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Christmas cactus
A little nurturing should be enough to get your Christmas cactus blooming in time for the holidays.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
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Colorful blooms
Whether they bloom closer to Thanksgiving or Christmas time, Christmas cactus are available in a variety of colors.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
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Amaryllis
Amaryllis bulbs make great holiday gifts that reward their caretakers with showy blooms. The right pot will help you make the most of this stunning plant.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
When it comes to Yuletide oddities, the Christmas cactus is among the quirkiest. True, its colorful, conical flowers can be festive additions to a year-end holiday setting, but all is not what it seems with this strange plant.
For starters, the Christmas cactus is not a typical cactus. It hails from the rainforests of South America, meaning full sun, desert sand and Gila monsters will not make it feel at home.
Christmas cactus isn’t hardy enough to withstand South Carolina winters outdoors but can be a dependable, year-round houseplant. True to its origins, this tropical plant is sensitive to full sunlight, so the best place for it is a room brightly lit with indirect natural light. In the late spring, it can vacation outdoors through the summer months in an area of light shade.
Christmas cactus prefers a quality, well-draining potting mix. Its container should normally be watered once a week or when the top quarter-inch of soil feels dry to the touch, but in the winter months, when the plant takes a break from growing, this chore can be extended to once every two to three weeks.
Being from the tropics, this succulent will appreciate humidity. The dry air inside a house can be partially offset by placing the plant’s pot on a tray of pebbles and water.
Nutrients, of course, energize a Christmas cactus, and a weak solution of liquid houseplant fertilizer added once a month will do the trick. However, this pretty plant wants to rest in the winter, so nix fertilizer applications during the coldest months.
While it is true Christmas cactus can be prodded to bloom in time for Santa’s visit, it involves providing 14 hours of continuous darkness in a cool (around 55 to 60 degrees F) area each night for six weeks, which, quite frankly, is more effort than I care to put into any plant! However, my Christmas cacti, without such extra fuss, are usually dependable bloomers every year, somewhere between October and January.
Here’s a little secret: The “Christmas cactus” often found in stores is usually Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) because Turkey Day is about when it flowers—which happens to coincide with the holiday shopping rush. It has pointed stem segments, as opposed to the true Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii), which has more rounded segments and blossoms later.
To maintain its flower power, a Christmas cactus should be repotted about every three years. Also, its flat, segmented stems can become long and lanky, but a springtime pruning will keep them in bounds and promote branching—thus, more blossoms.
Cuttings can be easily rooted in moist potting soil to produce even more Christmas cacti that might or might not be in bloom at Christmas. But, whenever their flowers pop out, they sure will be pretty!
In December’s garden
- Amaryllis bulbs are popular holiday gifts. If you get one that’s not yet blooming and you want to encourage a big show of flowers indoors this winter, the key is to crowd it. The space between the bulb and its pot’s edges should be no more than an inch. The heavier the pot, the less likely this tall beauty will tip over when it reaches its full blossoming height.
- Recycle cardboard tubes from Christmas wrapping paper by cutting them into 4-inch-long sections. Use them as collars on young annuals to prevent cutworm damage.
- Search your winter landscape for dried seed heads and pods that, with a little bit of seasonal paint, can become interesting additions to holiday arrangements.
- Had problems with leaf rollers in your cannas this year? Cut back any remaining leaves and stalks, and trash them. That is where dastardly rollers like to overwinter.
- Work off a few calories from all the holiday goodies by turning over the compost pile to keep the decomposition process going full speed ahead.
L.A. JACKSON is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.