Hazel,

Knowing your zone/location would be helpful. You may want to add it to your profile.

I keep mine in Jacksonville, Florida all outside. I have three on my east-facing front porch. They get 4-5 hours of direct morning sun. I have three more on my west-facing back porch and they get 2-3 hours of direct sun.

During the growing season, I water them all when dry (about every two weeks) with some kind of weak fertilizer. One time I will use fish emulsion (5-1-1); the next time I will use epsom salts; the next time some other type of weak fertilizer. I always deep water: that is, I water until the plant is completely soaked and water is freely draining out of the bottom of the pot. Contrary to lots of advice, I also water the leaves. I let the containers drain completely and do not have them sitting in water.

Good luck!
Carol in Jacksonville

Thanks, Carol. I am in zone 8, in the sunny south! (I went back and added that!) I will say that my watering has not been as deep as yours. I had not even thought of epsom salt, and I use that all the time on the roses and tomatoes. Do you think I should pinch another segment off to get rid of that fuzzy, whatever it is? It is only at the segment end, but on every single one.

I've never used Epsom salt on the Christmas cactus. How much do you use?

By fuzzy tips, do you mean the hairs on the segments? If so, leave the fuzz alone! :-)

I wouldn't use Epsom Salts unless you have verified that there is a Magnesium deficiency. Plants don't respond to excess; they respond to an increase in the elements they are lacking.

Josh

Hi Josh,

Thanks for the reply!

No, I don't mean the little "hairs" on the segments. I have lots of those, I assumed they were like roots??? As a side note, is that what they are?

What I am talking about is right where you pinch a segment off, where the injury to the plant would be, is a fine fuzzy "something" like tan dust. It is on all of the tips. It does not scrape off without scraping hard enough to injure the segment.

I did just go take another look, and I would add that the tip also appears a bit thicker than the rest of the segment, and there are some of the hair like "roots" mixed in with this fuzz. (They just aren't as long as the ones at each joint)

I pinched the blooms off early in January. This started by early March. It has not spread, which if it was some type of fungus I would think that it would.

The plant does not look unhealthy, it just will not grow.

I tried to take a picture but my camera won't get close enough for you to see.

Hi, Hazel, we really need a picture. Can you put your hand behind the plant, or maybe a piece of paper? This sometimes helps the camera focus.

I took a pic of the tips of my Christmas Cactus for reference.

WOW! After seeing yours, maybe mine doesn't look healthy after all.

I will try to get a picture with a better view of the tips and get it posted.

Sounds like aerial roots, they tend to grow in between the segments. In the midst of this and reading you have an old floral shop plant purchase is a good indication it's time to change the.......

Have you plans to do a re-potting ?

Are the aerial roots a bad thing??? Does that mean it is not getting what it needs from the soil so it is putting those out to survive?

I did start to repot, you could just pick it straight up from the old plastic pot it was in. The soil, if you could call it that, was very spongy and I didn't see anyway to seperate the plant from that without breaking it. So, I just tried to loosen it up a bit and put it in a slightly bigger pot with some added succulent potting mix.

Now that you mention it, I looked back at pictures when I got it and while it is hard to see, I don't see much of those hair like roots.

Should I try to aggressively repot? I hate to risk breaking it. I feel like I have a prize since it is an old one.

Hi, Hazel, aerial roots aren't necessarily a bad thing, but you are correct that it can sometimes indicate the plant is not getting what it needs from the root-zone. Whatever you do, I suggest taking a few cuttings of segments with those roots, which will help the cuttings root very quickly this time of year.

I know how hard it is to re-pot a big, compacted Christmas Cactus. I re-potted last October - not the best time of year, mind you - but the plant came through just fine. If you can soak the root-ball in warm water, then use a chop-stick or similar poker to tease the old mix from the roots, the plant will thank you when those roots can breathe again.

Let me link you to the Thread: Christmas Cactus re-potted

Josh

Thanks to all of you for all this information. I am learning already!!!

Josh, I read the link you sent and it is great. However, I am a bit scared to try to repot this plant. It is very heavy and cascades down a lot. I actually have staked up the base (stem, whatever) of each section to give it some extra support.

So, let me recap what I need to do.

1. Remove from the current pot and soak root in warm water.

2. Take a chopstick and tease away as much soil as possible. It is not necessary to remove all of it???

3. If roots are super long, I can trim those.

4. Repot in a coarse, light weight soil medium. (Like bagged succulent potting mix, or violet mix??, and supplement with perlite (?) and bark (if available.)

Question: When I put it in the new pot do I just sit it in the new soil and work more on the sides and top and that is it, or is there some trick to it???

Also, does it matter so much the depth of the new pot, compared to the old?

