Pale, pale salmon
Holiday Cacti General Discussion Part #3
This looked red to the naked eye--but not a deep red...
Almost had a touch of orange to the red.
Doesn't show it too well--but this was one of the bi-color ones.
White with pale salmon.
First shipment of Poinsettias. As always--the week before Thanksgiving....
These were all in the Green House....
Wanted to show you a very pretty plant....Alocasia "African Mask".....NOT the easiest to grow....
Mostly because it needs high humidity,. but not too much water. It has a, sort of. dormant period
during the winter where it is likely to lose leaves, etc....
I had it once years ago. After 4 years of putting up with all this--I canned it...
All my Brug cuttings are growing! Mamma Mia! These are all Dr. Seuss...
There will be a lot to share.....Using my seed lights during the winter to grow things under--also my AV's.
Why not? Not using it for much of anything else....
Have my CVoleus cuttings there too. They are not doing as well. I think I took them too late
in the season. About half of them have died off. Maybe the soil was too wet too....
Gitagal, I did not always have that window. Before we redid the kitchen there was no counter there so I had a microwave cart and another stand to hold them.Of course I have added more to the collection since then. I would like to put a shelf up in the office which the 2 windows face the south also, but I would have to get hubby to agree on that one.
This is a reprint from what I wrote and was carried over from the other thread on Oct. 24th Schlumbergera and Zygocactus are one and the same. Breeders from Australia and Canada call them Zygocactus. You will see under the Thanksgiving Cactus the reason for that name is the shape of the Flowers. I knew we had discussed this before so I thought I would show it again for the new people.
There are three main types of Holiday cactus: Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. All are called Holiday Cacti but each is slightly different in its form, flower, bloom time and cultural requirements. Many already know this information but so we can keep them straight, here is a description of the three types. We can all appreciate how far back these long lived beauties go and love them whatever their official holiday.
Christmas and Thanksgiving are members of the genus Schlumbergera while Easter Cacti comprise two species of the genus Rhipsalidopsis. This information comes from Paul's Notes "Recognition and Culture of the Holiday Cacti"
Christmas Cactus
The true "Christmas Cactus" is Schlumbergera x buckleyi, a hybrid between S. Russelliana and S. Truncata produced in the late 1840s in England by William Buckley at the Rollisson Nurseries. There are two maybe 3 slightly different surviving clones of of three hybrids of this cross names S.x.buckleyi 'Buckleyi', S.x buckleyi 'Rollissonii' and possibly S.x..buckley 'Snowii'.
There is a difference in the flowers of these three. Magenta is the primary color. (We would call it fuchsia I think). Characteristically, the True Christmas Cactus has branches which are decidedly arcing and the pendent and the stem segments do not have the little points along the side The flowers are completely pendent and radially symmetrical (actinomorphic).
Their blooming time is actually between November and May and many times it blooms too late for the Christmas Sales, and is one reason it is so hard to find. The true Christmas Cactus come mostly from old plants handed down from family to family , as these plants can and do live for 50 years or more!
Thanksgiving Cactus
The Thanksgiving Cacti are Schlumbergera truncata cultivars. They are clones selected for their colors and growth habit and given cultivar names. They bloom about a full month or more before the true Christmas Cactus, given the same treatment, and so are more easily made to bloom at the best time for Christmas sales, but the flowers might not last until Christmas.
They are also known as the "Link Cactus", "Grandmother's Cactus", etc. and sold in Canada as Christmas Cactus. Many of them are now also called Zygo Cactus.
Their flowers are asymmetrical (zygomorphic). not normally pendent, but bent somewhat upward at the ovary, so that they grow outward, rather horizontally from the tips of the segments on branches which are usually much more erect that those of the True Christmas Cactus. The colors range from pure white to a deep reddish violet. In 1982 the first yellow one was grown . Now there are many beautiful colors available, but they will be Zygo Cactus as some also call them. I have some I call Zygo because they arrived from the grower identified as such.
Because both the Thanksgiving and Christmas Cactus bloom twice each year between Oct. and Feb. then again in March and May, many people confuse them with the Easter Cactus.
Easter Cactus
The Easter Cactus is Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri. It is not nearly as popular as the Schlumbergeras because it is rather more difficult to grow well, and it has the disconcerting habit of shedding its stem segments at the slightest dry spell, or whenever over or under watered. It may refuse to bloom for no apparent reason. But it is quite magnificent in spite of all of the problems one may have with them. R. gaertneri is the species with scarlet flowers.'Crimson Giant' and 'Rainbow' are some of the cultivars. All are beautiful when in bloom.
