Have an Epiphyte for the Holidays

Now that we’re in the holiday season many of you will be tempted to begin shopping for the traditional holiday plants to brighten up your home or to give as a gift.

Some will give and receive the most traditional plant, the poinsettia, and others will give small-to-medium-sized potted Christmas trees. But for those who want to give a holiday plant that will outlive all others and be far and away the easiest to care for, look no further than a trio of cacti.

The popular holiday cactus is a true cactus even though its appearance is quite different from the cacti of the desert or the prickly pear cacti that is now rarely found in our East End fields and dunes. The holiday cacti are native to the Brazilian rainforest in the Organ Mountains north of Rio de Janeiro and these plants have wide, flattened green stems that look like leaves (called segments) and produce colorful flowers. The plants grow at about 3,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level and root in plant debris trapped among tree branches and crotches or on decaying humus in stony, shady places. They are in fact epiphytes, like many of the orchids.

To know that these plants are epiphytes is important. It gives us a clue that this plant is not a ground dweller and that it gets most of its moisture by absorbing it from the air or from rainfall and partially from their root systems. But when you think of roots you usually associate them with soil. These cacti are rarely found in ground soil but mostly on tropical tree trunks, in tree crotches or where organic debris accumulates in above-ground locations.

Over the years though, the Christmas cacti have been adapted to pot culture so the soil you grow these plants in must be quick draining while still enabling the plant to anchor and thrive.

Furthermore, hybridization and the selection of particular species has extended the blooming period of these plants and you can now find not only the Christmas cacti (Schlumbergera bridgesii) but Thanksgiving cactus (Zygocactus truncatacor) also known as the lobster claw cactus and the Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri). Some enterprising growers and gardeners even put pieces of each species in the same pot resulting in a plant that appears to flower from mid-November through late March. And red is no longer the only color found on these holiday cacti. The color range extends from pure white to various shades of pink, red and now a yellow. You can even find some novelty varieties with peach, salmon, purple and orange flowers. The most recent introduction being a gold-flowering variety.

Most people purchase these plants when they are fully budded or in bloom. When bringing them home or giving them as gifts, be careful not to expose them to sudden chills as this is the most common reason why they suddenly and “mysteriously” drop their buds and flowers. They require only light watering and prefer growing in a cool spot with bright light, but not full sun. In full sun they can actually burn, but they do benefit from bright light.

Yellowing leaves at this time of the year is generally an indication that they are getting too much sunlight. For the best blooming they prefer night temperatures of 55 to 60 degrees. Higher nighttime temperatures can also result in bud drop as can low humidity. It’s important to remember that these plants are epiphytic, meaning that they draw a portion of their moisture from the air and not from the root system, and overwatering will result in mush.

Begin to fertilize the plants only when the blooming has stopped. Use a dilute fertilizer that is not too high in nitrogen (fish emulsion is great if you can stand it) or look for 5-10-10 or 10-10-10. When warm weather returns you can set the plants outdoors in a shady spot making sure that the sun does not hit the foliage. In spite of the fact that these are cacti they do come from the jungle and thrive in habitats similar to ferns and orchids.

If you want to do these plants perfectly — which is not at all necessary as my mother could have attested; she ignored hers and they’ve bloomed like clockwork for years — you should grow these plants with three distinct growth periods. These are designated as vegetative, rest and flowering. The vegetative period begins in January and then again in the summer and during this period the plants need the most water. The rest period is in the fall through early December and in this period the plant will tolerate less light. During the flowering period the plant needs bright light (not sunlight). But again, this is also a plant that seems to appreciate some neglect.

My best advice is to find a place where these plants thrive, then simply leave them there. Even in the same pot, as long as they receive nutrients, moisture and light — and otherwise are left alone — they will flower at the same time each and every year. Move them and they won’t.

These plants tolerate and even thrive when being pot-bound, but for the health of the plants they should be repotted every three to four years. Repotting is best done in the spring by adding new soil and pruning any roots that are brown and lifeless. The plant can be returned to the same size pots, and remember that overpotting in too rich a soil will result in a nice lush green plant but with few if any buds.

Flower buds will begin to set in September or early October. At this time stop feeding the plant and reduce watering. If the plants have been outdoors for the summer, be careful to keep the plant in a cool location when you bring the plants in to avoid bud drop. The cacti need long nights to set buds. A brief exposure to light will not stop the budding process, but if there is a porch or bright streetlight outside the window and it shines long into the night this may inhibit budding. It’s best if the plants get 12 to 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness. If the plant is grown in the same spot in the house it will flower virtually on the same day and for the same length of time year after year.

Insects and diseases are rarely a problem. The most common problems seem to be from overwatering, which results in root and stem rot. You can avoid this by letting the soil get dusty dry before watering again, and this seems to be especially important with the Easter variety which is most sensitive to overwatering. Mealybugs and scale can be a problem but only if they come in with the plant when you buy it or if another infected plant comes into physical contact with the cacti and the bugs stroll over.

Another great thing about these plants is that they are very easy to propagate. In spring or summer cut off a piece of the plant that has at least two segments. The more segments on the cutting the larger the plant you will produce but limit the piece to four or five segments at most as the small root system will not be able to provide adequate support or nutrients for larger pieces. Be careful when handling the segments though because they do have tiny hairs, which are miniature cacti spines that can be irritating.

Let the segments dry for a few days so that a callus forms. Then strike the pieces (callused end into the soil) into damp sand or vermiculite. In three to four weeks, roots will form and you can pot up the rooting sections with a light (cacti) potting soil. The potting soil should be composed of about one-third sand added to your potting soil to avoid overwatering. You can make your own potting mix for these plants by mixing one part sand with one part potting soil or topsoil and two parts peat moss.

If you should happen to find that you get along well with these plants you can expand your Schlumbergera horizons by looking at the dozen or so offered by Logee’s Greenhouses (logees.com) including a new yellow hybrid.

These are great plants to have around because they provide color at times of the year when most flowering plants are not blooming. Add the fact that they are so easy to care for, easy to propagate and if left alone will flower and grow for years — how can you possibly go wrong? Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and of course keep growing.