How to care for your Christmas cactus

Care of Christmas Cactus

Watering

The soil should be evenly moist for best growth, but they are intolerant to constantly wet soil and poor aeration. If outdoors, an established plant may only need to be watered every two or three days in warm, sunny weather; or every week in cool, cloudy weather. Let the soil go dry between waterings. Don’t ever let the soil stay soggy, especially during cooler weather, as root rot can be lethal. But if the fleshy stems show signs of shriveling, water right away. If you are lucky enough to be able to keep your Christmas cactus under a lattice-covered patio or in a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade you can just keep your eye on the weather, and soil condition in the pot, as mother nature will often do all the rest of the work for you as far as water and aeration goes.

Lighting

Christmas cactus will do best in bright indirect light. Long term direct sunlight can burn the leaves and stunt growth. If taken care of properly, a single planting can last for hundreds of years.

Flowering

Christmas cactus will create flower buds when subjected to cooler temperatures 50-58degrees Fahrenheit/10-14 degrees Celsius for 6-8 weeks.

You can use tomato or cactus fertilizer which are easy to purchase from your local brick and mortar family owned garden center and only fertilize with these when the flowerbuds appear.

Apply a balanced fertilizer of your choosing during the growing season (summer). Flush the soil occasionally to prevent salt buildup. Salt buildup is easy to spot as it look just like it sounds. You will see flakey white or yellow/white crystals start to appear around the edged of your pot.

You don't need to run to flush the plant the second you start to see a salt buildup. Rather wait, check the condition of the soil and decide when to proceed with a good water flush of the plant. You should not flush the Christmas cactus if the soil is too wet or if you have just fertilized it. Wait for the plant to dry out or give the fertilizer a good week in the soil so the plant can take it in, then flush the plant with cool to tepid water. Use your fingers to abrade off any salt that is stuck to the pot itself. Stop or reduce fertilizing in fall

Do not move the plant after the flowerbuds appear, as it does not like to be disturbed and is likely to drop all the flowerbuds.

Christmas cactus ~ What's in a name

Christmas cactus

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

* Those who split botanical hairs may insist that what we see labeled as Christmas cacti are actually Thanksgiving cacti. These would be your master gardeners or your 'Big ol' green thumbers'

* This line of reasoning holds that the only true Christmas cactus is Schlumbergera x buckleyi, a cross made by William Buckley in England in the late 1840s. That particular cross bears little bumps, rather than points, along the stems. Its flowers dangle, rather than curve outward. And, when given the same treatment, it begins blooming about a month later.

* But to most people, the plants and flowers of all the many offspring of the genus Schlumbergera look nearly the same. The care is the same, too, as well as the general timing of the beautiful blooms. Given the countless crosses and permutations of the various Schlumbergera species, the terms Christmas and Thanksgiving hardly seem to matter.

SEEDS OF WISDOM:

* Don’t toss your Christmas cacti after the holidays. The brilliant plants are definite keepers. Provide bright, indirect light, let the soil dry out between waterings, and your plants may live for generations.

Christmas cactus ~ A Tradition

Christmas cactus a tradition
Christmas and cactus may seem to be a contradiction of terms.
But Christmas cacti are among the easiest, showiest, holiday houseplants you can grow. And yes, despite their succulent appearance and lack of spines, they are a cactus, and they do bear their sparkly, iridescent flowers during Christmas.
What’s more, they’ll live for years. Certain specimens are said to be 75 to 100 years old.
So start a new family tradition. Instead of exchanging a much-maligned heirloom fruitcake, propagate a Christmas cactus that will last from one generation to the next, spreading throughout your family tree.
Getting Started

Much of the year, Christmas cacti are rather quiet, with their jointed, olive-green stems clumped neatly in a pot. But come November, buds begin to swell at the tips of those stems, then billow out into flowers linked in a series of colorful, glistening tubes. The shimmery shades of pink, purple, coral, red and white are the result of more than 150 years of breeding between several species of the genus Schlumbergera.
Christmas cacti are native to Brazil, where they grow north of Rio de Janeiro in the Organ Mountains. They’re epiphytes, meaning they pull moisture and nutrients out of the air. In nature, they grow in cracks between boulders or in decomposing leaf litter caught between branches of trees.
It’s surprisingly easy to replicate those conditions at home.
For starters, mimic the forest canopy by providing bright light, but little direct sun, especially during summer. A lattice-covered patio or a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade should be just right if you choose to move your potted cactus outdoors for the summer months.
You will want to grow your Christmas cactus in a container filled with a fast-draining blend of soil, peat moss, coarse builders sand, vermiculite, pumice or even Styrofoam beads. Or, use a packaged cactus and succulent mix for growing your Christmas cactus is not likely to survive if you plant it in the ground the is New England after all.

