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Amanda's Blog

Amanda's Garden Consulting Company

Why Didn't My Christmas Cactus Flower?

24/12/2017

2 Comments

 

Ask Amanda

Hi Amanda,
How come my Christmas cactus didn't flower at Christmas?  
Kathy
Hi Kathy, I’ve also had a few Christmas cacti that didn’t flower at the right time or not at all. The reason why was because I was not providing adequate darkness at night and not restricting their water at the right time of year. It’s not difficult to give them what they need to set bud, but you do have to mindful.
holiday cactus,Schlumbergera bridgesii,Christmas cactus,January garden,houseplants,thegardenwebsite.com,the garden website.com,Amanda Jarrett
A Christmas cactus usually starts flowering in December.
holiday cactus,Schlumbergera bridgesii,Christmas cactus,January garden,houseplants,thegardenwebsite.com,the garden website.com,Amanda Jarrett
Christmas cactus are know for their longevity, 30 years plus!
​In October, allow the top inch of soil to dry before watering and keep them in total darkness for 12 to 14 hours. Cool evening temperatures also spur on blossoms, although I've found it's not essential. After 6 to 8 weeks pink buds should be on the ends of their leafy stems. Once in the plant has lots of buds, increase its water and don’t worry about keeping the lights off at night - but don’t move it to another location as this is a sure-fire way to make them all fall off  – oh my! Bud drop and a lack of flowers may also be caused by full sun. Surprisingly, these succulents from the jungles of Brazil don't like it. They prefer bright filtered sun as though they were sitting in the tree canopy of their native habitat. 
holiday cactus,Schlumbergera truncata,Thanksgiving cactus,January garden,houseplants,thegardenwebsite.com,the garden website.com,Amanda Jarrett
Thanksgiving cactus flower around November and have hooks on the sides of their leaves.
holiday cactus,Schlumbergera truncata,Thanksgiving cactus,January garden,houseplants,thegardenwebsite.com,the garden website.com,Amanda Jarrett
Thanksgiving cactus, like all Holida cactus, bear fragrant flowers.
There also could be another reason your Christmas cactus doesn’t flower at Christmas besides their care, maybe it isn’t a Christmas cactus at all! It could be one of its cousins the Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaetneri) or the Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata). Thanksgiving  cactus flower in fall, about a month before the Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii). Easter cactus bud in February and flower around Easter. There are also hybrids, which are a combination of any two of them, especially the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus.
Holiday cactus,Rhipsalidopsis gaetneri,Easter cactus,Schlumbergera bridgesii,Schlumbergera truncata,Thanksgiving cactus,Christmas cactus,January garden,houseplants,thegardenwebsite.com,the garden website.com,Amanda Jarrett
The three Holiday Cactus.
Although all these Holiday Cacti and flower look the same, they are not identical. All bear similar leaves, which are actually stems that look like links on a chain. The Christmas cactus leaves are the smallest and have the smoothest edges. The Thanksgiving cactus leaf edges are hooked, resembling claws hence their other common names - the lobster or crab cactus. The Easter cactus distinguishing feature is their bristle-like hairs that are located between the leaf segments.

Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus flowers are very similar, but the Christmas cactus anthers are a brownish purple. The anthers of the Thanksgiving cactus are yellow. The Easter cactus has a totally different flower resembling a star. They all require similar care to promote flowering. Give them 12 to 14 of darkness and limit their water for two months before they are supposed to flower. 

All holiday cactus are easy to propagate. Just snap off a a leaf and stick in a pot with sterile soil or vermiculite. 
holiday cactus,Schlumbergera truncata,Christmas cactus,January garden,houseplants,thegardenwebsite.com,the garden website.com,Amanda Jarrett
A Thanksgiving cactus.
If you decide to purchase another holiday cacti, I suggest you keep the label. Not only will it identify the plant for you, it will list its care. This takes the guesswork out of growing these lovely long-lived houseplants.  
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Amanda
2 Comments
Linda
31/1/2018 04:18:28 pm

Your Christmas cactus photos and information on how to make them bloom was excellent. Very helpful. Love your website.

Reply
Linda Freed
1/11/2018 06:45:26 pm

Most informative... my thanksgiving cactus is in full bloom... I always thought he was just early Christmas Cactus....

Reply

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  • Home
  • About, Services, Contact
  • Ask Amanda
  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
    • Rose Insects & Diseases
    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
  • Pruning Basics 101
    • Pruning Tools
    • Winter Pruning
    • Pruning Grapes
    • Pruning Clematis
    • Prune Your Own Garden Registration
  • Lawn Basics
    • Lawn Reno, Seed & Sod
    • Lawn Maintenance Schedule
    • Spring Lawn Care
    • Moss in Lawns
    • Lawn Alternatives
    • Lawn Grub Control
  • Mulch & Mulching
    • Living Mulches - Groundcovers
  • Propagation
    • Growing Seeds Outdoors
    • Growing Seeds Indoors
    • Taking Cuttings
    • Seed & Plant Catalogues
  • How to Garden Topics
    • Fall Garden Chores
    • Planting Know-How
    • Soil Building
    • Watering Tips & Techniques
    • Drought Gardening
    • Sheet Mulching, Lasagna Gardening
    • Cover Crops
    • Composting
    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
  • Growing Food
    • Spring Veggie Gardening
    • Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
    • Slugs & Snails
    • Horsetail, the Weed
    • June Beetle
    • Powdery Mildew
    • Soil Solarization
    • Rhododendron Leaf Spot
    • Plant Rusts
    • Black Knot
  • Container Growing
    • Choosing a Container
  • Feeding Plants 101
    • Fertilizers & Ratios
    • Nutritional Deficiencies & Toxicities
    • Organic Plant Food
  • Plant of the Month
    • Spring Flowering Bulbs
    • Colourful Fall Plants
    • Abelia
    • American Sweetgum
    • Ash (Fraxinus) Trees
    • Astilbes
    • Aubretia, Rock Cress
    • Aucuba, Japanese Spotted Laurel
    • Autumn Crocus
    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Dahlias
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Evergreen Clematis
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
    • Japanese Maples
    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Laurustinus viburnum
    • Lavenders
    • Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, Pieris japonica
    • Mediterranean Spurge
    • Mexican Mock Orange
    • Montana Clematis
    • Mountain Ash
    • Oriental Poppies
    • Oriental Lilies
    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pink Dawn Bodnant Viburnum
    • Poinsettias
    • Oregon Grape Holly
    • Ornamental Kale
    • Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria
    • Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids
    • Persian Silk Tree
    • Portuguese Laurel
    • Rose of Sharon
    • Sneezeweed, Helenium
    • Snowberry
    • Snowdrops
    • Star Magnolia
    • Strawberry Tree, Pacific Madrone
    • Stewartia
    • Torch Lily, Kniphofia uvaria
    • Tree Peonies
    • Tuberous Begonias
    • Virginia Creeper
    • Weigela
    • Winterhazel, Corylopsis
    • Winter Camellia, C. sasanqua
    • Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens
    • Witch Hazel
    • Wood Anemones
    • Yews
  • Garden Tour Blogs
  • Monthly Flower Arrangements
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