Sunday, December 12, 2010

Crop Review 2010 – Christmas Cactus

 

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I received some Christmas Cacti as gifts years ago; but the variety I have aren’t aware that they should bloom during Christmas.  I don’t know much about them so I’m sure I’m responsible for the blooms starting after the new year and into the spring.  They’re still worth mentioning as a reference here.

  • ease to grow – These plants are moderately easy to grow.  Keep the soil evenly moist making sure not to overwater or you may kill it outright.  I’ve killed a few.  I keep the ones that survived in the kitchen window.  If they fail to grow, they are easy to replace.
  • pest & disease resistance – No pests nor diseases have been noticed.
  • appearance  - They are a weird looking plant but the flowers can be spectacular.  Hot house plants look way better than my kitchen window sample.
  • production – I did read that keeping these plants pot bound is best but I may transplant and prune the ones I have to see if I can plump them up a bit.
  • scent - I haven’t noticed any scent with this variety.

Christmas Cactus only receives 3 out of 5 blossoms.  They can be fussy about water, light, and temperature.  They will get scraggly.  A minor issue is lack of blossom scent ( no point off).

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your Christmas cactus looks good. My great aunt always had one on the landing of the stairs. It was always FULL of blooms at Christmas. My second cousin still has it and it has been fussy. Good luck with yours. Sincerely, Emily

Glennis said...

Forgot to get mine this year!! I know you're supposed to be able to keep them year to year,but I never can.