We don’t have snow to mark our holiday season, but we have something else–Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera).
These eye-catching cactuses–with their orchid-like flowers and flat, jointed, scallop-edged leaves–light up the outdoors and indoors every Thanksgiving through early January.
Native to the jungles of Brazil, where they grow on trees, some Christmas cactuses make good hanging-basket plants, while others are upright growers. You can find them in bloom now at nurseries, home-and-garden centers and through mail-order.
Though you often see Christmas cactus with purple-red flowers, they also come in a variety of other colors, such as yellow, peach, red, pink, lavender and white, says Jerry Williams. He’s a horticulturist for Rainbow Gardens, a Vista mail-order and retail company that specializes in flowering jungle cactuses and carries a variety of Christmas cactuses.
“Some favorite Christmas cactuses include ‘Gold Charm,’ that can be grown upright or in a hanging basket,” Williams says. This has pale yellow, long tubular flowers.Other popular types include the upright grower Aspen with its white frilly flowers and pink centers and ‘Peach Parfait,’ a hanging type that has peach flowers and yellow centers.
If you keep a few growing tips in mind, a Christmas cactus will provide reliable, profuse blooms every holiday season.
* Place Christmas cactuses in an area of the garden where they will receive filtered sun. During hot months, put them in the coolest area of the garden, such as under trees or shrubs.
* Indoor-grown Christmas cactuses should be placed in the coolest room of the house. Buds will drop if the room is too warm. Keep plants away from heating and air-conditioning ducts.
* For flower buds to form, the plants must receive 10 to 12 hours of darkness per day beginning at the end of September. Make sure that outdoor plants aren’t exposed to street lights at night, which can affect bud formation. Place indoor plants in a room where you usually don’t turn on the lights at night. A room with an eastern exposure is best.
* Water when the plant is barely damp. Williams suggests testing the soil with a bamboo barbecue skewer. If it comes out dry, it’s time to water. If it’s wet, wait another day or so and test again.
* Fertilize every other watering with a half-strength solution of a liquid fertilizer, such as a 10-10-5. Don’t fertilize during their dormant period from mid-September through mid-February.
* To keep a plant growing upright, prune in February by twisting two or three joints off each stem, which will cause the plant to branch out at each joint and become shrubbier. (Don’t do this until the plant is two or three years old.) Hanging plants don’t usually require pruning.
* Repot only when a plant has become root-bound and there are roots coming out of the bottom of the pot or the water rushes through when you water. Plant in a damp mixture of 60% peat moss and 40% perlite in a pot that is 2 inches bigger. Stimulate new growth by cutting a quarter inch to a half inch off the roots. Wait two or three days to water.
* Watch for pests, such as scale, mealybugs, aphids and cabbage worms. Treat worms with bacillus thuringiensis and other pests with soap spray.
For Rainbow Gardens’ full-color catalog ($2), call (760) 758-4290.