Instead, the plants are often at their best in hanging baskets, where they get plenty of air flow and their stems and flowers can cascade over the sides. A bonus of that portability is that you can easily bring them indoors to enjoy during the holidays.
Some store-bought Christmas cacti are planted in a soil mix composed primarily of peat moss. While peat moss offers quick drainage, it’s difficult to rewet if it dries out. If you see the soil mix shrink away from the inside of the container, that might be the problem. If so, submerge the pot in a tall bowl or saucepan of cool to lukewarm water for half an hour to saturate the peat moss. Then, drain the pot thoroughly in your sink.

You can move your Christmas cactus outside once any danger of frost has passed (this means in summer). The plant may bloom again between March and May if you get lucky. But wait until active, green growth begins in the spring before fertilizing or pinching any errant stems to maintain the overall shape.

The growing season is typically from late May through early September, or when daytime temperatures range between 70 and 80 degrees. You can fertilize with a mild, water-soluble solution once a month during that time.

Finish any pinching back by mid-June. Any snipping after that will be at the expense of flowering at the end of the year.
There’s no need to repot your plants unless they begin to push up and out against the sides of their containers. These plants love to be 'pot bound' and will do their best for you in this condition. If it is time to repot, wait until fall, when the growth slows down. Take care to avoid knocking off any emerging flower buds.

Buds can fall off if the plants are subjected to major shifts in temperature, light or irrigation. If few buds even form, the cause may be too little water, too much cold or too much heat. If your plants look pale or yellow, they may be getting too much sun.

So start a new Christmas tradition this year by stopping into Carey's Flowers and buying a Christmas cactus.

December: Flower of the month

December: Flower of the month
Poinsettia



The first December birth flower is the Poinsettia which equals celebration, success, reassurance, good cheer and merriment, this December birth flower is a fitting tribute to December’s joyful celebrations.

Also known as the Christmas flower, Mexican flame leaf or Christmas star or Noche Buena, the poinsettia, is a plant known for its striking red displays at Christmas time. Having all of these special names makes this plant seem all the more important and heart warming.

The Poinsettia originated in Mexico before it became popular in American Christmas traditions. Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico and amateur botanist, introduced the Poinsettia to the United States in 1928. The bright red, pink, or white colors of the Poinsettia, which are perceived as the petals of the flower, are really leaves called bracts. The actual flowers are small, yellow clusters of balls in between those brilliant bracts. This plant is sold in pots during the holiday season, yet with special attention, the Poinsettia can grow to enormous sizes. This plant is known as a short day plant because it grows best when the nights are long and the days are short. It was once thought that the Poinsettia is a poisonous threat to pets and small children - this is no longer considered a fact. There is no evidence that the Poinsettia is a hazard. However, eating large amounts of the plant will cause upset in the digestive system. In other words if you sit down and eat all of your poinsettia plants you will be puking.

The Aztec Indians prized poinsettias and considered them a symbol of purity because of their brilliant red color. They made a reddish-purple dye from the colored "flowers", bracts. They also made a medicine against fevers from the latex sap of the plant.

A Mexican legend explains how poinsettias came to be associated with Christmas. Apparently, a child who could not afford a gift to offer to Christ on Christmas Eve picked some weeds from the side of a road. The child was told that a humble gift, if given in love, would be acceptable in God's eyes. When brought into the church, the weeds bloomed into red and green flowers and the congregation felt they had witnessed a Christmas miracle.

This is how the Poinsettia became known as Fleur de Bueno Noche in Mexico, or the Flower of the Holy Night. This flower is also referred to as the Nativity Flower because the altar is often decorated in Poinsettias during the holiday season.

Keeping your Poinsettia - After the holidays

Keeping your Poinsettia - After the holidays

Many people try to carry their poinsettia plants over and rebloom them the next year. If you have a big ol' green thumb and the incentive you might give this beautiful plant a try.

