Thanks Kathy- you just taught this old gardener someone new !!! My
cactus is blooming well now so I will look for the Christmas variety
also.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving !!!
In My Garden Blog
November 20, 2008
New England
By
Kathy Bond Borie,
Richmond, Vermont
This Thanksgiving cactus is blooming right on time.
Holiday Cactus
I used to think that my "Christmas" cactus, which blooms at Thanksgiving every year, was just impatient. That is, until I learned that there are two distinct, yet related, species.
Both Thankgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) and Christmas cactus (S. russelliana) respond to the shortening days of autumn by setting buds in preparation for a holiday show of flowers. Thanksgiving cactus just responds about a month sooner. To tell them apart, examine the leaf pads: S. truncata has fleshy spikes on the sides of the stem segments, while on S. russelliana the segments are gently lobed. Get one of each and enjoy flowers during both holiday seasons!
What Makes a Cactus a Cactus?
Although these plants are true cacti, they do not hail from the desert, but rather are native to the Brazilian rainforest. So what, exactly, makes a cactus a cactus? As is often the case in plant classifications, it's all about the flowers. According to an article by Mark Dimmitt, Director of Natural History at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum:
"Most people think they know a cactus when they see one, but they are often mistaken. All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. Agaves... and aloes are among the swollen or spiny plants often mistaken for cacti. However, the term cactus refers to a particular family of plants defined by a distinctive flower pattern. To be a cactus, the plant must produce flowers with the following characteristics: many tepals (combined sepals and petals) that intergrade with each other; many stamens (usually hundreds), and numerous stigma lobes (rarely only three). If a plant lacks such a flower, it cannot be a cactus."
Caring for a Holiday Cactus
As is usually the case, the native habitat of a holiday cactus gives clues to its care. Schlumbergera are found high in the canopy of rainforest trees, where they root in plant debris caught in the tree branches. Provide the plants with rich, organic soil. Similarly, because in their native habitat the plants are shaded by the high canopy, give your holiday cactus bright light but little direct sun. Keep soil slightly moist, neither saturated nor bone dry.
Encouraging Blooms
My cactus blooms on schedule with no prompting from me, but there are steps you can take to help the process. I usually keep the plant outdoors on the porch until temperatures drop into the 40s at night because cool nights help stimulate the formation of flower buds. If your plant lives indoors year-round, you may need to treat it more like a poinsettia and provide it with total darkness every night for at least three weeks in September to early October to encourage bud set.
Propagation
Holiday cacti are ridiculously easy to propagate: In spring or summer, break off a section of stem containing 2 to 4 segments, let it sit for a day or so, then stick the cut end about a half inch into a pot of moist sand, vermiculite, or potting soil. Roots should form in about a month.
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Comments on Holiday Cactus
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We welcome your questions and comments about this column. If you have gardening questions unrelated to the column, please ask them on our message boards.
arlene
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Marina
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I have a Christmas Cactus(thanks to your artical I know what kind it
is!)Should it have buds by now?
Thanks!
Laurence
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I didn't know I had a non-denominational "holiday" cactus, how
politically appropriate...and all this time I thought I had a
Christmas cactus! Well...then I learn it's a Thanksgiving
cactus...after all. thanks for the lesson. Now please come and
design a 20x10 foot side garden for me :)
Kathy Bond Borie
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Arlene,
Your Thanksgiving cactus may continue to bloom until Christmas
because new buds open over a period of weeks. If only a Christmas
cactus would bloom until Easter and an Easter cactus would bloom
until the bulbs pop up outdoors!
Kathy Bond Borie
Marina,
One of my Christmas cacti has a few tiny buds, the other one has no
buds yet. Another tip for encouraging buds is to put the plant in a
cool room for a few weeks until buds begin to show. Good luck!