Recognition and Culture of the Holiday Cacti" by Paul Brunelle
http://cactus.biology.dal.ca/paulS/christmas/christmas.html
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Here is the one that compares the leaves. You will see the difference on page 2 of the different Schlums and some additional info.
http://cactusepiphytes.pagesperso-orange.fr/z_page_les_cactu...
These two have so much good information. I use them as reference all the time. The Paul's has a much more complete description than what I copied for you. If you are really interested in getting to know the plants, these two will be very helpful.
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Daves Garden memberTina (tmbolin) did an article some time ago,
"Will the Real CC Please Stand Up?"
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/392/
She uses Paul B (above) as a reference too and includes many of his drawings that illustrate the differences in the three types.
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tbc
I hope this helps you newbies to understand the terms. If not, please ask more questions and we will see if we can answer them.
This message was edited Oct 25, 2011 9:01 AM[/quote]
marie, beautiful zygos, and windowsill. My pink zygo looks identical to yours.
I just realized i have all three. By seeing those pictures it helped a lot. So I have my Christmas and Thanksgiving blooming now.
I love to see them bloom when it is cold outside. It gives me such joy to see something in bloom.
Good infor is like a good movie...worth watching again. And you see things the second, third times thru that didn't register the first.
My Sam's club has some bloomers of assorted and mixed cc. Seems each large pot has abot 8 babies making up the whole. No idea how well rooted in any of them are cause I was too embarrassed to be curious to that extent! There was a pale white one with a pink throat that I liked but its petals were curled rather than flat and spread out.. Is that what a fading bloom looks like or caused by something else?
Frankly, what these mostly "mis-shapen blooms reminded me of is one year when I was a pointsettia merchandizer at HD for the holidays. The new master grower had been fired when it was determined that the entire crop would not be in bloom by the Holidays...! Experts were called in and everything was tried to bring those half million plants to salable condition. Did you all know that there are "chemicals" that can be applied to speed up or slow down the flowering production? Well, too much speed up was applied which meant an application or two of slow down and then at least another boost or two of speed up.
The resultant blooms on those that could be shipped were very colorful many with blotches and stripes of break thru colors, and the blooms themselves were very curled and weirdly puckered or much diminished in size. Customers either were disappointed that we didn't have any of the plain ones left or felt like they had scored the most unique and latest pointsettia fashion statement to set their decors apart from the ordinary. !
THa'ts funny. I wonder if the new "rose" poinsettias are actually just chemically forced that way. THat's a very odd thought somehow.
Can you beleive the have blue glitter ones? How horrible is that for a poinsettia.
Judy--
Yes! When a CC bloom starts to fade it will wilt and curl.
Since I had to remove the plastic to take all those photos of the CC at my HD--I already noticed
some of the blooms curling. Perhaps, being in a plastic for a long time also caused that.
Overall--I think the CC we got in were already too far along and in open bloom.
Usually--the most desirable state is in bud--but you can see the color it will be.
For growers--Poinsettias as well as Mums are very hands-on and labor intensive.
Large Greenhouses have to have shade cloths over them for Poinsettias.
They need darkness to color up.
Mums are labor intensive, since the end buds have to be removed by hand so the
Mum can grow side-branches and buds. Look at a Mum close-up. it is ONE plant that
has branched out to a "ball" of blooms. This does not happen automatically....
G.
Sally----That is as bad as blue Orchids. They dye them!
People sure grab them up--thinking it is some new strain....
I agree with the blooms making one happy Marie. I have said that here several times. Just something about a bloom during the cold months when we haven't seen anything much for a while instantly puts a smile on my face.
I kind of panicked when reading the tip about not moving them after the buds set. Just yesterday John mentioned that the one Sally gave me at Jill's swap was ready for the buds to open and maybe I should move it from the bedroom to wherever I was going to display it. Being the good wife and always following orders, (NOT) I moved it to the living room to sit in the bay window. Yikes, Sally was happy to read your reply about moving them with no problem and now I have hope that I haven't destroyed it.
When Gita mentioned the CC have now been delivered to the stores, I have to admit that I began thinking of when I could go to either Home Depot, Lowe's or Walmart. Hanging out too much with this group, I might find myself as the owner of more CC than I can take good care of.
John came in a bit ago and handed me fourteen dollars from the sale of two plants that are being sold at our pharmacy. So nice to get a few bucks every now and then. I now need to get together another Oxalysis and another Aloe to replace those that sold. I have to admit that I get a good feeling whenever I visit the pharmacy and see some of my work displayed in their front windows. I would have really loved to have some CC in bloom to put in the windows, but only three of my eight even have buds now, and I am going to be really selfish and keep those blooms here for me to enjoy.
