Gardening: Christmas Cactus
The Christmas Cactus makes a great holiday plant to admire during the Christmas season. Or should I say Thanksgiving season? That is just one of the mysteries of it. In reality, the Christmas Cactus can bloom anytime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The blooming period does create some controversy over it’s name. Which should it be called? Personally, I couldn’t care less. It is beautiful no matter when it decides to bloom!
The bloom period is influenced by the amount of uninterrupted darkness the plant is subject to. It’s blooming can be delayed by subjecting it to more light. Once the plant receives 12 to 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness each day, buds will begin to form. Their flowers are almost iridescent in shades of lavender, fuchsia, orange and red.
The Christmas Cactus really is a cactus without thorns. The plant is native to the South American rain forest. In Brazil, they grow from tree trunks and limbs alongside orchids and bromeliads, wherever rainwater drains away quickly.
Another positive- they are very tolerant of neglect. These cactus can go for weeks of abandonment and still reward you with beautiful blooms through the holiday season.
How to care for your Christmas Cactus:
- Keep them in a bright cool location.
- Keep the soil moist (not soggy).
- Do not fertilize until spring.
- Feed with water-soluble fertilizer each time you water.
You can place it in your garden once temperatures remain above freezing. Find a location where the plant is shaded in the afternoon. In October, move the Christmas cactus to a protected area where it will get 12 to 14 hours of darkness daily. Voila, you will have blooms galore come the holiday season.
Enjoy and ‘til next time,
Poppy
Thank you very much for that dazzling article
Thanks for the comment. Keep’m coming!
Poppy
Yeah, it’s true what you say about them being hardy little plants…I neglected to take care of mine for a couple of weeks but it still kept on going
Thanks for your comment Steve. Keep’em coming!
Hi Marvin,
nice informative site you provide – thanks for this. Especially liked the articles about composting and the tips about Christmas Cactus Care.
I never tried to plant the CC into my garden to keep it for the next season. Instead we put them into the coolest, shadiest part of our cellar. The results were mixed – some years we got nice blloms again, in other years we only got green leaves. Will try your tip this season.
Have a nice chrsitmas time
Santa
Ho Ho Ho
Thanks for your comment. The picture you see above was from last year. You should see it now! It had not bloomed yet when I wrote this post. A more appropriate name for it should be “Holiday Cactus” since it blooms between Thanksgiving and Christmas at my house. Supposedly, I could manipulate it to bloom a little closer to Christmas, but I’d rather it do its own thing.
Best of Christmas greetings to you and yours,
Poppy
Informative post. Christmas cactus is a good plant to grow.
Thanks for your comment Barb. I’ve grown the christmas cactus for years and find the blooms worth it every year.
Keep the comments comming. They are always welcome.
Poppy