A bloom’s color might fade in very bright light or in hot weather. The primary color shouldn’t change, though.
When multiple colors of a plant are planted, but only one color emerges, a common reason is that the dominant color is a more vigorous variation that has outgrown and outcompeted the other varieties (or matures at a younger age), leaving you with only the dominant plant’s flowers. Look over each stem in the pot. If this is the case, you might have more success growing the various color types of your Christmas cactus in separate pots until they are all ready to flower and are the same size before replanting them in the same pot. The less dominant kinds might be better able to compete with the dominant one in this way.
Can two distinct Christmas cacti be planted together?
Choose a container for the two plants that is only a little bit bigger than the combined root balls of them both since Christmas cactuses bloom best when they are slightly pot confined. Make sure there are enough drainage holes in the new container. More potting soil will probably need to be added. For optimal drainage, use 40% perlite with 60% potting soil. Put the replanted plants in a spot with bright, filtered light. Use a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer diluted to half strength, typically 1/4 teaspoon in 1 gallon of water, when the soil surface starts to become dry. Water and fertilize at the same time.
Can you alter a Christmas cactus’ color?
A lovely Christmas cactus with white blossoms was a gift from my son. However, the blossoms were pink the following year. What took place?
Hybrid plants frequently revert to the prevailing hue of the original species. Fortunately, even though the flowers are not the color you ordered, they are still lovely. Keep cultivating it in a sunny area. Reduce water use beginning on October 1st, spend the nights somewhere cooler and darker, and wait to be rewarded with flowers.
Can Christmas cactus cross-pollinate?
The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi), also referred to as the Thanksgiving cactus, is an epiphytic succulent cactus that can survive in plant hardiness zone 9 of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Christmas cactus, a seasonal favorite, has trumpet-shaped flowers with white, orange, pink, or red petals that are naturally pollinated by birds but can also be done by hand. Even though certain Christmas cacti kinds are self-fertile, hand-pollination will produce more diverse offspring. For successful pollination, you will need a minimum of two Christmas cacti, ideally of different hues.
The stigma and the anther are the two reproductive components that may be seen on flowers. A Christmas cactus’ scarlet stigma sticks out from the middle of the blossom. The stigma is situated adjacent to the pollen-coated anther, which is affixed to the end of a different tube known as a filament.
The day after the flower opens, gently rub one Christmas cactus’ anther with a cotton swab. Verify if some pollen has stuck to the cotton swab. On the second Christmas cactus, rub the stigma’s sticky top with the pollen.
Why has the color of my Christmas cactus changed?
Did you know that Christmas Cactus make hardy houseplants? Christmas Cactus are frequently sold throughout the holiday season. Both indoors and outdoors, I find them to be incredibly simple to grow, and mine always bloom once a year, typically twice.
They are absolutely fantastic, but like any plants, they can have faults and problems. I decided to write this piece because the leaves on my client’s Christmas cactus had turned orange. It seemed like too fantastic of a chance to miss.
Let’s get a little more technical for those of you who are plant nerds like me. Thanksgiving (or crab) cactus is what you are seeing here and in the video instead of Christmas cactus. It was marked as a CC when I purchased it, and that is how it is frequently offered for sale in the trade.
These days, they might be identified as Holiday Cactus. Any of them could experience this, no matter which one you have.
This plant is turning a deep bronze from its too orange state. The leaves are scraggly and sagging.
When under stress from the environment or culture, plants change hue. This one changed to a deep orange/brown/bronze color—the exact shade is up for debate! mostly as a result of water shortage. It has occasionally gotten a little too much sun. Dehydration is evident in the leaves’ thinness and wrinkles, which can be seen if you look closely at them.
At least six years ago, I purchased this Holiday Cactus at the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market. It was a piece of the Christmas dish garden I created for my client’s front porch table. She resides on the coast approximately a quarter mile from the Pacific, one and a half hours south of San Francisco. This plant has managed to live despite the other plants having long since moved to the compost pail. Oh, and did I mention how tough Christmas cacti are? This is evidence!
Unlike the desert cactus that Tucson is covered in, these succulents are epiphytic cacti. Christmas Cacti grow on other plants and rocks, not in the soil, in their native rainforest habitats. They are shielded from full, direct sunlight by the canopies of trees and plants, and they flourish in this environment.
Changing Color
Christmas Cactus can become orange, brown, or golden when exposed to much sunlight because they prefer shade from it. Yellow leaves may also be an indication of excessive sunlight or moisture. In Santa Barbara, my Thanksgiving Cactus was an outside plant that turned burgundy or purple in the winter as a response to the chilly weather.
Early in December, the Thanksgiving Cactus was lying on its side on the opposite end of the front porch when I first went to my client’s house. She is close to the Pacific, so at least some moisture is provided by the fog where she resides. That, in my opinion, is what has kept it going.
