23-07-2004, 09:02 PM
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Zygocactus/Xmas Cactus
In article ,
(A. Turner) wrote:
Hi Fellow Gardeners:
I have 2 Xmas Cactus plants inside my home that are growing wild!
They bloom beautifully, but are really overgrown for the size of the
pot. Very difficult to manage/water them.
What is the safest way to trim these plants? Where should the cut be
positioned? Anything I need to watch out for?
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Adam
They can be separated between any pair of leaves (really leaf-like
branches called "phylloclades") to keep it to a preferable size & to
insure lots of blooms its next flowering season. Ideally one to three
phylloclades are scissored off at the joints shortly after it finishes
flowering, but more can be cut off if its really getting too big, & doing
it later in the year won't hurt it though you will be removing wee starts
of buds by doing it in summer so it will not be quite so full of blooms
that year. The removed phylloclades are exceedingly easy to root, too, so
pot up the clippings & before long they'll be growing fast too, ready to
give to friends or to kids in the family if they've shown even slight
interest in plants.
Pruning causes the tips of the branches to fork, resulting in more places
for buds & flowers. Pruning also stimulates root growth, so eventually you
will have to move it to a bigger pot, though they can stand being
rootbound for quite a long time.
If they've been blooming great for a few years already, I presume you know
about chilling them for a couple of weeks late in autumn. If they're in a
drafty window or unheated plant room or porch, they'll be naturally
chilled enough (a "chill" meaning only about 50 degrees F., though they
can tolerate lower) but in a well heated & well insulated house they may
not experience sufficient chill for them to detect seasons, which they
need to do in order to finish preparing their buds.
-paghat the ratgirl
--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com
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