Christmas Cactus

Christmas Cactus Care

Schlumbergera bridgesii

What is the plant

Schlumbergera, commonly known as Christmas Cactus, belongs to the genus of epiphytic forest cacti. It is native to mountain rainforests of southeast Brazil.

Schlumbergera blooms in winter because the flower has genetic memory. Despite the change in geographical latitudes, they continue to live according to nature's established cycle.
Christmas Cactus produces gorgeous lantern-like flowers in various colors: red, yellow, purple, white, and pink. They appear as a chain of bright elongated petals 1-2 in (2-5 cm) in size intertwined at the tips of all stems. Flowers are zygomorphic – it means they are bilaterally symmetrical.
Tiny buds are positioned on the tops of the leaves, indicating that the Christmas Cactus is a member of the cactus family. You can see aerial roots on almost every elongated leaf of the plant, and they take root almost instantly when they come into touch with the soil. The plant appears to migrate slowly from one location to another.

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Part Sun

Temperature

16°C - 18°C

Hardiness zone

9 - 11

Difficulty

Easy

Hibernation

Cold Period

How to Care for the Plant

Water
An interesting thing about the Christmas cactus is that it cannot stand dry sunny conditions, unlike the other kinds of cacti. It would help if you watered it a bit more often than its cacti relatives. Moisten the soil mixture in the pot moderately after the surface dries to a depth of 10–30 mm.
Pruning
To form a beautiful crown, take off unnecessary dry and dead segments by hand.
Fertilizer
From March to September, feed the plant every two weeks. To help your cactus bloom in wintertime, fertilize it monthly. Cactus fertilizers that are high in potassium will encourage the flowers' growth.

Disease diagnosis

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Sunlight
Christmas Cactus requires light shading or bright diffused light. East- or west-facing windows are ideal. If the pot sits by a south-facing window, you'll need to shade the bloom during noon.
Soil
Only an extremely loose, lightweight soil with no stagnant water will allow Schlumbergera to thrive. Ask for a commercial mix for bromeliads or succulents in your garden center. Epiphytes do not dwell in the soil in nature but rather on trees and between stones, where rainwater does not accumulate. Decomposing mosses and bark are slightly acidic (pH 5.5-6.5), so it's best to keep the pH in the pot at the same level. You can check the acidity with a special pH kit.
Propagation
There are several ways to reproduce Christmas Cactus. The most popular approach is the vegetative one. Wait 1-2 months till the cactus finishes blooming. Choose the stem cuttings with 2 to 6 leaf segments and let them rest dry for one day. Then plant in your regular soil (½-1 in or 1-2 cm deep) and sprinkle with water (the soil should not be wet). Let the cuttings sit in a nicely lit room with no direct sunlight. Spray again when the soil dries out. When the roots appear, the cuttings will be ready for repotting.
In addition, you can grow a young plant from seeds or graft its offshoot onto another cactus.

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Temperature
The flower can survive in temperatures ranging from 65-100°F (18-40°C). The bloom, however, happens best at temperatures of 65-72°F (18-22°C) in the summer and 57-61°F (14-16°C) in the winter.
Container
Plastic or clay, it doesn't matter as long as your pot is the right size. Choose a wide and low container for your plant since the root system of the Schlumbergera is superficial. The drainage layer should fill the pot by a third.
Fun fact
Actually, there are no leaves on Schlumbergera. Those lovely green stems provide all of the photosynthesis the plant requires.