and how do I keep its flower buds from dropping? The buds are the same pink
color of a typical "Christmas cactus", but quite a bit smaller.

http://webpages.charter.net/slyrp/pl...plant_2871.JPG

On Nov 21, 12:01*pm, "Nelly Wensdow" wrote:
and how do I keep its flower buds from dropping? The buds are the same pink
color of a typical "Christmas cactus", but quite a bit smaller.

http://webpages.charter.net/slyrp/pl...pe%20plant_287...

It is a Christmas Cactus.
MJ

"Nelly Wensdow" writes:

and how do I keep its flower buds from dropping? The buds are the same pink
color of a typical "Christmas cactus", but quite a bit smaller.

http://webpages.charter.net/slyrp/pl...plant_2871.JPG

Definitly Christmas Cactus.

It looks a bit scraggly. All of ours have wider leaves and are more
compact.

I water them once a week, keep them in a north facing window and
usually have flowers from November to May. The side facing the window
will start blooming so I turn it so we can see the flowers. Then it
will start blooming on the other side after a week or 2.

I've had some buds fall off but not a lot.

It is a Christmas Cactus.
MJ
_________

The leaves (stems) are neither wide nor flat, but thanks for guessing. I
suppose I would've described if I'd known the picture was so poor it
could've been mistaken for Schlumbergera.
The mature stem segments are about 2 - 2.5" each, average 1cm wide, are
"angularly cylindrical" with four deep ribs, and have stiffened tufts of
scant hairs. Flowers are terminal, and in my case in both senses of the
word. I was so looking forward to seeing what they looked
like - if for no other reason than to at least identify it! I'm so
disappointed & want to know what I did wrong. The RH in here isn't much
above 40%, but I had brought it indoors at least 6 weeks before there was
any sign of budding. For a great many plants that's long enough to acclimate
themselves, isn't it? The buds grew to only about 5mm, got nice & pink then
easily fell off when I only barely moved the pot.

On Nov 21, 3:18*pm, wrote:
"Nelly Wensdow" writes:
and how do I keep its flower buds from dropping? The buds are the same pink
color of a typical "Christmas cactus", but quite a bit smaller.

http://webpages.charter.net/slyrp/pl...pe%20plant_287...

Definitly Christmas Cactus.

It looks a bit scraggly. *All of ours have wider leaves and are more
compact.

I *water them once a week, keep them in a north facing window and
usually have flowers from November to May. *The side facing the window
will start blooming so I turn it so we can see the flowers. *Then it
will start blooming on the other side after a week or 2.

I've had some buds fall off but not a lot.

I wish I could get mine to bloom. It inherited it from my mother who
inherited it from her mother. Seriously, this thing is that old. Well,
other than keeping it green I have had no luck at all. I have been
reading tips for almost two years now it is disapointing.
MJ

On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:01:16 -0600, "Nelly Wensdow"
wrote:

and how do I keep its flower buds from dropping? The buds are the same pink
color of a typical "Christmas cactus", but quite a bit smaller.

http://webpages.charter.net/slyrp/pl...plant_2871.JPG



It is a zygocactus and there are many varieties and colors. Best
thing to do when they are setting bud is to leave them alone. I hold
back water during the flowering stage. A cold room with no extra
artificial light is ideal. I have three, one blooms at Thanksgiving,
one at Christmas and another at Easter.

One of the most frustrating things that can happen to Christmas cactus is
after the flower buds have developed they drop off the plant. Bud drop can
be caused by anyone of several different conditions. Usually it's because of
over-watering, lack of humidity or insufficient light. I got this from a
page for how to care for one.

"Nelly Wensdow" wrote in message
...
and how do I keep its flower buds from dropping? The buds are the same
pink color of a typical "Christmas cactus", but quite a bit smaller.

http://webpages.charter.net/slyrp/pl...plant_2871.JPG

MJ,
Have you ever thought about "loaning" it to someone who can
help bring your Christmas cactic back to life? I don't have an
indoor green thumb but if I had something as precious as you
have, I'd find some plant doctor for help asap.

Donna
in WA

I wish I could get mine to bloom. It inherited it from my mother who
inherited it from her mother. Seriously, this thing is that old. Well,
other than keeping it green I have had no luck at all. I have been
reading tips for almost two years now it is disapointing.
MJ

"Nelly Wensdow" writes:

The leaves (stems) are neither wide nor flat, but thanks for guessing. I
suppose I would've described if I'd known the picture was so poor it
could've been mistaken for Schlumbergera.
The mature stem segments are about 2 - 2.5" each, average 1cm wide, are
"angularly cylindrical" with four deep ribs, and have stiffened tufts of
scant hairs. Flowers are terminal, and in my case in both senses of the
word. I was so looking forward to seeing what they looked
like - if for no other reason than to at least identify it! I'm so
disappointed & want to know what I did wrong. The RH in here isn't much
above 40%, but I had brought it indoors at least 6 weeks before there was
any sign of budding. For a great many plants that's long enough to acclimate
themselves, isn't it? The buds grew to only about 5mm, got nice & pink then
easily fell off when I only barely moved the pot.

In comparison to the Christmas Cactus in the original picture,
here are 3 of ours. The leaf shape is pretty clear on the plant
on the bottom.

All three show blooming on one side of the plant at a time.
The blooming side is to the front while other sides are developing buds.

This works out well for us, the plant blooms for months.

When we had them in a south facing window they'd bloom all at once.

