christmas cactus.

rustred · Nov 27, 2020

this old cactus never fails to produce flowers for christmas. has to be at least 20 years old.

SVcummins · Nov 27, 2020

That’s neat . I don’t think mine is going to have flowers on it at all the way it is going

John in Mich · Nov 27, 2020

My son and daughter-in-law have my mother-in-laws Christmas cactus. It was big when we got it and bigger when we passed it on. I have not heard yet about any blossoms.

jal-SD · Nov 27, 2020

We have one that we've had coming on five years now. Bought it @ Menards close-out 3 days before Christmas. It was 3 "stalks", all less than 5" tall & had blooms all over. Repotted it the next summer. It still 3 main "stalks" all at least 10" tall with many "branches" off main stalks. It hasn't bloomed since that first year. What are doing wrong? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

flying belgian · Nov 27, 2020

My sister has the one from my Mother who got it from her Mother. That plant must be 75 yrs. old. Don't know if it blossom's or not. Have to ask my sister sometime.

john in la · Nov 27, 2020

And that actually looks like a real Christmas cactus.

Most store bought holiday cactus are really Thanksgiving cactus mislabeled as Christmas cactus.
The reason is Christmas cactus are more fragile and the leaves break off during shipment.

john in la · Nov 27, 2020

Holiday cactus need high humidity; mid 50 temperature at night; and 13 hours of darkness for about 2 months to bloom.
This will often happen over the winter causing some to bloom in the spring.

They are from the southern hemisphere; IE their spring is our fall just in time to bloom for the holiday season.
The store bought plants (Thanksgiving cactus) are forced to bloom at Christmas in the northern hemisphere greenhouses.

mikewood869 · Nov 27, 2020

This is our two. They havent blossomed like this in the last 10 year we had them. The rose is fake.

Janicholson · Nov 27, 2020

Our three are similar and near blooming. Sometimes they bloom at odd times (like May). That is a nice one. Jim

john in la · Nov 27, 2020

The pink one with the rose is a Thanksgiving cactus.
Not a Christmas cactus.

The red one on the left I can not see well enough to tell what it is.

JayinNY · Nov 28, 2020

Mom has one, i like them.

MSD · Nov 28, 2020

We have a shoot off of the one that my mom brought along when she got married. Don't know how old it was then but that would have be 74 years now. My wife took a leaf off it and started a new plant when our daughter was born. When she turned 18 it bloomed for the first time for her birthday. We have a shoot off of that one now and it looks healthy but has never bloomed yet. The plant it came off of blooms every year.

Brian G. NY · Nov 28, 2020

I had never heard of a "Thanksgiving Cactus" until a couple of weeks ago when someone was looking at the blooms on my wife's cactus. It peaked about a week ago and still has quite a few blossoms but I'm sure they'll be gone long before Christmas.

Loosehandle · Nov 28, 2020

Came from my mom's who died in 08

Paul from MI · Nov 28, 2020

My wifes grandmother had on that filled a two-bushel tub. Bloomed every year and it was huge. Don't know what happened to it after the tornado destroyed her house in 1978.

Brian G. NY · Nov 28, 2020

A picture of my wife's Christmas (Thanksgiving) cactus taken on 11/18/20.

john in la · Nov 28, 2020

Yes Brian that is definitely a Thanksgiving cactus.
Look at the leaves.
See how yours has very pointy sides to the leaf.
Now look at the orginal picture.
It has rounded nubs on the side of the leaf.
More like a hump on the side of the leaf rather than a point.
This is how you can tell the two apart.

The Easter cactus looks similar but once it blooms it is obvious it is a Easter cactus.
The bloom is totally different.

Brian G. NY · Nov 29, 2020

(quoted from post at 04:49:25 11/29/20) Yes Brian that is definitely a Thanksgiving cactus.

Thanks John, Learned something new.......always a good thing for a guy my age. LOL

christmas cactus.

rustred

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