It’s likely that you have heard of the Christmas cactus, but did you realize that there
When should I illuminate my Christmas cactus?
Place the mature plant in a dark room or keep it covered (under a box or bag works good) for at least 12 hours each day in late September or early October.
How long should I let my Thanksgiving cactus go without water?
The collection of plants known as “Holiday Cactus” acquire their names from their capacity (with a little help) to bloom during holiday seasons, making them a popular gift to brighten the darker months. Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii), and Easter Cactus (Hatiora gaertneri), all of which come in a variety of hybrids and shades, are the most well-liked varieties.
These plants are simple to grow and are frequently inherited from previous generations.
My mother, who received it from her mother, gave it to me as my first one. The trick to growing holiday cacti is getting them to bloom, not how to grow them. Your plants can bloom in time for the holidays with a little additional care during the fall months.
About Holiday Cactus
the title “The word “cactus” is a little deceptive because these plants have nothing to do with the familiar, meaty, spiny cacti. Rather, they are “They are called epiphytes because they live in the high branches of rainforest trees, where they obtain their nutrition from pockets of decomposing plant waste and adjust to the water shortages caused by the rain’s rapid evaporation.
Many bromeliads and orchids are epiphytes as well. These plants can survive as houseplants in temperate climates thanks to their growth pattern, which makes them better adapted to the slightly drier conditions and filtered sunshine of the tropical tree canopy.
Holiday cactus blossoms are available in a variety of hues, including white, pink, red, purple, and salmon-orange. Older plants will have long, arched stems that make them ideal for plant stands or hanging baskets.
Holiday Cactus Grower’s Calendar
Don’t let the word intimidate you “calendar, as these plants in fact benefit from mild neglect. They can even be stored away in a cool spare room and require very little in the way of nutrients and occasional watering. However, following these monthly suggestions will ensure that your plant grows and blooms as needed.
January: If you were given a holiday cactus, you have a free hand to start the month. After blooming, give your plant about a month to rest. Water it sparingly until it begins to grow, and keep it in a cool area with indirect light.
February: You can repot your holiday cactus if necessary from now until April. Try to avoid the desire unless you think the plant is suffering from bad soil because they like to be root-bound.
March: You can pinch or trim your plant as new growth starts. You can plant these cuttings to grow additional plants!
The growing season for the plant lasts from April to September. You can give it an all-purpose plant food with a 1-1-1 ratio every few weeks if you’d like. Move it outside, but do it in a cool, shaded area. Water simply enough to wet the root ball when the top inch of soil feels dry (no more than once per week). Never soak the plant more than once, and never let water sit in the drainage tray.
The crucial period between September and October is when you can be sure that your holiday cactus will bloom. Put your holiday cactus in a cold room starting in September (preferably about 50 F), with indirect bright light for 10–12 hours, followed by complete darkness for 12–14 hours.” Absolute blackness entails neither natural nor artificial light. To do this, you can simply move your plants in and out of a dark closet or cover them with a thick piece of fabric. Just be careful the plant doesn’t get damaged by the cover. To ensure the development of flower buds, they will require these circumstances for 6–8 weeks. Stop fertilizing, and water the soil only enough to keep it slightly damp (once every couple of weeks).
November–December: Once your plant has an abundance of bloom buds, you can stop the light–dark cycle and leave it outside to enjoy. Restart light watering. The blooms will remain longer in a colder environment!
Holiday Cactus Tips
Keep these plants away from frigid conditions! Although they enjoy milder weather, they are still tropical plants and cannot endure freezing temperatures.
Your holiday cactus should never be placed close to a heat register, external door, or drafty window. It should also be kept away from direct sunlight.
Cuttings are an easy way to multiply holiday cacti. Pinch off a stem portion with two to three jointed parts. The cuttings should be placed in a tiny pot with the same planting mix as the adult plant after drying for a few hours. The cuttings will root and flourish in a few weeks if you treat them exactly like an adult plant.
Avoid the temptation of continually repotting into larger pots. Repotting the holiday cactus every two to three years (even back into the same pot) is sufficient because it like to remain root-bound. Use sterile, well-draining potting soil when repotting, like what is sold for bromeliads, orchids, or African violets.
Do you leave a Christmas cactus outside at night?
Flowers are produced by Christmas cacti during a chilly, brief day cycle. It takes at least eight days of 16 hours of darkness and 8 hours of light every day for flower buds to begin to form. No matter where the plant is located, avoid using the lights at night, even for a little time.
Do Thanksgiving cacti require lighting?
Temperature & Light: The festive cacti thrive in bright shade. In the fall and winter, full sunshine is advantageous, but in the summer, intense sunlight can cause plants to seem pale and yellow. In the growing season from April to September, temperatures between 70 and 80 F are ideal for spring and summer growth. The Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti need on shorter (8 to 10 hour) days and cooler temperatures in the fall to develop their flower buds. Once the flower buds are set in the fall, do not allow the temperature to reach above 90 F. The loss of flower buds can be a result of persistently warm conditions. In the event that it gets below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, do not leave these cactus outside.
Temperature control and photoperiod (control of the duration of the day and night) control are key factors in successful flower bud formation in the fall. The plants require the following for the initiation of flower buds:
- dazzling light
- long evenings Before flower buds to set, there must be at least 14 hours per day of nonstop darkness. For a full bud set, long nights should begin around the middle of September and last for at least six weeks. Be aware that even two hours of intermittent lighting can prevent flower buds from setting. In 3 to 4 weeks, buds will often start to appear. Once the buds are set, the photoperiod has little impact on flowering.
- For optimal flower production, fall growth temperatures should be kept between 60 and 68 oF, ideally as close to 68 oF as feasible. Regardless of the length of the day, plants cultivated with night temperatures between 50 and 59 oF will produce flower buds, however growth will be slower and bud drop may happen at this temperature.
- Early in June, prune the stems to encourage branching and additional flower terminals.
- At the end of September, pinching—also known as leveling—is done to cut off any terminal phylloclades that are less than 1 cm (0.4 inch) and to roughly equalize the length of all stems. These young, immature stem segments won’t begin blossom buds until they are fully developed. A flower bud develops on the earlier, more developed stem segment following the removal of a brief phylloclade.
Fertilizer and Watering: Water the growing media until it feels completely dry to the touch. The spring and summer months can be dry and mildly underwatered for the holiday cacti. Avoid letting the soil become soggy, especially during the gloomy winter months, but also avoid letting it fully dry up. To avoid flower bud abscission, the growing medium must be kept consistently moist after bud set in the fall. In the saucer underneath the pot, never let water stand.
Use a half strength soluble fertilizer, such as a 20-10-20 or 20-20-20 with trace elements, to fertilize plants every month beginning when new growth begins in late winter or early spring and continuing through the summer. Compared to many plants, holiday cacti have a greater magnesium need. During the growing season, fertilize once a month with Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) blended at 1 teaspoon per gallon of water, but avoid applying the fertilizer the same week. Stop fertilizing in the late summer to increase the formation of bloom buds in the fall.
The Christmas cacti flower best when kept fairly pot-bound, according to the growing medium. Repotting is best done in the spring and is only required about once every three years. These epiphytic cacti do not grow well in heavy, wet potting mixes, thus the potting medium needs to be well-drained and well-aerated. A excellent mixture can have 60–80% potting soil and 40–20% perlite. Pick a potting soil that is pH balanced and of good quality.
Where should a Thanksgiving cactus be placed?
Light. Thanksgiving cactus thrives in mild indirect light in the spring and summer. Move it to a brighter area before it blooms in the fall, but keep it out of direct sunlight. The ideal location will provide bright, indirect light.