JB ,I had been wondering if that was you and i had decided it was just by reading your post and your beautiful avatar.Your plants and their bloom are always beautiful.I also think your the only person who i've ever heard of that your CC's bloom as long as your have!!!! Glad it is you,I hardly use DG except for the plant data base,glad to have you back,I will be checking out your cubits!!

I have noticed that MG has changed some of it's potting medium.I always read the contents and they are different in some states Ga. being one of them (where i live).The cactus,succulent soil last year it seems like it was always to heavy and i believe a few people had commented on that.This year when i bought some it is definitely different,heavy is the last thing it is,i have to water anything i plant in it more often a lot more often.I have been trying my hand at succulents and it is very very well draining & quick to dry.Schultz makes a cactus,succulent soil that I like better i had been mixing them until i started having a hard time finding schultz.
JB,
Hope Polka Dancer did well for you!!

I have to agree MG has made some changes. Maybe because of the complaints but I have not had the same problems of having to mix extra drainage with their product.

Well, that is good to hear! It's been a couple of years I've used any, and at that time it was still too heavy and moisture retentive for GH use.

Jo, I am so glad to see you again. Yes Polka Dancer is super, in fact, I was able to get a stock plant also and have a few babies up for sale. It is a nice and easy plant to start. Very healthy. Your cuttings are looking great and I am going to keep one or two of them for stock also.

I am really over stocked this year, how that happened I do not know but it did. All together I have about 15 different colors in stock plants and I swear not to buy more, but then another one pops up and I do it anyhow. What is it with these CC that actually is addictive?

I am waiting for my Plant Scout membership to run out and then I am out of DG also. I do use their plant base and there are really only about three places I post and I do that because I love the people.
I started with Dave on DG and I am still with Dave, I stayed on with DG because of the Market Place and now that it is gone there is no need to be there. PS is for the larger vendors. I do very little business from there.

Please check out my cubits store on Cubits.Org. http://cubits.org/JBsPlants/st...

And be sure and join my cubits, I need the members so I can spread the word and move some of these plants. I also want and need members like you who can help answer questions on my Forums I have started. I have one for several species and I depend on my other grower friends
to help with the information sharing. I do not want to compete with any other forums but I want my customers and friends to be able to do one stop shopping. It is more personal that way than sending them away for answers to questions.

i really am getting too old for this business....but I love my little CC and want to share the fun I have growing them as well as the information so more people learn to care for them properly.
I am rambling. Sorry. So glad to see you. COME SEE ME.

You have so many I have a question. Do you have any that seem to always want to die. I have about 5 different ones and this one seems to always want to die. I manage to keep it alie by rooting pieces eery summer.

I do not have a name.

That is a beauty. I would love to know the name, but then again, that does not really matter. It is just gorgeous. I would love to get my hands on one of those. The picture is such a pretty color. That is like a salmon with a pink center. I will keep my eyes open and maybe we can find a name for it.

To answer your question, No, I do not have any of my stock/mother plants that want to die but I have a feeling you are watering it too much. Why not ignore it for a few weeks and touch the soil after that time and see if it is dryer than it was. Maybe you have root rot and need to repot it. Does it shrivel up when it dies or what?

Sad to say I am a lazy mommy. I do not water. So over water will never be my problem. My other CC and Easter Cactus are fine I have no problem. It usually starts to try to die after it blooms. It all of a sudden looks like it is trying to grow a brown trunk. So it gets brown and hard near the soil. Looks good above the brown then the green starts get brown. So it is like a upward browning disease. I lift it out and there are roots. Just hard brown moving up to take over and kill the plant disease.

It is the prettiest CC I have. I wonder if it is a weak breed thing. The blooms look different also the bloom as you can see seems to be more reflective than my other holiday cactus.


I think I purchased it at the grocery store because that is where I usually pick them up. After they are done blooming the grocery store put them on sale for a dollar.

Someone on a cactus forum suggested it might be a Thor I think that is what they said it might be.

I have several Thors so I will check the pictures and see if they are similiar.

Thank you JB I di not know if bud stage will help but this is a bud stage shot.

Do you see a resemblance to my picture on my posts. They look pretty much alike in the shape or is it my eye playing games. I only have one eye and I need to keep looking to be sure. That one is a bud of Peaches and Cream Zygocactus ( which you know is just another name for a Schlumbergera. It depends where your plant was raised which name they call it). It is a hybrid of course.

I would guess your plant is a truncata so, the only thing left is to keep searching pictures and try and find a match and go from there. I know I have seen that flower before. The Orange with pink center is sometimes seen in the "salmon colors" problem is, no one knows the names. They got them at the Acme or HD or Lowes and they have no tags on them. I hate that. I have gotten to the point where if I want to use a plant for a stock plant that is not marked I will not buy it until it can be identified. I hate selling plants without identification of some kind. When you buy them by the thousands as they do in these stores, I can see how it happens.

Yes your avitar does look like the same shape. Because I do not sell or trade much it does not matter to me about names most of the time. That is why I will buy them when they are not blooming. I like the color in the house during the winter months. Plus it is a nice surprise when they bloom. I just need something to get me through the winter.

I do the same thing with Amaryllis. I could see if it is your business you need the names. I have gotten some expensive plants because I just buy. I probably would not get the rare and good plants if I was looking for them to sell.

My local grocery store sell expensive exotic plant baskets so that is why they have some good stock plants on their sale table. It is left over from baskets they made or extras. It is one of those upscale specialty grocery stores where everything is over the top expensive. Fun place to visit and pick up things you would not buy unless it was on sale if you are poor or you have a lot of disposable income.

