Limp Christmas Cactus

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juster
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Re: Limp Christmas Cactus

Post by juster »

Oh dear, what a pity. As others have said, these plants seem to need quite different treatment from most other cacti. I grow my one plant on a north facing bathroom window sill, so it's not in any sun, although good light, plus I think it likes the steam. I also use multipurpose compost with a little added grit and water throughout the year. Maybe there is a small part of your plant that you can rescue?
Croydon Branch member, growing mainly cacti and Echeverias
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Ava
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Re: Limp Christmas Cactus

Post by Ava »

juster wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 10:02 pm Oh dear, what a pity. As others have said, these plants seem to need quite different treatment from most other cacti. I grow my one plant on a north facing bathroom window sill, so it's not in any sun, although good light, plus I think it likes the steam. I also use multipurpose compost with a little added grit and water throughout the year. Maybe there is a small part of your plant that you can rescue?
There might be. I'll have a look at it later.
Jethro558
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Re: Limp Christmas Cactus

Post by Jethro558 »

As a complete novice my questions would be firstly how often should I water my Christmas cactus , how often should I feed it and with what? Presently I am using Baby Bio plant food.
Any help very gladly received
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Keith H
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Re: Limp Christmas Cactus

Post by Keith H »

Though the ones you see in garden centres are hybreds the original plants would have grown in warm damp forest conditions so they do not require a lot of light.
Mine live on the lower shelf of my greenhouse staging, the temperature can get down to 5 deg. C in winter so they are in very different conditions to most that are grown as house plants. I tend to water them lightly during the winter, probably two or three times between October and March though remember they are drying out far slower than they would indoors.
When flower buds begin to develop I move them into the front porch or a east facing window sill of the front room, I increase the water when they are inside to once or twice a fortnight feeding with orchid food at each water. This way I have a succession of flowering plants as the ones in the house flower and fade more are brought from the greenhouse.
When they return to the greenhouse they go back to the reduced watering until late spring when they are treated to the same water and feed as the rest of my 'normal' cacti, every two to three weeks depending on the weather with a feed of Chempac 8 every other water.
They are potted in a mix of orchid bark / compost, pink cat litter and granite chips roughly 1:1:1, or JI3, pink cat litter, granite chips again 1:1:1 and to be honest there in not a lot of difference in their growth or flowering. Anything partly organic but well draining will probably be ok.
Regards Keith.

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Jethro558
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Re: Limp Christmas Cactus

Post by Jethro558 »

Keith H wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 11:01 am Though the ones you see in garden centres are hybreds the original plants would have grown in warm damp forest conditions so they do not require a lot of light.
Mine live on the lower shelf of my greenhouse staging, the temperature can get down to 5 deg. C in winter so they are in very different conditions to most that are grown as house plants. I tend to water them lightly during the winter, probably two or three times between October and March though remember they are drying out far slower than they would indoors.
When flower buds begin to develop I move them into the front porch or a east facing window sill of the front room, I increase the water when they are inside to once or twice a fortnight feeding with orchid food at each water. This way I have a succession of flowering plants as the ones in the house flower and fade more are brought from the greenhouse.
When they return to the greenhouse they go back to the reduced watering until late spring when they are treated to the same water and feed as the rest of my 'normal' cacti, every two to three weeks depending on the weather with a feed of Chempac 8 every other water.
They are potted in a mix of orchid bark / compost, pink cat litter and granite chips roughly 1:1:1, or JI3, pink cat litter, granite chips again 1:1:1 and to be honest there in not a lot of difference in their growth or flowering. Anything partly organic but well draining will probably be ok.
Thanks very much for that information, no excuses now.
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