Last winter, I bought these two "
Christmas Cactus" plants to cheer up my office. I think they are more correctly called "
Thanksgiving Cactus" or better yet,
Schlumbergera. They bloommed very nicely. During the summer, and into the cooler nights, they were outside, on the East side of the house, with morning sun and afternoon and evening shade. I watered them when I remembered. This is not organic, but I gave them Miracle-Grow for green plants, at 1/4 label recommended strength, until fall, then switched to the Miracle-Grow "Bloom Booster" at 1/4 strength. Now they are in my South Facing office window. Lots of buds. They might actually be in bloom at Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, there is the joy of anticipation and the pride of growing something that will bloom nicely, soon.
There are also a couple of Schlumbergera that are much older and larger. They are beginning to set flower buds, but not as much.
Edit: I can remember reading various schemes about putting these in the dark for a month to get them to bloom. That's just not true. I've grown them for years, and just let the change of seasons do it's thing. They always bloom, every year, without putting them into a dark closet. Maybe that's the climate or lattitude? I don't know, and I don't worry about it.
You said you weren't worried about it, but I actually know the answer to this one. So, if you want to savor the mystery, skip the rest of the comment:
ReplyDeletePutting them in the dark for a month is advice that made sense a couple generations ago but isn't needed now: the older varieties (including the "Christmas cactus" that actually blooms at Christmas, which usually also have rounded stem segments and a more pronounced weeping habit) are much, much touchier about having total darkness during a long night than the new varieties that bloom closer to Thanksgiving. The newer hybrids are also much more relaxed about needing cool temperatures to start setting buds.
Thank you very much Mr. Subjunctive. I'm nothing if not open to science and learning. I bet your comment also applies to Yamamoto dendrobiums, which are hybridized, and I think tetraploidized, and seem to bloom for me no matter what I do to them. Even so, I'm keeping them outside until the temp dips into the 30s, and they are getting no more fertilizer and minimal water until brought back in. Thank again!
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