530-993-4379
Sierra Booster
  • Home
  • Newspaper
    • Latest News
    • Letters to the Editor >
      • Submit Letter to the Editor
    • Old News Archive
    • Photo Tour
    • Events
    • About Us
    • SUBSCRIBE
  • Advertiser Directory
    • Advertiser Press Releases
    • Website Sponsors
    • Advertiser Area
  • Buy Ads - Services
  • Fishing Report
  • Contact Us
  • Admin Log In

Brighten Someone’s Holiday Season with Christmas Cactus

11/30/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Melinda Myers
The holidays have arrived and so has the Christmas cactus. Set this favorite holiday plant in a basket, decorative pot or foil wrap and it will be ready to give as a gift or add to your holiday décor. With proper care this holiday favorite can flower for four to eight weeks and grow for decades, becoming a family heirloom handed down from one generation to the next.
The plant sold as a Christmas cactus may actually be a Thanksgiving cactus. The true Christmas cactus blooms later and has small segments with rounded edges. The Thanksgiving cactus, though often sold as the Christmas cactus, has toothed or jagged segments and typically blooms prior to Christmas.
Fortunately, their growing requirements and care are basically the same so the plants will do fine no matter the name on the label. These, or hybrids of the two plants, flower with cool nights and long uninterrupted dark periods.  A third holiday plant, the Easter cactus, sets flowers in spring as the days start to lengthen.
Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti are epiphytes that naturally grow on trees in shaded and humid forests along the coast of Brazil. They all prefer bright indirect light, high humidity and a thorough watering when the top few inches of soil begins to dry. Don’t over water but don’t let the soil dry completely. Water a bit more often when the plant is in bloom.
Grow them in an organic well-drained potting mix for best results. Water thoroughly and pour off the excess that collects in the saucer to avoid root rot. Reduce maintenance and improve the growing conditions with the help of gravel trays. Place a layer of pebbles, decorative stones or marbles in the saucer or bottom of the foil wrap or basket. The pot will be elevated above any excess water that collects in the pebbles. As the water evaporates, it increases the humidity around the plant.
Keep your flowering cactus in a cool bright location to extend its bloom time. Avoid drafts of hot and cold air, moisture stress and other changes in the environment that can cause buds and flowers to drop.
Fertilize with a dilute solution of flowering houseplant fertilizer once it has finished blooming and throughout spring and summer as needed. Grow your cactus in a north-facing window or set back from an east- or west-facing window where it receives bright indirect light throughout the year. Too much sun turns the leaf segments dark red.
Don’t be anxious to move these plants to a bigger container. They prefer to be somewhat potbound and can remain in the same pot for years.
Encourage a new flush of flowers with cooler night temperatures around 55 to 60 degrees and slightly drier soil. An uninterrupted dark period will also help promote flowering. 
Start the dark treatment in early to mid October for holiday flowers. Cover the plants or move them to a location free of any artificial light, indoors or outside, each night and provide bright indirect light each day. Any interruption in the dark period from outdoor, street or reading lights can delay or prevent flowering. 
Many experts find providing the same dark treatment as poinsettias, 14 hours of dark each night, promotes flowering. Michigan State University recommends providing 16 hours of total darkness and eight hours of light for at least eight days to promote flowering. 
Add a Christmas cactus to your indoor plant collection and share a few with friends and family over the holidays. These easy-care flowering beauties are sure to brighten the recipient’s mood and holiday décor.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including The Midwest Gardener’s Handbook and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series and the nationally-syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Her web site is www.melindamyers.com.
 

