As one of a tercet of plant collectively promise " holiday cacti , " Easter cactus ( Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri , formerlyHatiora gaertneri ) shares some traits with its vacation counterpart while also exhibit some marked difference . Rounding out this trio are Thanksgiving cactus ( Schlumbergera truncata ) and Christmas cactus ( Schlumbergeraxbuckleyi ) .
Blooming season for these three plants correspond to their common names , with Thanksgiving cactus typically flowering in early wintertime , Christmas cactus in late wintertime and Easter cactus in springtime .
As a spring flub , Easter cactus is set asunder from the other two holiday cacti by claiming a blooming time of year all its own . This coinage also has differently shaped flowers , which is one determinate way to identify it .
It ’s easy to propagate your Easter cactus by following a few tried - and - lawful tips , which will permit you to start many unexampled plants to keep or gift to category and friends .
Holiday Cacti Identification
All vacation cactus plant are native to rainforests in Brazil , sort them as tropical cacti alternatively of desert cacti . These tropic plants are intrepid only in USDA industrial plant hardiness zones 10 through 12 , which is why they ’re develop as houseplants in almost all U.S. climate after they ’re purchased as holiday plant .
Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus plant are easily confused , in part because their blooming periods sometimes overlap , but mostly because Thanksgiving cactus plant are market as Christmas cactus plant life . puzzling ? You calculate . But the reason is a marketing ploy .
Because Thanksgiving cactus plants start blooming just forward of the Christmas time of year , these are the works you see in garden center and foodstuff stores market as Christmas cacti . " True " Christmas cactus plants generally flower curtly after Christmas and often through February , so their marketing time value as Christmas industrial plant pass flat .
The keystone to correct specie identification lies in the appearance of the cladodes , also called cladophylls , which are the flatten root segments on all holiday cactus plant . Although they may depend like leaf segments , botanically , they ’re stems that function as leaves primarily because of their photosynthetic capability .
Thanksgiving Day cactus plants have balmy , thorny edge on their phylloclade that seem like crab pincer . Christmas cactus plants have teardrop - shaped , scallop cladodes , and * * Easter cactus plants have round out , scalloped edges . * *
Unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus works that have tube-shaped bloom , Easter cactus flowers are starburst or star - shaped blooms that are also name as funnelform . Easter cactus flower colors admit pink , red , orange and livid .
Easter Cactus Propagation
Propagating some plants is so strike or miss that it sometimes entail throwing a Hail Mary happen and hoping for the best . Then , there are some plants , such as Easter cactus , for which propagation is so easy that even novice gardeners enjoy high success rates . The shank segments easy take root , and you ’ll often see rootage already produce at the spliff where individual segments meet .
1 . After irrigate your flora the day before to hydrate the stems , simply comprehend a stem segment at the pourboire of the main stalk and bend it around and around until it of course breaks at the joint . 2 . Set the stem segment(s ) on the kitchen counter out of verbatim sunlight and let the sever closing heal over for a twain of days . 3 . rather of using copious potting mix , occupy a very pocket-sized container with ejaculate - starting mix or equal amounts of vermiculite ( or perlite ) and peat moss ( or coir ) . A 3 - ounce plastic cup with a drainage hole pierced in the bottom works well for steady down stem section , which you’re able to place two or three per cup . 4 . lightly press the emasculated goal of each radical segment into the rooting mix to a astuteness of about 1/4 the length of the section . 5 . Add water until it freely drains from the bottom of the pot . 6 . Keep the stem segment in bright light or indirect light but out of direct sunlight and water once or twice a week to keep the rooting culture medium slightly moist but not fuddled , which can promote root waste or even moulder the segment themselves . It ’s better to let the sensitive slightly dry before lightly watering again . 7 . The segments will form roots in just two to three weeks .
Tip
When caring for an Easter cactus , less weewee , less fertilizer and less sunlight than you ’d give most of your houseplants is the best regimen to follow for optimum health .
Easter Cactus Care
Caring for your fresh Easter cactus plant conform to the rule of pollex that " less is more . " In other word of honor , less water , less fertilizer and less sunshine than you ’d give most of your houseplants is the best regime to follow for optimal health .
Once the segments are well root , repot them into a 4- to 6 - inch flock using a potting mix with ingredient that allow salutary aeration , such as vermiculite or perlite . stiff pots wreak well because they " breathe " and provide excess water to get away .
As succulent , Easter cactus plant do n’t need a stack of water supply , which can really be prejudicial and result in root rotting , so water with a light hand . Use a balanced fertilizer devise for blossoming houseplant only once monthly during the dynamic produce time of year .
If you set your plant alfresco in former natural spring , be sure to keep it in a shady point that receives collateral sunlight but no direct sun . nerveless temperatures in autumn will actuate your plant to set out forming bud , which may not be visible until other spring just before your Easter cactus blooms .
