A member of Zygo-Cactus family, the Christmas cactus makes a beautiful decoration for the home.
Native to South American jungles, the cacti flowers bloom once a year?in winter?in different attractive colors such as fuchsia, salmon pink, yellow, and white. Sometimes, the flowers have a combination of such colors.
Christmas cactus plant makes a perfect Christmas decoration especially for hanging baskets. It has densely branching pendant stems characteristically segmented in 1.5 inches long and half of an inch wide. True cacti, another of its names, come with a prominent midrib. The plant has minuscule areoles that bear tiny bristles. These bristles are found in notches along the edges of the segments. The bigger and elongated areoles at the tip of the segment are where the flowers emerge.The flowers are not symmetrical in shape. Rather, they have left and right halves similar to pea flowers or snapdragons. Each bloom, which lasts for a few days, has an inch in diameter and 1.5 inches to 3 inches long.While these plants are called cacti, they are truly different from the common cactus in all aspects. This cactus plant is also known as orchid cactus because they are found in the same environments as orchids thrive.
They inhabit the forks of tree limbs where they grow in decayed leaves and other debris that naturally accumulates there. Orchid cactus are a tropical plant, hence, their cultural requirements are different from a real cacti plant.
Christmas cactus plant should not have direct sunlight exposure.
It is ideal to place this plant in an area where there is medium light in the morning and afternoon. In September and October, the orchid cactus should be kept in a cool room where the temperatures do not drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Flowers usually bloom in December when it is less exposed to the sun due to winter?s shorter days.It can also be induced to flower when kept inside a dark room. Ensure though that there is no light turned on inside the room.
Another option is to cover the budding plant with black plastic sheets at least 16 hours a day, and expose them to sunlight for 8 hours only.
As soon as the orchid cactus start budding, it is advisable not to keep them in areas where there are lights in the evening.
Especially during the flowering season should the cactus plant need regular watering. However, it is important to note never to let the pots stand in water.
Suffice it is to mist the cactus plant. After the flowering season, though, the watering sessions must reduce.
It is sufficient that the potting mixture is moistened, and its top portion is dried out before watering the cactus again. Abundant watering is resumed whenever there is a new stem growing. Sometimes, there is a need for the plant to be humidified through mist-spray.
During the flowering season and active growth, Christmas cactus needs food plants. Apply a potassium-rich, slow-release fertilizer once a month, throughout the year, to encourage flowering.
Repotting is required once a year after the plant completed a flowering season.
Propagating Christmas cactus is very easy. It only needs cuttings at any given time. Simply remove a portion of a stem having two or three joined segments.
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