My Christmas cactus flowered in November and was just about all over by Christmas. I moved it to a cooler spot and kept it very dry since as I though it would be its resting period. However, it's now completely covered in buds once more and I'm not sure what to do. Any suggestions please? I'm afraid I don't know the particular variety as it was a gift but I've attached an image.
I took some cuttings earlier in the year and I've kept them warmish and well watered. They have grown quite well and a few weeks ago developed buds which promptly dropped off (I've been careful to keep all the plants in the same orientation as I read the buds will drop if moved around). What should I do with these now?
IMG_20171117_101354026~01.jpg (64.75 KiB) Viewed 2140 times
The American's call them Holiday Cactus since they flower at their different holidays. Yours is not the proper Christmas Cactus, which is Schlumbergera X 'Buckleyi', though it often gets wrongly named as such as that is an early hybrid between S. truncata and S. russeliana, having rounded ends to the segments.
Yours is a S. truncata cultivar with the points on the segment ends. The Americans call this the "Thanksgiving Cactus since it flowers at that holiday for them. When I started growing cacti S. X 'Buckleyi' conversely was always called S. truncata until the mistake was sorted out that it was an early hybrid They are not leaves in fact as the article below says, since no plant flowers on it's leaves, but flattened two ribbed stems also called cladodes.
Buds will also often drop off, not just if you change the plants orientation, but move it from one set of temperatures where the buds developed to conditions of different temperature. The S. truncata types you buy in the shops do not normally flower at Christmas, as the true Christmas Cactus does, but have been conditioned in the nursery with dark and cool to bloom later than their normal flowering period in time for sale to the Christmas market as you have found.
Last edited by DaveW on Wed Jan 31, 2018 12:33 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Nottingham Branch BCSS. Joined the then NCSS in 1961, Membership number 11944. Cactus only collection.
There is confusion over Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti. In view of what you say, yours might be Thanksging form. Mine flowered profusely this year from November until end of January but it was in conservatory so not too hot! I would let it flower and then move to somewhere cool for rest. I usually put mine outside for summer and bring indoors in October.
Thanks both for the replies, very helpful, but I'm still a bit unsure what's best to do.
Is it usual for the Thanksgiving cactus to flower twice? I've just noticed today that the cuttings are also starting to form a second lot of buds! Should I take the main plant back from its 'cool room' and resume watering to encourage these flowers? And what about the cuttings which I've kept in a room around the 20C mark and watered frequently?
Just let it do what it wants as it will eventually revert to it's normal flowering cycle if not being abnormally forced. That is unless you want to flower it out of season. Don't worry about it if it is growing well and flowering you are doing something right.
Don't worry too much. Some of my Schlumbergeras were flowering in October, and some are still flowering now. Some are producing a second crop of buds and will likely flower again later in the year too - it is not uncommon.
One thing I have found they don't appreciate is being too close to a radiator (temperature swings are the problem, I think), and on the other hand, they'll take quite a bit of cold (down to 5C, perhaps lower).
Thanks again for the replies, I'll just bear with them then I was planning to re-pot once flowering had finished and they were resting but that'll have to wait now.
I was planning to re-pot once flowering had finished and they were resting but that'll have to wait now.