Viewing post #481609 by JB

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Sep 11, 2013 12:24 PM CST
Name: Jacquie (JB) Berger
Wrightstown, New Jersey (Zone 6b)

Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: United States of America Region: New Jersey Houseplants Container Gardener
Farmer Keeps Horses Dog Lover Birds The WITWIT Badge Plays in the sandbox
Hi everyone, I heard my name and here I am. I read the above posts and I can tell you the ladies are right on the money.

I have about about 50 Christmas/Holiday cactus stock plants in the house of which 10 are my Brazil collection, 2 very old S X.Buckleyi , 1 red , 1 very very old fuschia, a very old pink (that has very round smooth leaves and has more russelliana features) that when I sell it I do not say what it is for sure because even the Cactusguide men would not commit themselves to saying for sure and i depend on them when I am really not sure since I always try and sell my babies with an accurate name. That is one reason some of my plants are not on my ATP List since I am not completely sure of their background. Most the the collection other than those I mentioned are S. Truncata hybrids. The Holiday cactus (the hybrids) begin to bloom in late October or November and continue until March or April. The older ones begin to bloom in late December and bloom until February. I keep them all in indirect sunlight most of the time at a temperature of 70 to 72 year round. I have one or two that get some sun but most are lucky to get a glimmer. They get fed and watered regularly year round because I do not have time to decide who gets what, when. They all get treated the same. I do use a wand rather than my fingers since it is just easier and faster for me. If I find a very dry plant I may decide to get off schedule and water it, depending on how the leaves look. Otherwise they get watered once every 7 to 10 days. I do not cut back on the watering at anytime. Nor do I put them in the dark at any time. But, i do go to bed early and they have whatever light they get from outside all day and night. I do not pull the shades for them. When daylight time goes off, they love it since it gets dark earlier and light later.

The article by @SongofJoy should be very helpful and is written so most people would understand it. The book she recommends is MY bible for the Schlums. It is full of much information that is way over my head at times but when you need to know something you can usually find it there. I do not recommend it for a person who just has one or two plants unless you want to really get into the basics and history of these wonderful plants.

I do agree, that our methods and suggestions may not work for everyone and you need to try them and see if they work for you. Growing these plants is easy only when you find what works for you best. I have been doing this for nearly 10 years and I have lost many because I tried something new and it did not work for me.
I think it is wonderful there are so many suggestions to choose from and that is without a doubt the best thing about ATP.

Today I am having a hissy fit because the temperature has climbed into the 90's and my greenhouse temp with fans going is 106 deg. I gave the babies a misting about noon and am hoping it cools them down during the heat of the day. Just another note, the greenhouse has mostly Christmas Cactus in it. The Jasmine, goldfish, spiders and begonias are also in there but the heat does not bother them. The orchid cactus are all outside with some of the Jasmine and gardenias so they are o.k. also. But, the starter plants of the Christmas Cactus are really not happy when it is too warm or hot as it is today. Mine have survived some winter nights that were really cold in the GH due to heater problems, etc. I would rather have it too cold for them than too hot. Just my old honest opinion. Have fun and enjoy your Schlums. I could not live without mine.

Sorry I was rambling. *Blush* Can not get enough of these particular plants. Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin
Come Visit us and chat awhile at
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