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Christmas Cactus

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  • sazzle-sazzle- Posts: 21
    Apart from my picture being sideways!! This cactus hasn’t flowered in years! Any ideas? Thanks 😊 
  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Mine's flowering now   ..... it also flowered in November and in January.
    The Easter ones also have buds.

    I use homemade liquid comfrey feed on mine (stinks a bit   ) but tomato feed would probably work too.

    Bee x
    image
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    If that was mine I would probably give it a kick up the bum Sazzle.  It looks a bit sparse and lanky to me, do you feed it?  Do you put it outdoors in fine weather? Does it get plenty of light when it is indoors?

    They root very easily from the chunky 'leaves' so I would certainly start a few off as an insurance then I would cut it back by about a third,  repot it and then water very sparsely until it shows signs of growth.  Leave it outdoors at every opportunity through the summer (if that ever arrives) and if it still doesn't flower concentrate on bringing on a few babies.

    Good luck  :)
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • sazzle-sazzle- Posts: 21
    herbaceous said:
    If that was mine I would probably give it a kick up the bum Sazzle.  It looks a bit sparse and lanky to me, do you feed it?  Do you put it outdoors in fine weather? Does it get plenty of light when it is indoors?

    They root very easily from the chunky 'leaves' so I would certainly start a few off as an insurance then I would cut it back by about a third,  repot it and then water very sparsely until it shows signs of growth.  Leave it outdoors at every opportunity through the summer (if that ever arrives) and if it still doesn't flower concentrate on bringing on a few babies.

    Good luck  :)
    Is Tomorite ok to feed it with?
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    Sorry Sazzle, can't help you there. My houseplants get Phostrogen or nettle tea but it's worth a try.

    Is this any help?
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=840
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • ERICS MUMERICS MUM Posts: 627
    sazzle- said:
    herbaceous said:
    If that was mine I would probably give it a kick up the bum Sazzle.  It looks a bit sparse and lanky to me, do you feed it?  Do you put it outdoors in fine weather? Does it get plenty of light when it is indoors?

    They root very easily from the chunky 'leaves' so I would certainly start a few off as an insurance then I would cut it back by about a third,  repot it and then water very sparsely until it shows signs of growth.  Leave it outdoors at every opportunity through the summer (if that ever arrives) and if it still doesn't flower concentrate on bringing on a few babies.

    Good luck  :)
    Is Tomorite ok to feed it with?
    Tomorite or any Tomato food is fine.  Rose food too.
  • DitsyDitsy Posts: 196
    Mine didn't flower for a while so I stuck them on a very sunny windowsill and a month later I got this.








  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    I’m confused about what times of year to water and feed. Are they like other succulents, ie no water overwinter, then starting up again in spring? Mine flowered really well last year, but despite a summer in the garden it hasn’t rebloomed this season. There were a couple of buds in Feb, but they dropped off.
  • DitsyDitsy Posts: 196
    I water mine every two weeks. I put them in the sink and let the water just run through. 
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    edited April 2021
    There are several cultivars of Schlumbergera (hope I spelled that right) which flower at slightly different times but they all flower during Autumn into Winter and generally don't need feeding during this period.

    I am no succulent expert and my daughter has borrowed my Hessayon book so this is just from memory and personal experience.

    I start feeding in April and dose the plant once a month until the Autumn equinox, if the outside temperature is consistently 20C or higher during the day it goes outdoors in a bright spot with late afternoon sun. I have had some slug damage, they do seem attracted to it. I repot it every 3 or 4 years but only into a slightly bigger pot with fresh cactus compost.

    As soon as night time temperatures drop below 12C it comes back indoors.  Watered once a fortnight (if I remember) from October on and kept on a bright windowsill.  The ambient temperature in my house is somewhere around 15C-18C during the winter and mine generally flowers from January thru March depending on the weather and light levels.

    This is mine at the moment -

    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
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