Are Christmas cacti tolerant to crowds?
The information that I’ve been fortunate enough to get from my grandparents is what inspired the moniker “Heirloom Lady.” That information is my most valuable heirloom. I cherish more than simply the stories, recipes, gardening tips, and life lessons though. One item that my grandmother left in my care after she went away last year means the world to me: her Christmas cacti.
These Christmas Cacti are not your typical plants. The original plant belonged to a woman who only only appeared in Gram’s stories and gave it to her. Mom Moesche was her name, and she was great. All I know is that she gave our Gram the responsibility of taking care of her Christmas Cactus when it was already well over 75 years old. When Gram was in her late thirties, she gave her the plant.
Please keep in mind that Gram passed away at the ripe old age of 98. This Christmas Cactus has been growing for well over a century. a plant with multiple families and generations. Do you realize just how amazing that is? a living legacy. There isn’t anything better, in my opinion.
However, I also have her two eldest children in my care in addition to the elderly woman. And there are at the very least hundreds more scattered far across the east coast. On window sills, in jars, cups, pots, and anywhere else that could contain water, there were always babies developing. When they were old enough, Gram would pat friends, relatives, and uninvited guests on the back, leading them to the door with bits of care instructions for the plants and reassurance that everything would be okay.
Since I’ve had these amazing plants, I’ve given babies I’ve raised as gifts to at least three other individuals, and I have more that are almost ready to sow. Knowing that I’m giving someone a present that will keep growing and foster a sense of family in every person who travels with a Christmas Cactus thrills my heart. This assignment I’ve been assigned has extra special qualities, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Unfortunately, one of the younger plants was knocked over last week by a blast of wind, destroying the pot and a portion of the plant. I was inconsolable and broke down in tears about it. But soon after, I remembered Gram, who would have advised me to shake it off and develop the leftover portions of the stem into a plant for a special someone.
That’s what I’m doing, however the mother plant needs to be repotted in the interim. Christmas cactus repotting is not a difficult process, but it must be done carefully, especially with mature plants.
For the repotting of a Christmas cactus to be successful, you must be aware of the following:
1. To start with, you should be aware that Christmas cacti are tropical plants. They are not your typical cactus, and they favor hot, humid climates.
2. The holiday Cactuses don’t have leaves; instead, they have flat, segmented stems that produce chlorophyll much as leaves would. Older stem segments will eventually turn woody and resemble tree bark as they deteriorate.
3. You must be extremely cautious while removing your Christmas cactus from its current container for repotting if it is root-bound. Rootbound denotes that the plant has outgrown its container. If the soil is firm, the roots are extending through the pot’s drainage hole, or the plant’s stems are becoming yellow or brown (which can also be a sign of overwatering, so you just have to keep an eye on the plant), you can usually tell. It turned out to be a lucky break for me because the clay pot cracked when it dropped, making removal relatively simple. Sincerely, I’d rather you break a clay pot than put the plant’s health in danger by attempting to turn it up on its side.
4. Christmas cactus roots actually enjoy being somewhat packed. Plant parents struggle with this because, despite the fact that they thrive in crowded pots, it can be difficult to keep them from becoming root-bound. The best general rule is to pot your Christmas cactus in a pot that is 2 inches bigger than the one it is currently in every 4 years. I’m moving this guy from a 6-inch pot to an 8-inch pot, as you can see.
Before you start removing the plant from its current pot, fill the new pot with dirt. In order to avoid wasting time and place the root ball into new, nutritious soil as quickly as possible, you want to have its new home ready. You’ll see that I’m using dirt that has been specifically designed for cacti. Despite being a tropical plant, Christmas Cactuses need soil that allows for quick water drainage, thus you should still use this soil. You can begin by adding enough dirt to the bottom of your new pot so that the top of your root ball is about one inch deep from the top.
6. Gently scrape away portion of the root ball’s old, dry dirt. You might need to wet the roots to remove the old soil, or even rinse them. I believe that my plant benefited from the fall because the soil just sort of slipped away from the root system without really breaking it.
7. Insert your plant into its new location and carefully add fresh dirt to the area around the root ball. I was very careful to remove any stems that were becoming yellow or dried out as I proceeded.
8. To help it adjust to the new soil and container, give your repotted Christmas cactus a deep drink of fresh water and place it in extra shade for a few days.
9. I keep mine on the porch, close to the house, all summer long, just like my grandmother did, so they can get some indirect sunlight and fresh air. I can’t even begin to describe how much these plants have expanded and revived this summer. Fresh, vibrant green stems are sprouting out everywhere. Picking up a few branches to establish new plants won’t harm them and will actually encourage new development.
