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Christmas Cactus Flowers

Hi everyone!  I got a digital camera for Christmas and i had to try it out so here's a pic of the flowers on my Christmas cactus.  I started this cactus from about 5 cuttings from my mom's cactus about 3 years ago.  This is the first time it's really flowered.  I think these cactuses have one of most beautiful flowers of any plant.

christmas%20cactus%202.jpg


     
          -buckeye
 
very nice. How did you get it to flower? I remember reading somewhere that you have to do something quite specific - like 12 hrs light, 12 hours dark or was it darkness for a week? I'd be interested to know if you did anything special.
Great photo!
Neil
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Buckeye,
I have a Christmas cactus that was my grandmother's that is blooming like crazy also
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.  I agree with you about the beauty of of the flowers.  I really like the colors.

@ Neil - I just let mine do its thing in my south window. I don't give it any special treatment and will have to admit to being somewhat negligent of it as I forget to water it for several weeks at a time most of the year.

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BCK
 
Hi Neil. I pretty much do the same thing BCK does except mine is on a stand near a north window. The cactus is in a spare room that gets fairly cool at night and I think that helps trigger it to flower. Also, we only have about 9 hours of daylight here right now and i think this helps too.


-buckeye
 
My parents have a huge christmas cactus. They usually leave it be, and the reduced photoperiod makes it flower this time of year. However, you can get it to flower twice a year, if you put it in the dark for a week. They've done that a few times, in late spring or summer.

btw, if anyone is interested in knowing, they need to be crosspolinated to form seeds (or at least mine did, they didn't form seeds when I self-pollinated, or pollinated from other flowers on the same plant), but it seems to be fairly easy to do it. I used pollen from another plant that had finished flowering, about 2 weeks old... Seedpods take a long time to form, and I'm about to find out how well seeds germinate!

The cooler temperatures may help them flower as well, like you suggest.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]btw, if anyone is interested in knowing, they need to be crosspolinated to form seeds (or at least mine did, they didn't form seeds when I self-pollinated, or pollinated from other flowers on the same plant), but it seems to be fairly easy to do it. I used pollen from another plant that had finished flowering, about 2 weeks old... Seedpods take a long time to form, and I'm about to find out how well seeds germinate!

I might try this! It would be interesting to see christmas cactus seedlings. I wonder what they look like. Oh but would it work to cross pollinate my cactus with my mom's, if mine are cuttings from hers?? I would guess not since they are really the same plant. Maybe I'll have to get another one if I want seed.

-buckeye
 
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