The first Christmas cactus I ever encountered was at my slap-up - grandma ’s theater . Bedstemor , as we called her , was a well-thought-of African violet stock breeder and grower .
She even appeared in the newspaper where I grew up in a feature about her growing efforts . For a young minor , that seemed like the highest honor a nurseryman could attain !
I admired her beautiful violet and respected her all-encompassing noesis about her chosen mintage , but I was always curious about the one strange plant in the corner of her manicure keep room .
Schlumbergera russelliana.
It was n’t like the others , sporting unusual leaves , droop leafage , and flowers that appeared in the sameness of winter .
I never asked about it ( bedstemor was intimidate ) , and she never evidence me about it , but I finally figured out that it was what is ordinarily known as a holiday cactus . I was afflict from the second I saw it blooming when almost everything else was dormant .
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Schlumbergera russelliana.
I ’m a spring buff , and winter catch me down sometimes because I ca n’t garden and grow as much as I desire to . But here was a plant that add up alive in the darkest prison term of year .
It give me a boost then and now , and I have one in my home all the time for the cheerful intake it gives me just as I ’m considering a move to the tropics .
I can totally understand how these plants are so pop in the Northern Hemisphere , far from their original place in Brazil .
So enough about me . I ’m sure you have your own love story with these plants and are just wondering what makes one dissimilar from the other .
All of the plants commonly have it off as vacation cacti are epiphytes or in rare cases lithophytic plant , which means they grow on other Tree or shrubs , and sometimes rock .
They are n’t sponge , though , drawing energy from a master of ceremonies . They just use the master of ceremonies as a support , deriving nutrient from the debris and pelting that come down through the rainforest canopy .
All type of vacation cacti species are from the Brazilian rainforests in high elevations , and they share many similar physical characteristics .
If you are n’t familiar with the subtle nuances , they all calculate passing standardised , so you’re able to see why they are grouped together under the term “ holiday cactus . ”
But let in in this moniker there are many different species , crossbreed , and cultivars , all with their own unequalled shapes , bloom sentence , and colors . It just engage some sentence to slue through the confusion out there about them .
We ’re blend in to make it all unclouded as we babble out about the different holiday cactus varieties .
Here ’s what I ’ll cover :
Types of Holiday Cactus
Before we talk about the different types , we take to clear up our terms so we ’re on the same page .
The leaf - like structures on the plant that hold the flowers are n’t actually leave at all .
If the industrial plant kind leave , these are typically invisible and brown or fleeceable in color . The flattened , leaf - like parts are really segment radical known as cladodes or phylloclad .
Looking tight at the cladodes will aid you determine loosely which type you ’re dole out with .
Along the margin of the cladodes are little hooter , spikes , or tooth , which is a eccentric of ontogenesis experience as “ dentate . ”
The bloom emerge at the goal of the cladodes from growths known as areoles , and it is this increment that defines these as true cacti rather than succulents .
This is a confusing chemical group of plant if you ask retail merchant and phytologist .
Those commonly referred to as Thanksgiving cactus are sometimes sold as Christmas , and frailty versa ; and often the hybrids are deal under the “ Christmas ” or “ Thanksgiving ” moniker as well .
Easter type might be sell as “ holiday ” and any hybrid using an Easter metal money might be classify as a Thanksgiving or Christmas .
fundamentally , it ’s hard to identify them based on the common names .
Broadly , you may take for granted that the plants are categorized by when they bloom , but that ’s not always the case – “ Christmas ” tend to be a catch - all term .
S. kautskyi , for example , blooms in late summer but is ordinarily called Christmas cactus .
Then , there is the classification of the genera . All of the vacation cactus plant used to be classify as metal money in theSchlumbergeragenus , but many have since been shuffled around into theHatioraorRhipsalidopsisgenera .
Unless you check out the botanic name , you might have a hard clock time telling which one you ’re buy when you ’re out shopping , and the botanical name is n’t always listed .
Most of the works that you find in store are crossbreed , usually betweenS. russellianaandS. truncata , known asS.xbuckleyi .
So , now that we ’ve really muddy up the waters , rent ’s filter through the info .
1. Christmas
S. xbuckleyiis what experts weigh the true Christmas cactus . It ’s a intercrossed crossbreed ofS. russellianaandS. truncata , and all of the flora are sterile , so you ca n’t propagate them from seeded player .
recollect the plant bedstemor uprise that sparkle my interest group ? It ’s highly likely that it was one of these .
It was to begin with cultivated in 1852 by breeder William Buckley at the Rollisson Nurseries in England . Since then , slip have been used to propagatethe absolute majority of Modern plants , and it has become the one that you will typically find in stores .
The cladodes are foresightful and smooth with gently scalloped edges , and the plant flower in late November through February , which is why we call it the Christmas cactus . The prime are usually violent or magenta , but some are expanding beyond these hue .
S. kautskyiwas discovered in 1991 in the southernmost tropics of Brazil , so it is only now catching on in the commercial market .
