Hello!! Help! My grandmother keeps bugging the living
day lights out of me about when her christmas cactus
will bloom.... Dag!!! What is the trick???!!!???
Anji
__________________________________________________
Anji,
Christmas cactus start blooming after reacting to shorter days and colder
temperatures. The reason they often bloom at Christmas time when you first
purchase them is because they're kept in cold, dark conditions to induce
flowering at the nursery.
You can mimic this at home (move plant to a garage, cover it etc.) but it
really should be done in October for blooms at Christmas. When I don't
bother (which is most years), mine blooms in about February.
Arzeena
-----------------------------
Terra Viva Organics
Organic seed, predatory insects
& natural fertilizers
www.tvorganics.com
---------------------------
Mine spend the summer outside on the porch with all the other houseplants. About the beginning of October, I bring them all in and its not long after that buds set and the cactus starts blooming - usually closer to Thanksgiving than Christmas, though. It never fails. They are just finishing up now. With luck I get a rebloom in February or March. BTW, my clivia has a big set of buds on
it as well. Now this one may indeed bloom for Christmas!
Pam - gardengal
I believe some Christmas cactus do flower closer to Thanksgiving while
others are spring bloomers. Some sort of stress (not watering etc) seems to
also help the plant set flower buds. I guess the plant thinks its time is up
and it needs to reproduce before its a gonner.
Arzeena
-----------------------------
Terra Viva Organics
Organic seed, predatory insects
& natural fertilizers
www.tvorganics.com
---------------------------
Hi Anji and Arzeena
The other year I put them in a spare, unheated bedroom for about 6 weeks and
then they bloomed when I put them in the living room. This year they've
been in the living room the whole time and are now blooming. I've had them
outside in the summer some years and they've bloomed at different times once
they've been brought in. One year they didn't bloom until February. Go
figure.
Penny
> arzeena@TVORGANICS.COM 12/19/00 01:17AM >>>
Anji,
Christmas cactus start blooming after reacting to shorter days and colder
temperatures. The reason they often bloom at Christmas time when you first
purchase them is because they're kept in cold, dark conditions to induce
flowering at the nursery.
You can mimic this at home (move plant to a garage, cover it etc.) but it
really should be done in October for blooms at Christmas. When I don't
bother (which is most years), mine blooms in about February.
Arzeena
-----------------------------
Terra Viva Organics
Organic seed, predatory insects
& natural fertilizers
www.tvorganics.com
---------------------------
Hi Anji and Arzeena
The other year I put them in a spare, unheated bedroom for about 6 weeks =
and then they bloomed when I put them in the living room. This year =
they've been in the living room the whole time and are now blooming. I've =
had them outside in the summer some years and they've bloomed at different =
times once they've been brought in. One year they didn't bloom until =
February. Go figure.
Penny
> arzeena@TVORGANICS.COM 12/19/00 01:17AM >>>
Anji,
Christmas cactus start blooming after reacting to shorter days and colder
temperatures. The reason they often bloom at Christmas time when you first
purchase them is because they're kept in cold, dark conditions to induce
flowering at the nursery.
You can mimic this at home (move plant to a garage, cover it etc.) but it
really should be done in October for blooms at Christmas. When I don't
bother (which is most years), mine blooms in about February.
Arzeena
-----------------------------
Terra Viva Organics
Organic seed, predatory insects
& natural fertilizers
www.tvorganics.com
---------------------------
Could be Arzeena though this year I'd guess they've been watered more =
faithfully than others.
Penny
> arzeena@TVORGANICS.COM 12/19/00 01:21PM >>>
I believe some Christmas cactus do flower closer to Thanksgiving while
others are spring bloomers. Some sort of stress (not watering etc) seems =
to
also help the plant set flower buds. I guess the plant thinks its time is =
up
and it needs to reproduce before its a gonner.
Arzeena
-----------------------------
Terra Viva Organics
Organic seed, predatory insects
& natural fertilizers
www.tvorganics.com
---------------------------
Hi Anji and Arzeena
The other year I put them in a spare, unheated bedroom for about 6 weeks =
and
then they bloomed when I put them in the living room. This year they've
been in the living room the whole time and are now blooming. I've had =
them
outside in the summer some years and they've bloomed at different times =
once
they've been brought in. One year they didn't bloom until February. Go
figure.
Penny
> arzeena@TVORGANICS.COM 12/19/00 01:17AM >>>
Anji,
Christmas cactus start blooming after reacting to shorter days and colder
temperatures. The reason they often bloom at Christmas time when you first
purchase them is because they're kept in cold, dark conditions to induce
flowering at the nursery.
You can mimic this at home (move plant to a garage, cover it etc.) but it
really should be done in October for blooms at Christmas. When I don't
bother (which is most years), mine blooms in about February.
Arzeena
-----------------------------
Terra Viva Organics
Organic seed, predatory insects
& natural fertilizers
www.tvorganics.com
---------------------------
One year I had one bloom on just one side. Very odd looking. It had spent
summe and early fall out on the screened porch. Turned out, after a little
thought, I realized it had been getting light at night on one side only
through the living room window. No flowers on that side!
Barbara Martin
Now at The Cottage Garden "The Ice Garden Cometh"
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/cottage_gardening
Active Co-Owner, Gardens List http://www.blueriver.net/~dorsett/notes.html
Regional Horticulturist, National Gardening Association
NEW! "Enjoying Snow"
http://www.garden.org/regionalreports/inmygarden.taf?report=644
to
> also help the plant set flower buds. I guess the plant thinks its time is
up
and
> then they bloomed when I put them in the living room. This year they've
> been in the living room the whole time and are now blooming. I've had
them
> outside in the summer some years and they've bloomed at different times
once
I came home to find that two of my Christmas cactus are blooming. I
never do anything special to them and they just bloom every year around
this time. I have another one that blooms around Thanksgiving, but this
year it started blooming the end of October.
Karen in zone 5b/6-----Pittsburgh, PA
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
Karen,
I have a Christmas cactus that faithfully blooms every year without any
special efforts on my part. It was my mothers and when she died 23 years
ago I brought it home and have had it every since with nary a year without
blooms. I think the next time I go to Pensacola to visit my gardening
cousins I will bring them each a piece as they have given me many passalong
plants.
Jackie
Iowa
Karen Barker wrote:
Winter might be a nice time to visit them, although I don't know what the
temps are in Pensacola.
Karen in zone 5b/6-----Pittsburgh, PA
On Wed, 20 Dec 2000 17:43:25 -0600 Jackie Wellborn
writes:
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
In my experience they do like to be somewhat root bound, but I do repot usually every 5-6 years, simply because they overgrow the pot and the pot starts tipping over! I will also periodically do a heavy prune and start new plants from the prunings.
Christmas Cacti will drop their buds if they are moved...you didn't by chance move your cactus after it started producing buds did you? I'll buy them in the store with buds on so that I can tell the colour, but am always prepared to see it drop the buds once I bring them home.
I also fertilize mine at some point during the summer to strengthen them up and then again once they've formed buds.
Brenda
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2005 6:39 am
Subject: Re: OT: Health Care wasRE: Generic Drugs
****************************************
He that plants trees loves others besides himself.
~~Thomas Fuller
****************************************
Forgot to mention that you can actually buy a Christmas cactus mix, but I just use a regular good quality potting soil for mine.
Brenda
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2005 7:58 am
Subject: christmas cacti
****************************************
He that plants trees loves others besides himself.
~~Thomas Fuller
****************************************
