X-mas cactus???????

[orchidea]

Well, it's not X-mas yet. Actually it's 90F almost every day, and this thing is standing on the direct sun for most of the day......

[otis 226]

Spectacular! Thanks for posting. What you've got there is a July 4th cactus

I actually have some of these guys and though mine prefer to bloom in winter, its usually no where near Christmas! So they do have a mind of their own...and I know they have Thanksgiving cacti, Easter cacti, ect.
Good Growing,
Tony

[PhalNewbie89]

My mom has one of these and she isn't doing well with it. maybe I will tell her it needs more light. Yoursd looks amazing.

[tangers40]

that's actually an "easter" cactus, you can tell by the shape of the leaves and blooms. that may explain why it's blooming so late in the year.

[tangers40]

Originally Posted by PhalNewbie89

My mom has one of these and she isn't doing well with it. maybe I will tell her it needs more light. Yoursd looks amazing.

make sure you tell her to NOT treat it like a typical cactus. they like lots of light, WATER, and fertilizer. they're actually a tropical plant. i stress the water. i water mine fairly well once a week.

[orchids4me]

I have x-mas cactus and the leaves are long flat look like antlers dangling from the weight. Yours is beautiful though. easter cactus huh . Guss they got one for every holiday

[tangers40]

well if it wasn't so dark here, i'd get some pics of my plants. i have 5 Schlumbergera truncata ("thanksgiving" cactus) and one Rhipsalidopsis gaetneri ("easter" cactus), which is what orchidea has. there's also Schlumbergera bridgesii ("christmas" cactus) which is very similar to the "thanskgiving" variety.

probably 95% of the plants you see for sale in big box stores and nurseries around the winter holidays are S. truncata.

[plantloverlisa]

They sure are pretty, do they all like the same amount of water?

[NiNiDazzle]

Wow, that is a gorgeous cactus. Is it prickly? Something like that would be great for my driveway column if it doesn't poke. We have kids playing outside and riding their bikes, etc.

It would be in Texas direct sun all day. hmmm...

[Reg22]

Originally Posted by plantloverlisa

They sure are pretty, do they all like the same amount of water?

I would like to know too. I have two Christmas cacti. I don't water them very much, but they do bloom around December/January. I wonder if they would be happier with more water, since they look pretty miserable most of the time ?

[orchidea]

I water mine pretty regular....more than normal cactus. They survived my neglect few times over the years without being watered for a long time, but they are happier being watered. That is just my observation. I didn't know they can stand direct sun though. I was surprised to see it blooming insted of being dead....
They are harmless, not prickly at all, but rather very soft.....

[E-Jag]

As noted, these aren't true cactus and do like to be watered regularly. They obviously can survive direct sun but prefer bright, indirect light - think cattleya light. There is also something called an orchid cactus (?) which look like one of these but with larger blooms. I'm fairly sure Fred posted pictures of his a year or two ago. They are real show stoppers.

[Amblnc38]

I don't suppose you be interested in swapping some cuttings?



I've never seen anything like that...and my ancient Schlumbergera truncata got blown over early spring and I have all kinds of them in pots now. *snickers* Mine gets full VA Beach sun and is growing like a weed!

That plant is gorgeous!