It has cladodes with short tooth that stop in a crude edge rather than a pointed tip . The segments diverge dramatically in length , miss the uniformity of some species .
The flowers are purple to fuchsia and appear before any other species . They begin popping up in recent summer and last through November – not at Christmastime at all !
Native to the tropic mountains of southeastern Brazil , S. orssichianaisn’t normally seen growing as a houseplant , but hybrids of it are .
This mintage has pinkish flowers held somewhat vertically and they can come along three times each year , starting in tardy summertime , again in other wintertime , and finally in former spring . It has spiked cladophyll , exchangeable to those ofS. truncata .
As one of the elementary parent plant of many of the vacation cacti on the market , you ’ve probably seenS. russellianaand did n’t realize it .
The flowers , which hang downwards , are bright pinkish - red and seem subsequently than most other species in theSchlumbergeragenus .
You ’ll typically see them look in February to April , though they can remain through June .
In the state of nature , this species only appear in a tiny part of southeasterly Brazil in the mountains .
S. russellianacan be identified by the irregularly and subtly notch edges of the rounded cladodes and the big , long , pinkish - flushed prime with curving petal .
Formerly know asS. bridgesii , you will often see it listed under this name .
It tend to have a cernuous outgrowth wont and blooms longer than the hybrid ( S. x. buckleyi ) that is considered the straight Christmas cactus .
2. Easter
Easter cactus , Rhipsalidopsisgaertneri , ( syn . S. gaertneri , H. gaertneri ) is an outlier . Its taxonomy is unsettled , and it has been reclassify several time in recent 10 .
Sometimes called Whitsun cactus , this species autochthonic to the southeast Brazil rainforest and blooms late in the vacation time of year .
It does n’t appear entirely different from those in theSchlumbergeragenus . In fact , to the uninitiated , it front passably darn similar . The spring blossoms can be red , orange , or ashen and are star - shaped rather than vasiform .
To separate this one from the other types , expect for the rounded cladodes . These sometimes have gilded - browned bristle at the end . These bristle are the leaves of the plant life .
R. rosea(syn . H. roseaandS. rosea ) is a parent of many Easter loan-blend and is sometimes called the dwarf or rose Easter cactus .
It ’s a repeat boner , typically come out in the early leap and reblooming in the spill .
It ’s closely pertain to the Easter specie ( R. gaertneri ) and comes from the same region of Brazil .
The flowers , which appear around Easter , are rose pinkish and extremely fragrant . The phylloclades are mildly scollop .
3. Thanksgiving
S. truncatais typically known as Thanksgiving cactus because of the period when it blooms . You might also see it called “ false ” Christmas cactus , crab , or Christmas cactus .
The pinkish , orangish , or white flowers seem correctly around the time when citizenry are defrosting their turkey , mashing up Solanum tuberosum , and setting up cardboard tables for the kids to model at .
It might blossom a 2nd time in February if it ’s really well-chosen .
you’re able to discover this one by its pointed teeth at the crest of the cladodes . The bod is often compare to a Cancer claw , though it does n’t always have the two large teeth at the end that make this resemblance . It might just have one , or it might have three .
Most cultivars have flowers that are held horizontally , which is how the specie industrial plant appear .
4. Other Holiday Species
S. lutea(syn . H. epiphylloides ) is n’t like the others . I entail , it ’s the same in that if you saw it pose in a room with a gang of other holiday cacti , you probably could n’t call it out .
Except for the gorgeous yellow flower . While most holiday cacti have blossoms in crimson or purple chromaticity , this one is sunny yellow-bellied .
hail from southeasterly Brazil , there are two subspecies : luteaandbradei .
They have elongated phylloclad with gently toothed margins and a subtle triangular shape .
S.xreginaeis a loanblend betweenS. orssichiana , which hail from the mountains of southern Brazil , andS. truncata .
This one breaks with the distinctive vacation naming tradition . It ’s sometimes call queen cactus and is recognized for its elongated phylloclades with distinct tooth on the margin .
The weeping blossoms , which appear in tardy twilight , are pinky - purple and might have some white .
These are n’t wide available , but specialty retailers are starting to carry some beautiful cultivars such as ‘ Dark Queen , ’ with its blood - red-faced blossoms , and fuchsia - flowered ‘ Bristol Queen , ’ the first one to be useable commercially .
These are considered a bit fussier and more difficult to upgrade than some of the more normally uncommitted specimens .
Happy Holidays!
I know it ’s confusing , all the dissimilar name . But all that you involve to bang is that these plant are generally pretty like and can be raise the same path . Check outour guide to grow Christmas cactus to learn more !
So unless you ’re looking for something specific , just find one you like and revel it , and do n’t worry about labels .
understand the different species and hybrid is only the beginning to making the most of this festive plant .
If you ’d like to watch more , here a fewSchlumbergeraguidesthat you might want to take a look at next :
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About
Kristine Lofgren