Poinsettias are perhaps the most difficult flowering potted plants to rebloom in the home. I have never had a personal success story, but I think my mother has, she has a big ol' green thumb, and as her grandchildren are fond of saying Grandma can do anything. If you must try, follow the instructions carefully.

After blooming, gradually withhold water. The leaves will then yellow and fall off. Place the dried-off plant in a cool place with temperatures 50 to 60 degrees until spring. Water only enough to keep the roots from drying out. This means very, very, little water.

In the spring place the plant in a warm room and prune the stems back to about six inches. If there is more than one plant in the pot, divide and repot them at this time.

For repotting use a well-drained soil. Potting soils available at garden shops are satisfactory.

Or even better you may use one part vermiculite, one part peat moss or leaf mold, and one part sand or perlite. See this is where the big 'ol green thumb comes in. If you are scratching your head saying what are those items you are not a serious 'Big ol' green thumber'

After repotting, place the plants in a bright, sunny, south window until frost danger is past. In New England that often means, wait a really long time. Sink the pot outdoors where it gets some wind protection, but where it gets sun most of the day. Light shade in the hottest part of the summer afternoon is desirable. Lift the pot occasionally to keep roots from growing into surrounding soil. A small piece of brown paper bag at the bottom of the hole will also help keep the pot from rooting in the soil.

As new shoots develop, cut them back to allow two nodes or pairs of leaves to remain. This will develop a large, bushy plant by late summer. Stop pinching back after mid-August.

Plants may be started from cuttings, but rooting is fairly difficult (when I say fairly I am being generous) under home conditions. Keep the plant in good growing condition by watering and feeding regularly during the summer. Add a complete liquid fertilizer about once every two weeks. Watch carefully for insect or disease problems and control immediately. Discard diseased plants. Before the weather becomes cool in fall, bring the plant indoors and place it at a bright, sunny, south window. Cool night temperatures will improve flower quality. Day temperatures should be 70 to 75 degrees. Good luck with the listed daytime temps here in New England.

The poinsettia is a short day (long night) plant. Make sure it receives no additional light at night while flowers are forming. The critical period begins about October 1, and continues until colored bracts and flower buds are visible.

Even short periods of dim light can prevent flowering. If the plant is kept in a lighted room, cover it every night at dusk with a light-tight bag or cover. Remove the cover at about 8:00 a.m. each morning. This type of devotion to a single plant usually only comes from a master gardener or ...a 'Big ol' green thumber'

Extra illumination from a street or yard light will have the same effect on a poinsettia growing outdoors as it does on plants growing indoors. If you want them to flower, be careful in selecting the location in the landscape. Place the plant so it will receive no additional light after October 1, until the time the bracts show color if they are to bloom by Christmas. If these procedures are followed carefully, the plants should flower by Thanksgiving. You know Thanksgiving the holiday where some well loved family member will accidentally drop a drink on your poinsettia and ruin all your hard work. This is the time when you have to try really hard to remember how much you love your family. ;)

If placed in a protected area where early fall frosts will not harm them, they will make beautiful plants for the next holiday season. They should be cut back 8 to 10 inches each spring to encourage new growth from the base As new shoots develop, cut them back to allow two pairs of leaves per shoot to remain. Every time a new shoot produces about four or five pairs of leaves prune it again. Do not prune after mid-August or flower buds and colored bracts may not form in time for Christmas. Am I repeating myself? You can never say this stuff too many times.

For best results poinsettias must have a well-drained soil and must be fertilized regularly. While poinsettias will not tolerate a wet, poorly drained soil, they do require plenty of water for optimum growth. They tend to drop their leaves if allowed to become too dry.

Now for Best, best results buy your poinsettias each year at Carey's Flowers, come early when the selection is still vast and enjoy a beautiful, living, blooming addition to your home at Christmas time.

How to choose a Pointsetta

How to choose a Pointsetta

* First go to your local family owned, brick and mortar florist NOT a big box store. Geesh! Buy local! Do you know that for every $100 spent in a locally owned independent store, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.

* Don't buy Poinsettia plants that have been left standing outside a corner store; they will already be dead or dying. Go figure why corner stores do this. I guess it works for spontaneous sales, but the reality is that Euphorbia pulcherrima (what a poinsettia is) cannot tolerate cold. These plants originate from Mexico h-e-l-l-o!

* Leaves should not be falling off. If the Poinsettia plant looks a little sparse and twiggy, it has probably been in its plastic sleeve too long. Now why would you want a sparse twiggy plant anyway ewww.

