I lost many of my Holiday Cactus when I was laid up this past summer and I decided to try and replace some of the S. Brazil collection I had. I bought some from Whitten in late Fall and here is a S. Ara Brazil blooming for the first time. It arrived here in October as a new baby. These normally bloom in November when they are Mature. They are actually Thanksgiving cactus.

Has anyone been thinking about buying some Easter Cactus? The Latin name is Hatiora gaertneri. They are in the Cactaceae family, the Genus is Hatiora and the Species is gaertneri. There are several other names that are used in discussions about Easter Cactus, i.e. Schlumbergera gaertneri, Epiphyllopsis gaertneri and Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri which are the most popular used. I have had a few of them but only one has really progressed for me and has bloomed at different times of the year, yet it is still an Easter Cactus. This is the time of year or really after March 1st that Home Depot, Loews and those stores will be getting them in for sale. I like to buy mine from a grower because they ususally have a cultivar (name)
on them and I am a nut about plants having names. NOIDS just make me crazy yet I have a few of those myself and they are beautiful.

If you are interested in Easter Cactus information please let me know and I will share what I have with you.

Whitton's has a pretty good selection of holiday cacti - but they're not shipping until approximately March 1 due to weather concerns. I've never had an Easter cactus, but after seeing them, I think I like the flowers just a little bit better than the others. I may have to try one this spring

Whitten's had a nice selection of colors of the Easter Cactus on their website. I wrote them a note asking will they take orders and hold them until March when they decide to ship and never got a reply. Guess that tells me something. They are enjoying a well earned vacation. Just a few more weeks to go and then we can all go wild again shopping.

JB--

I have had a red Easter cactus for a few years. Since I may nor be taking the correct care of it.
it seldom blooms--and if it does--it is in June or such.

Last year, I bought a PINK Easter cactus at Rite Aid--of all places. I thought--WOW!!!
Me thinks they were artificially dyed to be pink. I will see if anything pink shows up in spring.

I meant to take a lot of cuttings from my Holiday cactus--but somehow never got to it.
Overall--I don't think they are doing a well as in years past. Sections keep falling off...
Is that bc of too much watering--or not enough? I just cannot let mt CC's dry up--even if it is
their "rest" period--so I water lightly. The fronds just shrivel up and fall off. Once they are shriveled up--
they never root again.
I know it is the environment I have to keep them in during the winter. Not enough light. Too dry. Too warm
bc my forced air heat vent is really close. I bet they would do better in a cooler environment.
They did SOOO well a couple years ago. Should I be fertilizing them at this time?

JB--I have an overabundance of Spider Plants. All kinds.
I recently re-potted my old "onnie Spider". It was getting so bogged down in the pot. Splaying apart.

Took it all out--trimmed some roots--divided them up and re-potted them in fresh soil mix.
Right now--they are just recovering...I wanted to do this before I take them outside.

If you want some Bonnie (curly) Spiders--I can send yu some. LMK.

Gita

Gita, you are not alone with the Christmas (Holiday) Cactus. Everyone seems to be having the same problems with the dropping segments and over watering. I lost one of my oldest ones and am looking at a few bare old stems wondering if I should throw it out or put it in the greenhouse and let it just die on its own. So sad.

I appreciate your offer of plants, but I am not going to do anything just now until I get my full strength back, if I ever do.

Thanks, JB.
When the CCF "leaves" get all desiccated and wrinkly, it is hard to tell if it is because they need more
watering--or less. I have never seen a wrinkled up leaf recover. Whatever the cause was.
However--usually it starts in the roots or the base of the stems--like a rot or fungus and then the leaves die.
The pictures below show what (maybe?) older-stems look like. Some of the leaves are limp.

I keep watering them when they are bone dry--and I think it helps. If I let them go very dry,
I don't think they are too happy. Have to play it by ear......

Gita

1--This is a white Easter Cactus. See! This does not look good! Like--it gets 'woody'---maybe needs fresh soil?

2--A closer look at the base of this Easter Cactus.

3--This is my true Christmas Cactus--giving me one bloom at a time. Doing OK though.

4--Divided one of my huge Clivias last week. The one on the left. NOT the pot on the right. That is a different one.
The one I divided is the pretty one--with the rounded leaf-tips & intense orange blooms.
Got 3 big, newly potted sections from the pot-bound one. (douplicate photo--sorry!)

5--And two smaller divisions as well. These are promised as is one of the bigger ones.
I am keeping the other two.

Dividing a Clivia is hard--they have these fat, white roots--like a big, white Mop.
Re-potting has to be careful so as not to break too many of the roots off yet leave
them spread out.

