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.
Does the Christmas cactus require pollination?
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.
How are Christmas cactus seeds obtained?
My cactus is currently in bloom. What will happen to this fruit from last year going forward? The wilted blossom is still attached, as you can see.
Your instinct was right—there are seeds within. According to one source, you should snip the thin end of mature (bright pink) pods, squeeze the pulp into some sand in your palm, then rub the seeds about to separate them (seeds should be chocolate brown to black). In small pots, scatter over moist soil mixture (1 part perlite to 3 parts peat). Keep moist and shaded. It takes seeds about a week to grow.
Can a Christmas cactus be started from a cutting?
Christmas cacti are relatively simple to grow from seed. Cut segments of one to four and leave them to dry out for two to four days in a cool, dry location. Plant a sand/peat mixture an inch deep in fresh soil. Prior to the development of roots or new growth, water sparingly.
Do eggshells work well with Christmas cacti?
Definitely. In order to flourish, plants require calcium just as much as they do phosphate and nitrogen. Additionally, using eggshells as fertilizer is a great way to feed your succulents and cacti calcium carbonate. You might want to retain those leftover eggshells rather than putting them in the garbage if you have a thing for these plants.
Plants require a small amount of calcium carbonate to maintain healthy cell walls and membranes, just like humans need calcium to maintain healthy muscles and bones.
Calcium so encourages growth when new cells are being formed. Additionally, calcium is crucial for supporting the formation of pollen tubes and roots.
Additionally real, calcium deficit in plants can be detected while new leaves are forming. The leaves could be malformed, and the tips could be gooey. A shortage of calcium can also result in the roots turning black, which can eventually kill the plant.
Can a cactus be pollinated by its own pollen?
Because cactus blossoms don’t persist long, wind or insect pollination is more challenging. Cacti are unable to produce fruits and seeds without pollination. When you self-pollinate cacti, you have complete control over the outcome, whether you’re aiming to develop a novel hybrid or develop a particular cactus variety. Hand pollination is the only way to guarantee that the two types you are attempting to cross pollinate, as hybrid pollination does not always result in the production of viable seeds.
Once flowers start to develop, put your two cactus plants next to one another. You can try to create a hybrid with the same type of cactus or with two different types by crossing them. Choose which plants you want to pollinate if the cacti are outside. Although more pollen can be transferred when the plants are close to one another, this is not necessary.
To get ready, soak your brushes in rubbing alcohol to get rid of any filth or bacteria, then let them air dry.
Check your flowers every day for pollen. The stamens, which are frequently fluffy threads encircling the part of the flower where the stigma are located, are where pollen grows. The flower’s petals show a thin dusting of pollen.
The second cactus flower’s stigma should be painted with pollen. The stigma, which resembles tiny fingers in appearance, are thicker than the stamens. In order to help them capture the pollen, the tops are typically slightly open and sticky. Wait another day before attempting to pollinate if the stigma tops are not yet open to give them time to do so.
Wait for the brush to dry after cleaning it. The second cactus bloom should be used to complete the process, with the pollen being applied to the stigma of the first cactus after dusting the stamens for pollen.
Nylon stockings should be placed over both cacti to stop pollination by other cactus plants. Only if you want to try and influence the kind of seed the plants produce is this important. If your primary objective is to induce the cactus to produce fruit or seeds, keep the plants exposed to attract insects and wind, which will aid in additional pollination.
Cacti are they self-fertile?
There is no need for even two blossoms if a species is self-fertile. Some plants may self-pollinate on their own without any help, while others require an intermediary to move pollen from the anthers to the stigma. For instance, even if only one flower opens at a time, my Echinopsis ancistrophora always sets seed when it blooms outdoors because hover flies visit it. When I took it indoors to bloom, it occasionally failed to produce pollen (and the flowers lasted longer).
How are cactus plants bred?
Probably the most frequent and straightforward method of propagation is stem cuttings. Stem cuttings are an effective method for multiplying many cacti. Stem cuttings from an existing plant are removed, then left to calluse and dry out. Eventually, the cuttings will begin to take root from the cut end and grow into a new plant.
Some cacti that are frequently multiplied via stem cuttings include:
- Prickly pears or opuntia
- Collapsed cactus
- Globular and pincushion cacti
What does it mean to be an open pollinated cactus?
All heritage plant varieties as well as non-hybrid plant varieties that are not old enough to be considered heirlooms are considered open-pollinated, or standard plants. Before the invention of modern hybrids in the early 1900s, humans only grew open-pollinated plants. The word “open-pollinated” refers to seed development that has not been significantly influenced by humans. They must not be planted close together in order to retain separate kinds for seed production because insects or wind can pollinate blossoms (this is natural hybridization).
Pollination can sometimes take place inside the closed flowers of open-pollinated plants like peas, beans, lettuce, and tomatoes. Self-pollination is used here; wind or bees are not used. Occasionally, a rare bee might breach the blossom and transfer pollen to a different flower.
An heirloom is an open-pollinated cultivar that has been passed down via a family or has been grown in a specific location for at least 50 years and is true to seed. As an illustration, great-grandpa may have given it to grandma, who then gave it to your aunt, who then gave it to you. These open-pollinated types will maintain their characteristics from generation to generation if we cultivate them.
Deliberate hybrid types only generate homogeneous, typically vigorous plants for one growing season; seeds stored and cultivated from the hybrid generation are genetically unstable, therefore planting seed obtained from hybrid plants will create a wide range of unique and unexpected results.
Even while modern hybrid plants have a wider range of disease resistances than heirloom and other open-pollinated plants, their fruit may be less uniform and their yield may be lower, many people contend that heirloom plants have better flavor than hybrids. However, taste is very subjective; I have tried both poor open-pollinated tomatoes and excellent hybrid tomatoes, as well as the opposite. Indeed, heirlooms come in a staggering array of colors, sizes, and flavors.
Thousands of open-pollinated seed variants once numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Many of them disappeared over time. Three enormous agricultural chemical companies—DowDuPont, Bayer-Monsanto, and Syngenta-ChemChina—have taken control of 60% of the global seed market since 2000, and they are quickly acquiring smaller seed firms. These large firms are establishing seed monopolies in nations like India. Many beloved vintage heirlooms with distinctive genetic traits have since vanished from the market. But there has been some hope in recent years. I have witnessed the establishment of numerous small, independent seed businesses that market heirloom and open-pollinated seed varieties. Planting and preserving open-pollinated seeds helps preserve some genetic variety and human history.
Open-pollinated seeds typically cost less than hybrid seeds. Hybrid seed costs have been reported to reach 50 cents. It takes many years to develop a hybrid, and tens of thousands of test crossings are performed along the way. The hybrid’s creator is attempting to return his money. You can actually cultivate seeds from the majority of hybrids (aside from sterile ones), create a mishmash of different plants, carefully weed out undesirable varieties, and in six to eight generations you will have your own open-pollinated, stable variation. It might be referred to as an heirloom cultivar in fifty years.
What kind of seeds ought to be planted? There are benefits and drawbacks to each variety. Both hybrid and open-pollinated seeds are planted by me, but I do extensive study before buying. Each person uses different standards to select a certain kind.