10. It will be time to move them inside in the fall, when the first frost is expected. They prefer to be in a dimly lit area that is away from direct sunshine (which is, if at all possible, somewhat humid). In October, you should water your plants only once a week. Instead of watering your plant once a week, reduce it to a light watering once every three weeks in October to encourage flowering during the holidays. For a few weeks, some people even cover their Christmas cacti to promote blooming.
How is a Christmas cactus cross-bred?
Growing seeds from your own plants is usually a lot of fun, and right now, during the winter, your Schlumbergera cacti, sometimes referred to as holiday, Christmas, or Thanksgiving cactus, may be in full bloom.
It’s the ideal time to have fun pollinating the flowers on your Schlumbergera cactus while they are all gorgeously flowering to see if you can get seeds. The process of pollinating the flowers is really simple, and I’ve included a few films I’ve created for my Cacti & Succulent You Tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon where I demonstrate the process in detail.
All you need is a Schlumbergera cactus that is in bloom, preferably with at least two flowers on it. In my personal experience, I have always found it more successful to cross pollinate the flowers on the same plant or if you have two different Schlumbergera that are flowering at the same time, for example, a red flowering one and a pink flowering one.
Although I have had wonderful luck pollinating Schlumbergera blossoms and have typically had seed when I have done so, I have discovered that many of my more recent Schlumbergera purchases have not been successful in producing fruit and seeds for me. I’ve heard that some of the more recent hybrids on the market are more difficult to pollinate for seed, but I don’t yet have enough proof to support that. Please let me know if you have had success pollinating the flowers on the more recent Schlumbergera hybrids that are currently available.
If you have only one flower, it is best to take the pollen from that flower and gently dab it onto the stigma of the other flower or flowers. If you have more than one flower, it is best to take the pollen from the one flower and gently dab it onto the stigma of the other flower or flowers. All you need to do is use a clean, tiny brush, such as a tiny paintbrush, lip brush, or q tip cotton bud, and load the pollen from the flower.
Here is a picture of one of my Schlumbergeras, Schlumbergera ‘Golden Charm,’ in bloom with the bright pink stigma hanging out. The stigma is the portion of the flower that hangs out almost like a tongue, hehe. Hopefully, this will demonstrate what the stigma looks like.
Here is a step-by-step video I prepared on how to pollinate Schlumbergera Christmas and Thanksgiving Cactus flowers for my cactus and succulent You Tube channel, Desert Plants of Avalon:
Simply dab the pollen from the one flower or flowers from one Schlumbergera cactus onto the other stigma on the other cactus flower if you wish to cross-pollinate two distinct flowering Schlumbergera cacti, such as a white one crossed with a red, pink, or orange one.
Here is a video I made on how to cross-pollinate Schlumbergera cactus blooms for my Desert Plants of Avalon You Tube channel:
If pollination was successful, the base of the flower where it emerges from the end of the leaf segment will start to swell up and turn a darker green color within a few days. If not, the blooms will naturally begin to droop and dry up before falling off ( see photo below )
The fruit may not fully mature for several weeks, months, or even a whole year. When the fruit is ready to be harvested for its seeds, the fruit pod will typically become very soft and frequently turn a dark crimson color, resembling a delicious tiny berry.
Here is a video I made on how to determine whether your Schlumbergera flowers have been pollinated for my Cacti & Succulent You Tube channel, Desert Plants of Avalon:
Here is a video I made on how to harvest Schlumbergera fruit to collect seeds for my Cacti & Succulent You Tube channel, Desert Plants of Avalon:
Once the seeds have been harvested, it is time to sow them. Growing these plants from seeds rather than cuttings takes much more time, but it is also far more enjoyable and fulfilling.
Cacti can be grown from seed in a variety of ways, but I prefer to grow my seeds in pots that are then put into “baggies.” This keeps the seeds and young seedlings moist at all times without having to worry about the soil drying up. Depending on their size, I remove them from the clear bags in around 3 to 6 months and treat them like young seedlings, ensuring sure the soil is always moist but not waterlogged.
All cacti seeds should be sown in the spring, but if you have grow lights and additional warmth, you can start sowing them at any time of the year.
Here is a video I prepared on how to grow cacti from seed for my cacti and succulent YouTube channel, Desert Plants of Avalon, which features Schlumbergera and other varieties of cacti:
Good luck pollinating your Schlumbergera cactus blossoms, and please let me know if you are successful in growing these stunning cacti from seed in the comments section below.
Here is a video I prepared for my Cacti & Succulent You Tube channel, Desert Plants of Avalon, detailing the progress of the Schlumbergera Christmas Cactus seedlings I started from seed in June 2018.
Happy Sowing and Growing Guys, and loads of love and plant power from around the Emerald Isle.