Brighten Someone’s Holiday Season with Christmas Cactus
by Melinda Myers

The holidays have arrived and so has the Christmas cactus. Set this favorite holiday plant in a basket, decorative pot or foil wrap and it will be ready to give as a gift or add to your holiday décor. With proper care this holiday favorite can flower for four to eight weeks and grow for decades, becoming a family heirloom handed down from one generation to the next.
The plant sold as a Christmas cactus may actually be a Thanksgiving cactus. The true Christmas cactus blooms later and has small segments with rounded edges. The Thanksgiving cactus, though often sold as the Christmas cactus, has toothed or jagged segments and typically blooms prior to Christmas.
Fortunately, their growing requirements and care are basically the same so the plants will do fine no matter the name on the label. These, or hybrids of the two plants, flower with cool nights and long uninterrupted dark periods.  A third holiday plant, the Easter cactus, sets flowers in spring as the days start to lengthen.
Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti are epiphytes that naturally grow on trees in shaded and humid forests along the coast of Brazil. They all prefer bright indirect light, high humidity and a thorough watering when the top few inches of soil begins to dry. Don’t over water but don’t let the soil dry completely. Water a bit more often when the plant is in bloom.
Grow them in an organic well-drained potting mix for best results. Water thoroughly and pour off the excess that collects in the saucer to avoid root rot. Reduce maintenance and improve the growing conditions with the help of gravel trays. Place a layer of pebbles, decorative stones or marbles in the saucer or bottom of the foil wrap or basket. The pot will be elevated above any excess water that collects in the pebbles. As the water evaporates, it increases the humidity around the plant.
Keep your flowering cactus in a cool bright location to extend its bloom time. Avoid drafts of hot and cold air, moisture stress and other changes in the environment that can cause buds and flowers to drop.
Fertilize with a dilute solution of flowering houseplant fertilizer once it has finished blooming and throughout spring and summer as needed. Grow your cactus in a north-facing window or set back from an east- or west-facing window where it receives bright indirect light throughout the year. Too much sun turns the leaf segments dark red.
Don’t be anxious to move these plants to a bigger container. They prefer to be somewhat potbound and can remain in the same pot for years.
Encourage a new flush of flowers with cooler night temperatures around 55 to 60 degrees and slightly drier soil. An uninterrupted dark period will also help promote flowering. 
Start the dark treatment in early to mid October for holiday flowers. Cover the plants or move them to a location free of any artificial light, indoors or outside, each night and provide bright indirect light each day. Any interruption in the dark period from outdoor, street or reading lights can delay or prevent flowering. 
Many experts find providing the same dark treatment as poinsettias, 14 hours of dark each night, promotes flowering. Michigan State University recommends providing 16 hours of total darkness and eight hours of light for at least eight days to promote flowering. 
Add a Christmas cactus to your indoor plant collection and share a few with friends and family over the holidays. These easy-care flowering beauties are sure to brighten the recipient’s mood and holiday décor.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including The Midwest Gardener’s Handbook and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series and the nationally-syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Her web site is www.melindamyers.com.
Brighten Someone’s Holiday Season with Christmas Cactus
by Melinda Myers

The holidays have arrived and so has the Christmas cactus. Set this favorite holiday plant in a basket, decorative pot or foil wrap and it will be ready to give as a gift or add to your holiday décor. With proper care this holiday favorite can flower for four to eight weeks and grow for decades, becoming a family heirloom handed down from one generation to the next.
The plant sold as a Christmas cactus may actually be a Thanksgiving cactus. The true Christmas cactus blooms later and has small segments with rounded edges. The Thanksgiving cactus, though often sold as the Christmas cactus, has toothed or jagged segments and typically blooms prior to Christmas.
Fortunately, their growing requirements and care are basically the same so the plants will do fine no matter the name on the label. These, or hybrids of the two plants, flower with cool nights and long uninterrupted dark periods.  A third holiday plant, the Easter cactus, sets flowers in spring as the days start to lengthen.
Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti are epiphytes that naturally grow on trees in shaded and humid forests along the coast of Brazil. They all prefer bright indirect light, high humidity and a thorough watering when the top few inches of soil begins to dry. Don’t over water but don’t let the soil dry completely. Water a bit more often when the plant is in bloom.
Grow them in an organic well-drained potting mix for best results. Water thoroughly and pour off the excess that collects in the saucer to avoid root rot. Reduce maintenance and improve the growing conditions with the help of gravel trays. Place a layer of pebbles, decorative stones or marbles in the saucer or bottom of the foil wrap or basket. The pot will be elevated above any excess water that collects in the pebbles. As the water evaporates, it increases the humidity around the plant.
Keep your flowering cactus in a cool bright location to extend its bloom time. Avoid drafts of hot and cold air, moisture stress and other changes in the environment that can cause buds and flowers to drop.
Fertilize with a dilute solution of flowering houseplant fertilizer once it has finished blooming and throughout spring and summer as needed. Grow your cactus in a north-facing window or set back from an east- or west-facing window where it receives bright indirect light throughout the year. Too much sun turns the leaf segments dark red.
Don’t be anxious to move these plants to a bigger container. They prefer to be somewhat potbound and can remain in the same pot for years.
Encourage a new flush of flowers with cooler night temperatures around 55 to 60 degrees and slightly drier soil. An uninterrupted dark period will also help promote flowering. 
Start the dark treatment in early to mid October for holiday flowers. Cover the plants or move them to a location free of any artificial light, indoors or outside, each night and provide bright indirect light each day. Any interruption in the dark period from outdoor, street or reading lights can delay or prevent flowering. 
Many experts find providing the same dark treatment as poinsettias, 14 hours of dark each night, promotes flowering. Michigan State University recommends providing 16 hours of total darkness and eight hours of light for at least eight days to promote flowering. 
Add a Christmas cactus to your indoor plant collection and share a few with friends and family over the holidays. These easy-care flowering beauties are sure to brighten the recipient’s mood and holiday décor.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including The Midwest Gardener’s Handbook and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series and the nationally-syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Her web site is www.melindamyers.com.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    April 2014
    September 2009

    Categories

    All
    2015
    Sierra County News

    RSS Feed

    Vie
    ​w Old News

CONTACT US:

Sierra Booster Newspaper
PO Box 8
Loyalton, CA 96118
Phone: 530-993-4379
Fax: 844-272-8583
Email: jbuck@psln.com

Website Privacy Policy​
Picture
Local Weather
©Copyright Sierra Booster - Sierra County News - Editorial
Website by Chamber Nation