Cinta, I feel the same way about Winter. I came here from Lancaster, PA. I am a Pa. Dutch Country gal for sure. My daughter bought me a gardenia from the Acme one year. I loved it so much and I wanted to see if I could propagate it but I wanted to be sure it was not patented first. I researched all the markings on the pot, numbers etc. and found it was an Gardenia Jasminoide Aimee. I have been propagating and selling them for years now. It is such fun and it becomes addictive I swear.

If you are happy doing your thing by all means do it. What difference does it make if the plant has a name if you want it for your pleasure? I sometimes loose the tags in my starter plants. When I get four or five or more without ID I put them up on eBay for $2.45 each. They sell within hours of posting it for the first time. People are funny and I love it. I have a Cubits store now and if you join my cubits and have access to my store you may cash in on some of the "good buys" that I am going to begin in another week. I am going to give my cubits members first chance before I put things on eBay since they have shown interest in my store. Please come see me and sign in, you never know what I will be doing next in that store.

The link to the store is under my signature. Enjoy and if you join the cubits let me know so I can be sure you are on the list to notify for specials.

I thought you might like to see the babies I have growing in the greenhouse. I am so proud of myself this year...I have really managed to keep them all alive with this stupid weather. It has been a challenge but I am trying my best.



They are all different colors Christmas/Holiday Cactus.
20 of them get shipped out Monday. They are selling like hot cakes.

WOW

Most impressive.

JB,

I have looked at what you have and as i sat looking every few minutes i would holler i have to get this one or look at the color of this CC. Finally my husband said do you have the mastercard if so i need it so give it here.He got his point across ,i can't have one of everything. Which just for the record i find very unfair!!

What do you propagate your cuttings in or is it the same medium you grow them in? I have a if you were question but i sure you have before.
If you were going to propagate a CC for yourself say for your home,would you start the cutting in the pot that you plan on growing the plant in until it needs re-potting? Is that the best thing to do so you don't have to move the baby,which leads back to my first question?

Your green house picture with all those babies is just amazing!!!
Do you have 1 or 2 helpers to help you keep everything in order & watered & planted & checked everyday etc...etc... was that to nosy if so just don't answer it.If i asked a question that invaded your personal space,even online i try not to do that I apologize.

Everyone have a wonderful day!!! This is the first morning in a long time that i got out of bed myself!!! Most of you are thinking "huh" & don't realize what a good thing that is ,when usually the hubby has to get me out of bed & to the couch.Then i have to work my muscle's until they unlock.So today is a great day

Are you saying that your husband thinks you're out of control? LOL! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge on CC or Holiday cactus with all of us..I'm a newbie to this plant. I took a cutting from a friend's plant while I was babysitting it for 2 weeks but I didn't have the right soil so hoping it will take hole. In fact, I need to go out there now and check it. It is on my wrought iron teacart that has a glass top and that is under the eaves of the garage, so hope it is not too hot for it. Need to check the moistness of the soil. I think I will buy my own Holiday Cactus and take cuttings from that.

Great way to start the day my friend. Hugs and Prayers coming your way.

You tell your husband that my plants are cheap and when you need something I have, you just hollar. If I can not sell you a plant I may be able to give you a piece of it for you to start yourself. So there.

Anyhow, you twist off a piece about 3 to 5 inches long at a section of your CC plant. Leave it lay on a paper towel for a few days then put it in a small 3" pot with good potting soil that has good drainage and aeration because they do not grow well in heavy wet mixes. You should be sure the mix has something like peat moss, sand, or compost added to the mix. I keep mine really moist during the early days but not too wet or they will get root rot. You should not use a big pot because it needs to form strong roots in a small pot, not long skinny roots in a large pot. You can replant it in a year or two to a larger pot or when you feel it is pot bound in the 3" pot. some people start them in smaller pots. it would be up to you. I have purchased them in plugs already. Not a lot of sun, just good shady light is good. You can do it I know you can.

No one helps me with the greenhouse but I do have a 40 yr old lady who has been with me for years that comes once a week and cleans my house, does my bed , etc. But otherwise, I do it all myself. Propagating, shipping, etc. Just little old me. You do not need a greenhouse to propagate these babies. Do you know Gita from DG? She does her own and she works at Home Depot. She starts hers in paper cups...little ones. Some of them. She would be a good one to talk about raising them in your house. I have not seen her on ATP yet.

Must get busy. Talk later. Have a good day. Darn, it is going to storm again.

I believe that maybe i got my epi's from Gita,when i was at DG,before i found cubits & ATP.

My CC's i propagated last time they finished blooming,are doing ok,but ok just isn't how i have learned to grow the rest of my plants.I thought maybe i would find out something i did wrong or something that works better than what i did.I rooted them shallow,in indirect sun on my dresser.I have a hard time with my cuttings rotting if i water them.I have found that covering them and only misting them works much better,soil stays moist,they don't rot.I actually rooted them in a shallow drain tray from an old flower pot.Right now i can't find the right mix for them to grow in.M-gro has changed their cactus,succulent soil to a mix that dry's to fast and i don't think it holds enough water?I will figure it out,there's a lot of smart people to put their heads together and it's probably like everything,it's some small thing that i know just not remembering right now

Our bathrooms have skylights in the ceiling..do you think that would be a good place to place the CC/Holiday Cactus. I've been trying to think of a plant that would grow in there, without putting a hook in the ceiling for a hanging plant. DH won't allow that. I have a pass through window in kitchen to sunroom but the sunroom glare is so bad on the TV and my husband's eyes that we keep them closed till about 6 pm. Otherwise, all you see is reflections from the houses/streets behind us. Have flourescent lighting in the kitchen.