JB, your Clivias are beautiful and healthy. I recently bought 2 of those square pots like you have on clearance. I wonder what I did with them?

Deebie---
Deebie--

Yes! They were yellow-tagged at $5.03. There were some bigger ones of this model too. $8.03 I think.
Once a clearanced (yellow-tagged) item's sale price ends in a "3"--it is on it's way to oblivion--
aka the "CHUTE". CRUNCH!!!

I work at a HD--in GARDEN. It was a slow day--so I decided to see what was in the overheads
in all those boxes that had not been moved in ages. These pots were in one of those boxes.
There were 4 of them. I put them on the shelf--price-tagged them-and when i was leaving to go home,
I bough 2 of them. They are pretty--and only $5!

Always look at the yellow tags on shelves--especially, if the price ends in a "3". Grab it.

Gita

Oops, Gita. I called you JB by mistake. I was browsing around in HD in Summerville, on the outskirts of Charleston waiting to meet a local ATP member for a plant swap meet at Lowe's of all places, when I saw those pots. I got 2 of the large pots for $8.03 and some smaller versions of another pot style. They are white with a basketweave pattern. I was ecstatic. Believe me, from now on I keep my eyes wide open for bargains like that.

My aunt passed away recently and I asked my cousin if I could have a piece of her Christmas cactus. He said "sure, she told me it's 125 years old".

Now I have a piece of true CC, plus, more importantly, it was a piece of hers.

I'm crossing my fingers that I treat it right and it makes it.

Julie, we're so sorry to hear about the loss of your Aunt. It's nice that you were able to acquire a piece of her plant. It will make a wonderful keepsake in memory of her. We're hoping that caring for it brings you much pleasure and many blooms for years to come.

Gita, the white Easter Cactus , if it has a name, may be rare. The one called Sirius is rare and sells at Logee's when they have it. I bought one for my daughter years ago and it seldom blooms because she never moves it to a dark spot. It is beautiful plant but unless they get their dark time they will not bloom.

These are Schlumbergera Brazil plants that survived the summer and are blooming again.

S. Sao Paulo Brazil bud:



S. Sao Paulo Brazil open day later:



S. Vila Velha Brazil



S. Amazonas Brazil

This freezing cold makes me want to look for new houseplants. I gave Whitton's website a look today for Easter Cactus. They really have some beautiful plants and are shipping after March 1st. I am looking for a white and yellow Easter Cactus. They have Red, Orange, Pink in lots of different plants. I think they have about 24 different varieties in those three colors.

I am a real fan of the red Holiday Cactus and @Gitagal has one of the most beautiful reds I ever saw. She sent me cuttings and I now have a beautiful red Holiday Cactus, thanks to her. This is a picture of it:


This is my latest red called S. Pretty Brazil

JB--Those are some nice flowers! ..including my red one.....

My CC's, of all kinds, are not exactly bursting forth in full bloom.
May be the weather? may be too much night light? I don't know....
Thinking next fall--I may want to drape some black weed-block fabric
over the plant stand and shelving for the night to give them more dark

Here is my True Christmas Cactus piddling along with 2-3 blooms at a time.
They are pretty....but not a full blooming plant. This is on my LR window shelf for the winter.
Some are actually perking up--must be the warmth and the better light?

Compared to this show from November 2013
Note that on the TRUE CC--the blooms hang straight down and the "leaves" have smooth edges,
and they are more petite and dainty.
Taken in Nov. 2013.

As always Gita, your plants are super. I found a bloom on one of my new babies that I dot last November. It is the replacement of S. Anapolis Brazil. Interesting to see the difference in the two different plants bloom colors and they have the same name.....different growers.

This one is the plant I lost last year during my recovery...it was outside and either burned up or just gave up. Same name, the color is darker than the newer plant.






This is the newer plant's first bloom.




Seems to be more white on the new plant.

JB--

I have an odd bloom to show you. It is your "Peaches and Cream CC.
There are maybe 2 blooms on this plant now--but look at the color!

it looks almost striated. Pretty! But--weird. Gita

Hi Gita, The Peaches N Cream is a strange flower, it has the cream part really showing on the bud before it opens and then when it opens that is usually on the lower petals. The environment you keep them in makes a difference in the color of many of these species. This same plant would have a different color flower if I had it in the greenhouse. The amount of heat, humidity, all things must be considered. Here are some pictures of the Peaches N Cream plant I had in the house. Your flower is beautiful, just living in a different environment I am sure.

JB--
the only other bloom on the "Peaches and Cream" is a normal color. Both on the same shelf.
I don't have a picture.

As you said some time ago--this year has been really odd on the CC's.

G.