I so enjoy these plants.
Christmas Cactus Blooming Now
overall view of plant
White is nice!!!
Close up
More hopefully later today
Beautiful! One of my pinks is blooming now also, but I have another one which is covered in small buds. I think that one will bloom just in time for Thanksgiving.
judycooksey
They are lovely, and healthy looking..I never seen a white one before..It's rare to find them in stores here.
Best regards, Ingrid
Judy - once again you are making me sick! I think I will have to take a picture of mine for you (but just you! - I don't not want to be kicked out of DG for misrepresenting myself as a gardener!).
They are gorgeous!
Judy-
I have two blooming now- a pink and a salmon. Christmas cacti are my all time favorite houseplant. I am experimenting with growing epiphylliums, but, don't quite have the same luck with them. Your cacti are just so lovely! How can anyone expect more out of a houseplant than what you receive when growing Christmas cacti?
Pax
How about leaf cuttings to root??? Do you want some?
Judy
OK I'll be glad to send them, but someone is going to have to tell us the best way to do this, where to take the cuttings, how to root them, etc., because I do not know.
My infamous Big John has knocked off leaf tips which I put in Miracle Gro and they rooted, but I gave all the rooted cuttings away and don't know how the "grew out".
Does anyone have any informtion for us?
Judy
Aw, he's so pretty!
Maybe we should wait until they finish blooming.
If they are like other cacti you can just cut them at the joints.
Mail them like they are with no moisture on them or anything.
When they get here then they would probably be ready to pot.
I'm just not familiar with these so maybe we could get some info
from somebody.
Hey, Judy... I want a cutting of the white one!
Yes, after blooming, just cut off a few joints, like maybe 4-6". Send dry as they need a callus anyway. My big one usually blooms in January or February.
But I do have a cutting from a friend who passed on, and I have babied it for years. It's now got a bloom!
Plus, I think the recent cutting I got from lizh is pink like the one in the top photo. I just love these!
Ok - now I'm REALLY getting envious. My poor baby is going to have a little talking to when I get home!!!
Darius,
I love that bloom!!! I will definitely send you a cutting. Do you just want a cutting of all of mine??? Do you think I could just put them in a bubble envelope?
Judy
Judy, what colors besides what you posted? I'm always looking for new colors.
Bubble envelopes work fine because these are not stiff.
I will try to post pictures of all of them tomorrow. I'm trying to get Judy's Jungle Under Wraps, see the Greenhouse Forum.
Judy
O.k. everyone who helped, a great big thank you! I am just beside myself with joy. My Christmas cactus is starting to bloom! I put it outside like you all said to do and it started dropping some leaves (boy did I panic) but I left it outside until I had to bring it in due to weather. I was sure it wouldn't bloom. But yesterday I noticed a couple little red things sprouting from the tips. Blossoms!
So now I am counting (how ridiculous can I get) but I am having alot of fun with this. I am up to 6 blossoms. Yeah!
Congrats, Sunnyskies! I have one that is blooming now, and one that has put on buds.
I just bought my first one and it has so many buds and a few blooms and I am wondering what do I do to keep it from dying on me. Do you treat them any different from any other house plant, do you mist them? feed them? Can't you tell I need help!!! I just don't want to kill this little baby..
Thanks for your help and patients
Vickie
Does anyone know why the blooms are dropping off my Christmas cactus, It looks very healthy so I am confused at what I may be doing wrong..
Hope you all can help
overwatering? underwatering? change in location and /or ambient temps?
Darius is right it could be any of the above
.... but I'm betting on overwatering. When one of them is in dire need of water, it starts to go a little limp/wilt.
They will also get limp/wilt with too much water.
Ok, now you guys are scaring me...
Gosh Darius that is something I didn't know... mine never have the chance to stay too damp. When they start going limp, I know it's time to water. (Bad Judy!!!) lol lol
Thanks for the info.
Jduy
Thanks so much for your help, I just bought it yesterday and I thought it felt too wet so now I know for me to not do that..How much light do they need?
Also how and what do you use to water in the winter for your plants you have brought inside..I find I am misting them a little everyday instead of really watering but think that may be wrong since my brug seedling is loosing leaves.. Do any of you use a root stimulator on your plants and does it help them grow better.
thanks for your help
If a plant is really too wet, it can drown the roots (no oxygen). In that case, I'd put the pot in the sink even though wet now (with no saucers) and run 10% peroxide to water through it thoroughly and let it drain. I use that solution about half the time to just water my indoor plants because it helps get O2 to the roots. I also mist seedlings with it. Helps with dampening off.
Judy, just by coincidence, I took a broken tip of a Christmas cactus that had fallen on the ground at the garden center. It looked relatively freshly broken but when I got home I put it on a high shelf while I got the kids bathed after school as I didn't want the little one to play with it. In any case, I forgot all about it. When I found it about 2 weeks later it was pretty dried out. The piece was only about 2 1/2 inches long. I dip it in rooting hormone and stuck in in a pot with some other succulents. That was abotu 6 weeks ago. I went out yesterday and saw that it has TWO buds on it. This itsy bitsy little 2 inche thing sticking out of the ground...and it's about to flower! So I imagine that pieces given a little more TLC will do just fine ;-)
-Julie
Darius, what a terrific trick! Thanks so much for the tip on getting a quick oxygen boost to overwatered plants! :-) I'd never in a million years have thought of peroxide!
-Julie
Thanks so much I will try that..Such great tips on here..I don't garden without you all!!!
Vickie(:
If they sit in one position for quite awhile and as they start to bloom, the blooms orient towards the strongest light source. Turning them around once they start blooming OR buying new ones already in bloom will result in bloom drop. Especially if it's not in an evenly lit situation. The blooms literally twist themselves off reaching for the light. When you buy new ones this time of year, pick your desired color on what's blooming then try and find one that hasn't started blooming yet or has only a few opened.
Something I picked up in the past when faced with the same disappointing event.
Yes it was so full of blooms when I got it and has lost quite a few but still has a bunch on it and several opened so I will just watch it closly..thanks
Darius, I don't really understand the 10% peroxide to water. Did you mean 1 part peroxide to 9 parts water? I would like to try that. Thanks for the tip.
Yes, 1 part regular household strength peroxide to 9 parts water. (It does come in othewr strengths but not so readily available in many areas.)
I've used straight peroxide without any problems, but that can get expensive.
An update of the top picture...
