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By Barbara Elmore,
HCMG
Coaxing Christmas Cactus
to Bloom
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People have asked the
last couple years how I
get my Christmas cactus
to bloom, and I have
responded profoundly:
"Beats me!" |
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OK--not very helpful
except to restore the
self-esteem of gardeners
with barren cactus. So I
decided to find out what
a person can do to coax
those blooms.
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The best course of
action is to buy a
cactus with buds in
November, wait for them
to mature, and hope the
show repeats itself the
next year. That's what
happened with mine,
which arrived as a gift
in October 2007. My
thank-you card featured
a photo of the lovely
bloomer on the front, so
that the givers could
see what those tiny buds
had become. |
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The blooms that have
returned annually are
dumb luck. But there are
people who advise that
we CAN do certain things
to get ensure an encore
each year. The trick is
to start paying more
attention to the cactus
in September.
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The Christmas cactus,
also called a holiday
cactus, is an epiphyte
from tropical climes.
Epiphyte means that it
grows on other plants,
like on the branches of
trees. Tropical means
temperate — not too hot,
not too cold. |
The first thing I did
when I got my new cactus
was read the directions
that came with it. I
learned that
it didn't like temps
below 45 degrees and
wanted bright, indirect
light. Also, I was to
water only when the
soil
was dry to the touch. So
my cactus spends its
springs and summers
outside and part of fall
indoors. Our thermostat
stays on 70 in the
winter, and the cactus
seems to think that's
OK. But it would
probably be happier in a
bright area that's
cooler and that doesn't
get drafts. A window
sill away from a door
sounds about right. |
White and red Christmas
cactus blooms |
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Since
it still likes bright
light during the day, I
put the cactus on the
front porch anytime the
temperature climbs into
the 50s and above and
bring it in again at
night. This has likely
confused it. This year I
won't move it out again
until spring. |
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Gardeners also offer
this advice, some of
which I have followed: |
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1. The cactus needs 12
hours of darkness each
night. If you have it in
area where people turn
the lights on and off
frequently, move it or
put a box over it at
night. |
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2. To set buds, the
holiday cactus requires
temperatures of 50 to 60
degrees, which is a good
reason to leave it
outside until
temperatures near
freezing. Then move it
to a cool spot in your
house--or to a
greenhouse, if you have
one. |
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3. Don't jostle the
plant or the buds will
fall off. So when you
move it indoors, it's
best to leave it alone
until all the blooms are
spent. |
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If you do all these
things and your cactus
still doesn't bloom,
remember that
experimentation is a
gardener's fallback
tool. And never count
out dumb luck. |
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