I hope you ladies all have a good weekend. After reading this thread I thought of possibly adding a trip to CC shop to my list of to do's. We will see.....we will see. The last time I plant shopped for a Purple Passion I brought home about eight other plants also, so I have difficulties sticking to the plan. Oh shoot, go for it, I have an extra fourteen dollars to spend now.....yippie!!!
Speaking of Purple Passion......next spring when it is safe to ship cuttings again I would like to either purchase some or trade something for more of the PP. Let me know if you have plenty and we may be able to work something out regarding this request. Thanks again all.
Ruby
Blue orchids, and 30$, don't know which part of that makes me gag more!
Yay Ruby!
Ruby--just to make you feel a bit better--I believe you can move CC's in bud
IF you do not change their orientation to the light source. That is what is important....
You know how plants always orient to the light source by turning, slowly, towards it?
In CC's, with the elongated buds, this can be a problem. They will try to turn to a new direction of light--
and that is what CAN cause bud drop. Not always--as Sally can verify, but then, maybe she keeps the
direction of the light in mind....
Ruby--I have been keeping my eye out for a Purple Passion plant. Nada!!!
The best area to look for one is among the small, 3.8" (Angel) potted plants at the HD or Lowes.
That is where,once in a blue moon, I have seen these.
Gita
Gita, I have purple passion plant. It lost it's purple last year, but with the correct lighting it would regain it's color. If you want some I can send cuttings.
Linda
Linda---
It is Ruby that is looking for this plant.
I have too many as it is...Don't particularly need any more.
Besides--I work at a HD and could get anything there. Have not seen the Purple Passion for a long time.
It needs such bright light to keep its color! Not the best as a House Plant....
Thanks for the offer, though. Gita
Thanks Gita, I will offer some to Ruby,
I couldn't afford to work at HD. LOL, it would be like working for free.
SO? What do YOU do, Linda???
Yes! The pay at HD is not the greatest--nor is it the worst....I have been here almost 14 years.
In all that time--my hourly rate has increased by $4.50.
However--they won't dump you unless you have done something that warrants it.
They are pretty good to their employees. We have cook outs and a big Holiday Party.
HD is closed ONLY 2 days a year. Thanksgiving and X-Mas Day.
Our Mgr. of four years, Donn, is now gone. He transferred to a HD in DE. closer to his home.
We are also losing two of our ASM,s....Sorry to lose so many people all at once--
but that is the HD way. It is THE BIG switch!!!! They believe in doing that....Keeps
management on their toes....Our new SM, Curtis, is my 9th SM in 13 years. Get the drift?
We already have a new SM--a young, cute guy. Not even 30 yrs. old.
He trained here about 4 years ago--so many of us know him already.
I get a hug every time he sees me....
It WILL be different......on a positive note-- hope....New blood--new attitude....
A lot more laid back....We will see................We will see..................
Gita
Gita
Gita, not sure, but I think she meant that she'd spend her paycheck on plants or other "stuff" if she worked at HD, so then she might as well be working for free. I don't think she was commenting on the actual pay rates there! ;-)
It would be like when I worked at a jewelery store. I could spend a good portion of my paycheck there.
Critter was right, That comment was meant to read that I would be working to pay for the plants that i couldn't leave at the store. LOL I am sorry if it didn't come across that way.
I have often thought about working there, but really haven't made a big effort. I am very spoiled. I have been a stay home mom for 16 years. My son is now a junior in high school and I think after he graduates I will go back to work outside the house.
I make money now by selling plants and seeds on ebay mostly and I design and fabricate sterling silver jewelry. I do some work with copper and a little bit with brass, but until the price of gold falls considerably I won't be making any gold jewelry.
My hubby retired several years ago and now works part time at a little seafood mkt, because he was too bored staying at home and walking the beach every day.
Again Gita, I apologize if I offended you, that wasn't my intent at all.
Sea ya.
Linda
NO offense taken, Linda....Heavens, NO!
It is perfectly logical that working at a HD is no way to make a living...
It is OK for kids who need a bit of spending money--or for retired seniors
who just want to do something outside the home...while they collect pensions from previous jobs.
Gita
So, ladies of the Holiday Cactus thread, I take it that if I start with one this season that I, too, will want more of these neat little plants ? And thanks to you all I will be blessed with cuttings and the info/support to grow my own. You all are on my "I'm thankful for..." list for sure.
May gratitude and thankfullness fill your Holidays and lives. And may your cacti all bloom their heads off! Judy
Well drained mix. throw it under a tree for summer to suck up humidity, yank it in before hard frost, blooms when the outside freezes.....yeah you'll want more.
