Any Schlumbergera spp. fanatics here?

[DaveW]

The powers that be condemn irresponsible amateurs, and I personally would hang, draw and quarter casual hybridisers for polluting the gene pool of our plants, but I was shocked when I read in Wikipedia of this irresponsible act by the authorities in Brazil:-

"The native status of S. truncata has become confused because European cultivars were deliberately introduced into some areas, including the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, by the Brazilian Agricultural Department, to compensate for over-collecting of wild plants."

[Carl]

The powers that be condemn irresponsible amateurs, and I personally would hang, draw and quarter casual hybridisers for polluting the gene pool of our plants, but I was shocked when I read in Wikipedia of this irresponsible act by the authorities in Brazil:-

"The native status of S. truncata has become confused because European cultivars were deliberately introduced into some areas, including the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, by the Brazilian Agricultural Department, to compensate for over-collecting of wild plants."

This was covered in the book previously mentioned the Brazilian authorities in the 1960's? requested plant material from a number of UK nurseries and much was sent without nurseryman realising (if they say so....) that they were to be planted back into the wild.

Sent on the go from my telephone

[Paul in Essex]

As a slight aside, I acquired a no-name Schlumbergera hybrid last year and, in the name of science, tucked it into the leaf debris in the crotch of an old yew tree I have. It looks absolutely as fresh as a daisy still with absolutely no sign of any cold damage at all. Admittedly my low last winter was a mild -3C, and the plant would have been sheltered from direct frost by the yew canopy - nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised!

[DaveW]

David Hunt made the same point to me Carl, that the material the Brazilians used for reintroduction came from UK nurseries, who as we all know are unlikely to have any documented authentic material anyway. However for any conservation project you would think responsible authorities would propagate the plant themselves from authentic collected material from that area. Even using material from other areas introduces foreign genes to that population which did not occur there before.

[DaveW]

An update on S. microsphericus that came from Ralph as a rooted two joint plant where I rotted the bottom joint with roots but rescued the single remaining top joint. When it rotted I threw the nipped off top joint into an old seed pan under the staging as being beyond hope, where over winter in my unheated greenhouse it rooted.

I now find unlike most Schlumbergera's it comes from a higher altitude on the same mountain as S. opuntioides. But whilst S. opuntioides grows in the warmer humid forest lower down, S. microspherica grows towards the top of the mountain above the tree line terrestrially and evidently in cooler conditions.

That being so I find it stands cold fairly well and does not like excessive heat in summer. This was my plant last year (now a bit larger) rescued from a single joint, but it has not flowered yet. The moral seems to be don't mollycoddle it!

[ralphrmartin]

You are doing well with that bit, Dave. It's one of the trickiest cacti to grow I know. It likes high humidity but hates wet roots.

[DaveW]

Your conditions are too kind Ralph. It seems to be one of those plants that as long as you don't know it's rare it grows OK, but once you treat it kindly as a rare plant it dies!

I found this quote on Wikipedia:-

"Schlumbergera species grow in habitats which are generally relatively cool, shaded and of high humidity. David Hunt describes collecting specimens in conditions of cloud, drizzle and overnight temperatures down to −4 °C (25 °F). Plants are epiphytic or lithophytic, growing on moss-covered tree branches or in rock crevices, often in small pockets of substrate formed from decayed leaves and other vegetation. S. microsphaerica is found at higher altitudes, above 2,200 metres (7,200 ft), in barren rocky habitats, and tolerates higher light levels."

I think this video has been posted before, but the opening shot of the rocky area is more like the mountain top where S. microspherica grows terrestrially, whereas the other Schlumbergera's inhabit the rain forest where they are shown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7jYUxglNWY

No doubt growing on the moss on trees, as shown in the video, the roots are kept moist from water running down the trunk but aerated, unlike when they are wet in a pot and the air cannot circulate around them. Orchid cultivation without heat?

[ralphrmartin]

I'm currently growing it in a mesh pot full of sphagnum, and spraying it each morning when I shower, by wafting it under the shower for a second at most...

[Carl]

I have two plants grafted which seem to be doing very well but I cannot for the life of me grow Schlumbergera lutea...

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[DaveW]

These are supposedly selling an easier clone of S. lutea to grow Carl:-

http://www.seedlingsandcuttings.eu/inde ... lumbergera