* Look for the cluster of yellowy-green flowers in the centre of each cluster of red leaves. These are the Poinsettia's plant's true flowers; the decorative leaves are actually brachts. The flower cluster should be firm and intact. If they are breaking off or if you can't see any, the plant is inferior. However refrain from pointing this out to the plant itself, it is doing it's best.

* Don't buy a Poinsettia plant if it stinks. Sniff the pot. If the roots are rotting from over-watering or poor air circulation, there will be a sweet, musty smell. This is a sign that the plant is already on the decline. Again why would you want a musty plant in your home?


How to get a Poinsettia plant home

* Take your plant home in a warm car immediately after buying it. Don't leave it in a cold car while you load all the wood you bought at a big box store as the car will be freezing even if you are running the heat full blast. Also don't go shopping for a couple of hours or even a couple of minutes after you purchase your plant at your local brick and mortar florist, take that baby home. Try to remember we live in New England folks and this plant is from MEXICO.

* Make sure your Poinsettia plant is well-wrapped, to avoid giving the plant a cold shock. It should come with a sleeve that can be stapled closed over the canopy of leaves.

How to care for it

* Keep your Poinsettia plant in a room where the temperature stays around 68 F to 70 F and where it will get indirect sunlight. Don't place it near a drafty windowsill. Or cook it by placing on a radiator. The latter happens more than you want to even think about.

* Keep it away from heat vents and avoid placing it too close to a fireplace where heat can scorch leaves and dry out the soil, killing the plant quite quickly.

* Don't over-water. This causes root rot. You can water from the bottom by standing the pot in a few inches of water in the sink for no more than 5 minutes, then let drain well before returning to it's spot in your home.
Carey's Flowers preferred watering method is to water under the plant just above the soil right at the pot line with approximately 1 measuring cup of water. Check the plant the next day if the soil is still moist that is plenty of water, if it seems dry add another 1/2 measuring cup of water. The water should not run out of the bottom of the plant and the soil should be just damp not wet or 'muddy' Each home a Poinsettia plant resides in will require a different amount of water due to things like: home temperature, type of home heating, amount of light plant is getting, etc. Allow the soil to dry out slightly between watering.

* Don't leave your plant in its paper protective sleeve for more than 48 hours maximum. The Poinsettia plant produces low levels of ethylene gas. If allowed to build up in the sleeve, this will cause leaves and bracts to droop or drop right off. This has nothing to do with your florist it has to do with the neglect of the plant, it needs to be out of it's protective sleeve once it's home.

Poinsettias are NOT poisonous!

Hi all! Well, I made it to my second day of posts! I'm on a full on roll now!!

Poinsettia is the traditional Christmas flower, loved for its festive red bracts and dark green foliage. For years poinsettias have been considered poisonous. It was thought that the leaves, stems and milky sap could cause great harm and even death to anyone who ate them. This seemed to apply in a special almost Voodoo like way to cats, as in "OH! that plant will KILL your cat instantaneously while you watch on in horror!" Many people avoid these beautiful plants for this very reason.

The florist trade, in an effort to exonerate the poinsettia, spent thousands of dollars to determine just how toxic the plant was. Extracts of sap, leaf and stem tissue was injected into white mice to determine the levels of toxicity. I'll just throw in here that cats eat mice. The procedure used by the United States Food and Drug Administration was followed with no adverse effect to the mice.

Let me just add that for many, many years we were blessed with a greenhouse cat here at Carey's Flowers named Buster. Each and every year (as Paula Deen would say) she ate herself some poinsettia plants and she went to heaven at the ripe old age of 23.
This means the poinsettia can be removed from the list of poisonous plants.

However the Veterinarians are slow to recognize this fact. I spent the better part of 20 minutes explaining to my Vet, that the facts are the facts and it's time to let the old world thinking and warnings go. I'm pretty sure I convinced her and her staff, but just in case I missed the mark with them, I sent over a bunch of poinsettia plants for the office. Each plant had a note attached that said - ' I am not poisonous to people or animals, I am pet friendly and house beautiful.'
This does not mean I recommend eating the plant, and I would recommend keeping the plant out of the reach of small children, but now you no longer need to worry. Remember some people are allergic (allergic not 'will keel over dead') to the sap. Also eating houseplants is downright yucky if you ask me, and if you have a habit of eating them (houseplants) perhaps you should seek help. :)