Lol Sally! So, the outside , under a tree stuff is no problem for me , it's the bringing in the bud forming beauties....if they already have buds, will they go on to bloom...no matter what light conditions I have inside? I have no interior bright light situation and most of house is cool (finances)..A good place for winter hibernation, but not necessarily conducive to flowering house plants!
Here to report that the White CC that Sally gave me is now in bloom. Yep, really brought a wide grin to my face. Yippie!!! I also have two Fuschia colored ones that I have had for years that will be blooming this week too. None of the others have set buds yet, but I am still hoping.
Linda, I will gladly take any and all Purple Passion offered me. I suppose the smart thing now will be to wait until spring to discuss mailing it though. Folks, I am the proud owner of a pair of beautiful earrings hand made by ibartoo. They are a Peruvian Opal which is a lovely pink color. Correct me if I am wrong about the gem Linda.
Anyway......you all have a blessed Thanksgiving if I don't see you before then. Enjoy all.
Ruby
Ruby, maybe by spring, my purple passion vine will regain it's purple. LOL Have you ever seen it bloom? The blooms are clemson orange and look like dandylion flowers. It is awesome. I am glad you like the opal earrings. I need to make some similar earrings and get them listed for Christmas.
The times that my Christmas cacti drop buds are if there is a big change in heat, or my hubby touches them. For some reason, he can touch 1 and all the buds fall off. It is strange.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Took that this morning. THis plant has sat in several places since first coming in the house. It's now on the hutch of the compu desk. Thats four feet away from a south facing window- not a very effective light situation. The leaf-stems are gettting thin and limp from the dry air. I've barely watered it for fear of root rot.
Still, not a sign of dropped bud. Some of those dropped bud scenarios could maybe result from overwatering or some other change that happened when the plant was moved.-?
Sally--
I have read that, while in bloom, a CC needs to be watered on a regular basis.
After blooming--it will take a small rest and then grow new "leaves"....
Right after it blooms is a good time to takecuttings to 'shape" the plant up.
Anyone wanna chime in on this? Gita
Hello all,
Sally, That cc has the prettiest colored blooms.It's not easy to find many different colors.I don't even know the names of all the different colors.I did find one that has pink on the edges and white in the middle.Which is more common solid colors or with white inside the bloom?
When rooting cc cuttings does it matter the size of the cutting? When I trimmed mine I cut & rooted pieces of 3 segments 1 went in the soil the other 2 on top and watched for new growth.I had all of them root.I used them to fill the pot in,putting them into the center of their parent plant.I am hoping for a fuller plant.
I have been given much larger pieces and wanted to ask, if they will root as easily as the ones with 3 segments?
thanks, HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Jo
Hope your Thanksgiving was full of gratitude and some good food.
Nice article today on Holiday Cacti Good pictures of differences in Thanksgiving and Christmas blooms
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3472/
Good questions Jo. Sorry that I am definitely not the person to ask. CC seem to be a plant that I find hard to maintain. I do currently have two small ones in bloom. One is white that I received recently from Sally and the other that will be blooming today or tomorrow is fuschia colored and I have had it for some years now. I have several other small pots off CC but none have set bud yet.
Linda, yes I have had my Purple Passion bloom once. I was surprised it bloomed an orange color, though I have to admit that it was very pretty though.
Sally, you described that some of your CC is thinning and drying out currently and you believe it to be dry heat. The piece you gave me is doing the same thing much worse than my others are, even though it doesn't seem to be hampering its ability to bloom at all. I plan to give all mine a good drink of water later today.
Enjoy your weekend all.
Ruby
We cross posted Cole. Thank you so much for adding the link to this very informative, and easy to understand article. Seems that I am owner of both types of these babies.....lucky, lucky me.
Anyway....same to you as far as good food and a spirit of gratitude goes.
Enjoy the weekend.
Ruby
jojoe---
I have rooted single segments as well as large, broken off pieces of the plant--both successfully..
The main thing is to watch that you do not keep the cuttings too wet. they will just rot out--
as they do not yet have roots to absorb the water...Keep them barely moist until they are well established.
I prefer rooting pieces with at least 2 segments on them--or ones that have already grown in a "Y".
The roots only come from where the segments join.
Your method of rooting a 3-segment piece is OK. However--I would make sure that the two
both connecting parts of the segments are in the soil. Two places for roots to grow from.
Anyone elses input is welcome here....
JB--where are you????
Gita
Sometimes when my plants do that thin & floppy thing, i think it might be because they went too long between drinks... I take the pot and put it into a bowl of water, as much as halfway up the side of the pot, and I leave it there overnight so the plant can soak up as much as it wants. Generally the leaves are much more plumped in the morning.
Here is a link to the Thread on orchid cactus (CC--not sure they are in this category???)
Thought you would like to check it out....
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1227462/