PHOTOS OF VARIOUS COLOR FORMS FOUND IN MORE MODERN SERIES OF CHRISTMAS CACTUS<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n \n<\/span> \nThere are six distinct species within the genus of Schlumbergera, all are native to Brazil and in their native environment, they sometimes experience near freezing conditions. In the wild, they grow epiphytically on tree trunks or branches, which provides a hint on the sort of growing conditions they like – moist, jungles that are cool, rainy but with roots in mediums that are fast draining. Growers must remember that these are not cacti at all.<\/span><\/div>\n \n<\/span> \nThe six species known are:<\/span><\/div>\n \n<\/span><\/div>\nSchlumbergera russelliana<\/span><\/div>\nSchlumbergera truncata<\/span><\/div>\nSchlimbergera orssichiana<\/span><\/div>\nSchlumbergera kautskyi<\/span><\/div>\nSchlumbergera opuntioides<\/span><\/div>\nSchlumbergera microssphaerica<\/span><\/div>\n \n<\/span><\/div>\nIf you are wondering where the Thanksgiving Cactus or Easter Cactus fit in, they are not classified as Schlumbergera, but are infact different genus all together.<\/span><\/div>\n \n<\/span><\/div>\nToday there are many hybrids, with new ones being introduced every year ( and surprisingly, old ones being retired by growers every year, too). So if you once remembered a yellow fringed form from ten years ago, it may no longer be available today. <\/span>Plant breeders started hybridizing Schlumbergera agressively in the late 1970s, and by the 1980\u2019s many named and registered forms were introduced. Most Christmas Cactus are created and marketed as series by plant breeders, and some are well known with collectors. Just go to eBay or Google Zygocactus and you will see the vast number of forms that are named.<\/span><\/span> \n \n<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nIn the 1990\u2019s, a number of named series were introduced quickly being distributed under series names like the Thor series from Denmark, and Dancer series from the Netherlands. Yellow forms are known to show less pink in their petals if kept at warmer temperatures when in bud, and newer named yellow forms are more pure in color. Also note that many of the large commercial growers change their series names every year, so keeping track of registered names is challenging.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n \n<\/span> \nLike many plants where pink or red becomes the default form, a yellow variety becomes all the rage, and so it is with Christmas Cactus. Older yellow forms introduced in the 1980’s were bronzy in tone, but every year, newer introductions become more pure. <\/span>Japanese plant breeders have introduced some better yellow forms recently, such as \u2018Chiba Lara\u2019 and Sunny Bright\u2019. But these are difficult to find in the marketplace. <\/span><\/span>The hottest forms are Chimera’s or mutations, most notably one called ‘Enigma’ which has a tassel of stamens rather than petals. I’ve been trying to obtain some cuttings on eBay auctions, but I chicken out when the bids rise beyond $100. There are some things that I just feel are not worth it!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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A quick shot in poor light, of one of my seed raised plants in the plant window.<\/span><\/div>\n \n<\/span><\/span> \nChristmas Cactus are easy to grow, and they make long-lived house plants, but some people find them challenging to bloom on schedule.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nIf you are having trouble getting <\/span><\/span>Schlumbergera to bud and bloom, the trick is simple to allow your plants to experience the shortening day length of autumn and winter. In a greenhouse, it\u2019s much easier to provide this seasonal shift in light quality, because there is less of a chance that a table lamp or a streetlight may throw off their photoperiod. It helps even more if the night time temperatures drops at the same time, with a ten degree shift enhancing any bud formation. Our grandparents would follow a simple routine here in New England, moving their Christmas Cactus into a cellar window for the month of October. Essentially, for plants to form buds, they plants should go dry for much of autumn and they must receive at least 12 hours of darkness every day.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I’ve been obsessed lately with Christmas Cactus, or what florists now call Zygocactus ( a name introduced a few years ago by the trade…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
FEELING CHRISTMAS CACTUSY - Growing With Plants<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n