Lastly, is there any trick to keeping from breaking it? Should I prune it back some first?

If you have not guessed by now, this is new to me!!!

After much trial and error I have attached a photo from when it was blooming.

It is a very beautiful Thanksgiving Cactus, Schlumbergera truncata.

*It would be *best* if you could remove the old mix...but I doubt it's possible. I didn't even remove all the old mix from mine.

*Personally, I start with bark - "Orchid Bark" fine-grade - to which I then add Perlite, and just a pinch of potting mix (African Violet mix, Orchid Mix). I also sprinkle in some Osmocote, a slow-release fertilizer. A bark-based mix can be watered thoroughly, flushed easily, and gently falls away from the roots when it's time to re-pot again. These plants prefer a well-draining medium that allows you to water more often - rather than a poorly draining medium that you must fearfully water in tiny sips every couple of weeks.

*When I re-pot, I lay the roots outward over a mound of mix in the pot. Then I carefully work the new mix into all the spaces between the roots with a chop-stick. Go slowly, watering the mix as you go.

*Pot-size doesn't matter IF the mix is fast-draining. If the mix is heavy and water-retentive, you should use a smaller pot that will hold less volume (and, thus, will dry out sooner).

*Some segments are bound to break, but if you have a helper you can minimize the rough-handling.

Josh

HMMM, well, I am almost disappointed. Of course, the variety you named, I believe makes it a parent of a true Christmas Cactus. I thought for sure it was one from pictures and descriptions I had seen. Totally not upright in its growth, etc. Oh well, none the less, I do think it has been around for some time and it is pretty big. Plus it did bloom at Christmas through the first couple weeks of January. So, I am not going to tell it any different!!!

I am going to give the re-potting a whirl this weekend and will keep my fingers crossed that I do not break much.

Thanks for the details on what to do.

Lastly, since it does hang down so much, and it looks pretty silly with it staked up like I have done. Do you use any of those florist type wire rings, or something like that for support? (Like a very small tomato cage that would follow the edge of the pot?)

Thanks to everyone for the help and the ideas of how to treat my very pretty cactus. I can't wait to try my hand at getting it to bloom this Christmas.

Hazel

Hi Hazel,

I'd avoid the succulent mix, it's for arid succulents, which these are not, these are tropical cacti, from the jungle & high humidity.

I'd suggest instead, a base of African Voilet (AV) mix, w/ abt 30% or extra perlite, will be nice & light for these plants. I learned the hard way that C&S mix was too lean & heavy for these.

Hi Pirate girl,

Yes, I see those of you experienced with these plants use the Violet mix. This site has already saved me from making a number of mistakes. One of them would have been to buy the wrong potting mix. I am heading to the local Lowes with list in hand for all my supplies. Violet mix, perlite and orchid bark.

My green thumb works best in the yard with roses and day lillies. Things you can be a bit rough with and they don't mind. So I am hoping to not break the cactus and get it potted so it will start growing for me. (I already inspect it every morning looking for some growth!!!)

Thanks so much for all the help!

You may wish to rethink inspecting it every morning, you might make yourself crazy (& these plants don't take well to being fussed over). Also w/ these plants, often less is more.

Pls. know that these plants are tougher than they look, so try not to be nervous abt breaking off a couple of sections when you repot. You can just place them right back in the mix & give it a bit of time & they too will root for you.

Enjoy.

You could be right, I might be a little obsessed with the idea of some new growth!! You know, a watched pot never boils, kind of thing!!

Thanks!

Well I repotted last weekend. I used orchid bark (which was much bigger than I thought), perlite and african violet potting soil. I stuck the garden hose deep into the old pot and let it run a while and was able to remove about 2/3 of the old soil. Then I was able to lift it up and move it to the newly prepared pot without hardly any breakage. Here is my new question, while I still don't see any new growth (I am sure it is too soon) I have noticed that all those aerial roots are disappearing, is that a good or a bad thing??? Also, about how long will it take to start seeing some growth? Thanks so much for everyone's help. Hazel

Good work! Keep the mix moist, but not wet, while the roots are re-establishing themselves. The fine-grade Orchid Bark is the one to use, but there are still 1/2-inch chunks of bark in the fine-grade.

Disappearance of aerial roots could be a good sign if it means that the roots are providing moisture for the plant now. You should see some new growth in one or two weeks. Fertilize with a 1/4 strength dose in a week, unless you added a slow-release like Osmocote when you made the mix.

Josh

Hazel, I got your message...but can't reply directly unless you update your account settings. I'd need to see a pic to comment on the question about the features of the woody trunk.

Josh

Will my Christmas Cactus do ok in the houes ,water to

Why wouldn't it ?