I'm in mourning....

[pomtzu]

You are so funny!

Pomtzu:
Don't be sad.
Yesterday I bougth a pair of christmas cactus and looking for information about them, found out that the span of life of these plants are between fifteen and twenty years old.

See post 11 & 12. They can really live to be seniors!

[Randi]

It seems they can get quite old. I have a huge one I got from my mother, and she got it from her mother. It hasn't bloomed since I've had it, though - but it's alive!

I've had a few smaller ones in recent years, with lots of flowers, but they have died. I may have watered them to much.

In 1979, I had a huge Philidendron, it was much too big for where I lived at the time, so I gave it to my sister and BIL. They still have it, but they have cut it down a bit. Some plants just seem to thrive.

[koxka]

Pomtzu:

Maybe you can give me some advice how to keep them that long.

[Karen]

From growing up with them, dunno how old the one Dad currently has is, but ... O think it was from one of my grandparents, originally, and they were all deceased by the time I was 12 ...

Water enough, but not every day. They are not cactuses, despite the name, they are succulents. Make sure the pot has good drainage. Every few years, repot it so it has good fresh dirt, fertilize a little after blossom time is over, but not too much ... If you don't want it to get too huge, trim it back, you can always root the trimmings and give them away ...

They prefer benign neglect to overwatering or fertilizing. And to get blossom, put them in a window that gets some light but not direct sunlight in the summer. The changing length of days is what triggers the blossom cycle. I had one in a West-facing window where I worked, and it blossomed every year from about Halloween to Easter!

[pomtzu]

Pomtzu:

Maybe you can give me some advice how to keep them that long.

I found the best way to take care of them, is to ignore them! They are not fussy plants that require a lot of maintenance.

The worst thing you can do, is to over water. Generally, I watered no more than once each week, but not a saturating watering so that water is standing on the top and not absorbed. The top of the soil should be very dry to the touch before giving any more water, but still that doesn't mean that it isn't moist further down in the bottom section of the pot, and the bigger the pot, the more difficult it is to judge what's going on toward the bottom. I have a little gadget that came in handy - it is a meter that reads the amount of moisture in the soil. It looks like a meat thermometer and you just stick the end into the soil and it gives readings anywhere from dry to wet and everything in between. This was especially handy in checking to see if the soil at the bottom was wet, even when the top was very dry.

A pot with good drainage is a must, since you don't want the plant sitting in a soaking wet soil. Don't put them in an area that gets a lot of heat and and direct sunlight all day. The one that I had that I just lost was in a window that got early morning sun, and it bloomed twice each year - in November & December, and then again in early Spring. The one before that one that my former relative killed, got the mid to late afternoon sun, but I think that only bloomed once each year.

And you can start new plants by breaking off a branch (3 or 4 leaves long), and just putting that in a cup of water so that the bottom leaf only is in the water. When you see roots sprouting on the bottom, then just plant it in a good potting soil, and you have a new plant started!

Good luck.

[mrspunkysmom]

Question:

Should my cats decide to nibble, are Christmas Cacti poisonous?

[pomtzu]

Question:

Should my cats decide to nibble, are Christmas Cacti poisonous?

No - they aren't toxic to dogs or cats. I always kept mine as hanging planters anyway, since nibbled on leaves aren't too pretty!

[koxka]

Thank you Karen and Pomtzu.

I had one in a West-facing window where I worked, and it blossomed every year from about Halloween to Easter!

If west is better they will go to my office. Now I need a good heavy kitty-proof pot as the two youngters daredevils like to "clean" it.

And you can start new plants by breaking off a branch (3 or 4 leaves long), and just putting that in a cup of water so that the bottom leaf only is in the water. When you see roots sprouting on the bottom, then just plant it in a good potting soil, and you have a new plant started!

I have tried this method to grow other stuff like turnip greens for Magda the Iggy but the water always get rotten and I've never succed.

Glad they are not poisonous to cat though!

[pomtzu]

I have tried this method to grow other stuff like turnip greens for Magda the Iggy but the water always get rotten and I've never succed.

Just change the water when it gets stinky!!!

[lvpets2002]

So sorry to hear about your deceased plant.. The plant was a very pretty plant.. Wow 20 yrs is a pretty old plant.. Was there any little tiny white mites at the bottom of the plant next to the soil??