Simple rule for making them bloom is not moving the pot starting from
summer befor ethey start to set to buds.
If you move the pot, all buds will drop - no excuse and no help.
Many years of experience with this plant.
Greetings,



On Nov 22, 6:18*am, wrote:
"Nelly Wensdow" writes:
The leaves (stems) are neither wide nor flat, but thanks for guessing. I
suppose I would've described if I'd known the picture was so poor it
could've been mistaken for Schlumbergera.
The mature stem segments are about 2 - 2.5" each, average 1cm wide, are
"angularly cylindrical" with four deep ribs, and have stiffened tufts of
scant hairs. Flowers are terminal, and in my case in both senses of the
word. I was so looking forward to seeing what they looked
like - if for no other reason than to at least identify it! I'm so
disappointed & want to know what I did wrong. The RH in here isn't much
above 40%, but I had brought it indoors at least 6 weeks before there was
any sign of budding. For a great many plants that's long enough to acclimate
themselves, isn't it? The buds grew to only about 5mm, got nice & pink then
easily fell off when I only barely moved the pot.

In comparison to the Christmas Cactus in the original picture,
here are 3 of ours. *The leaf shape is pretty clear on the plant
on the bottom.

All three show blooming on one side of the plant at a time.
The blooming side is to the front while other sides are developing buds.

This works out well for us, the plant blooms for months.

When we had them in a south facing window they'd bloom all at once.

writes:

"Nelly Wensdow" writes:

The leaves (stems) are neither wide nor flat, but thanks for guessing. I
suppose I would've described if I'd known the picture was so poor it
could've been mistaken for Schlumbergera.
The mature stem segments are about 2 - 2.5" each, average 1cm wide, are
"angularly cylindrical" with four deep ribs, and have stiffened tufts of
scant hairs. Flowers are terminal, and in my case in both senses of the
word. I was so looking forward to seeing what they looked
like - if for no other reason than to at least identify it! I'm so
disappointed & want to know what I did wrong. The RH in here isn't much
above 40%, but I had brought it indoors at least 6 weeks before there was
any sign of budding. For a great many plants that's long enough to acclimate
themselves, isn't it? The buds grew to only about 5mm, got nice & pink then
easily fell off when I only barely moved the pot.

In comparison to the Christmas Cactus in the original picture,
here are 3 of ours. The leaf shape is pretty clear on the plant
on the bottom.

All three show blooming on one side of the plant at a time.
The blooming side is to the front while other sides are developing buds.

This works out well for us, the plant blooms for months.

When we had them in a south facing window they'd bloom all at once.

Gee... did I leave out the URL?

Meant to include:

http://mysite.verizon.net/despen/xmas_cactus.jpg

On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:32:23 -0800, "Lelandite" wrote:

MJ,
Have you ever thought about "loaning" it to someone who can
help bring your Christmas cactic back to life? I don't have an
indoor green thumb but if I had something as precious as you
have, I'd find some plant doctor for help asap.

Donna
in WA

I wish I could get mine to bloom. It inherited it from my mother who
inherited it from her mother. Seriously, this thing is that old. Well,
other than keeping it green I have had no luck at all. I have been
reading tips for almost two years now it is disapointing.
MJ



Have you repotted your plants? Fed them with fish emulaion? They
need food during the growing season to get good winter bloom. They
need quick drainage, less water than most plants.

On Nov 21, 10:51*pm, Ewa Szulc wrote:
Simple rule for making them bloom is not moving the pot starting from
summer befor ethey start to set to buds.
If you move the pot, all buds will drop - no excuse and no help.
Many years of experience with this plant.
Greetings,


I don't think I'd agree with this advice :-) I had one equally as aged
as the one described - inherited from my mother - plus grew several of
my own. They got moved constantly.....in fact, they would regularly
summer out of doors then get moved back inside when cold weather
threatened. As soon as they came back inside, they immediately set
buds and started blooming. And they would rebloom after a period of
time - around 6 weeks - following their initial bloom sequence. Moving
them has no direct effect on blooming unless other conditions are
limiting factors.

If you look at various sources on zygocactus, they will all tell you
that blooming is triggered by daylength and/or temperature. They need
an uninterrupted period of darkness (much like a poinsettia) OR cool
temperatures (50-55F). Excessive light or too warm indoor temperatures
will retard or delay blooming. Water only enough to keep the stems
turgid but allow the soil to dry in between waterings. Bright indirect
light and keep out of drafts or exposure to sources of heat. And feel
free to move it as much as you want as long as the rest of these
qualifiers are met :-)

In comparison to the Christmas Cactus in the original picture,
here are 3 of ours. The leaf shape is pretty clear on the plant
on the bottom.
http://mysite.verizon.net/despen/xmas_cactus.jpg


And here again is hopefully a little better picture of the plant, along with
a single leaf/stem from my Christmas cactus at the base for comparison
(which btw never has any problem with blooming or bud drop). It is a
reasonably healthy and very typical specimen, and not "scraggly" as someone
put it.

http://webpages.charter.net/slyrp/pl...ra%20_2886.JPG
(wrap)

If it has to be a Schlumbergera, then I guess it must be S. x exotica. Sure
took me long enough to find it - I'd been searching for weeks. I sure didn't
know there existed any Christmas cactus with stems other than "flattened".
Blossom-wise, it's turning out to be a much more difficult plant than my
truncata. It has a couple more teensy tiny little pink buds forming, and if
it drops them again just because I breathed in the same zip code I think
it'll wind up in the compost heap before long.

Anyway, thanks for all the help.