I have never used that product. I will look at it closer later today. Thanks. JB

JB--This product is what I have been telling everyone about....

Hope you can find it! Don't look at a HD--they stopped selling it about 10 years ago.
I found it here at a fancy-schmancy Garden center. Not expensive either....

This is what it used to come in. The one I bought was packaged a bit differently--
but still the same product....

Gita

WooHoo! Gita, got your babies today, and they really look good, so don't think that they got too cold or froze. Have them all potted up so now we wait and see! I'm sure that they will be growing soon! Thanks again!

an Easter cactus named Christmas Yellow. and they wonder why we are confused.

Morning Sally, I did not mean to mislead you. I purchased three.............one Easter Cactus and the two other Christmas Cactus. Sorry. LOL My old brain works in mysterious ways.

Snow is coming today. Blah Blah Blah. I could say worse but they would edit this and send me a nasty DMail.

GOIng out to feed the barn cats and take a walk with Barney. Back later.

Brrrrr! Cold and more snow today here too. Already tired of the cold, and we still have about 3 months of winter left, lol! Had to shovel snow away from the yard fence, since it's deep enough now that the dogs can walk across the top of the snow over the fence, lol! These poor cactus are going to be in shock!

Oh, I see! LOL me.