So Cross

10 years ago

Quoting my grandma (god rest her soul) I am very, "cross" tonight. I went to water and fertilize my holiday cacti tonight. My thanksgiving cactus seems to be impervious to anything. Well my Easter cactus, I was inspecting her and I looked at her wrong and a branch of segments fell off. I was so mad because the branch looked sick when there is absolutely no reason for it to look like that. Finally when I regained composure I remembered that I had given her a deep watering a week or a week and a half before. I put her in the bathtub and gave her a shower. I've read on here they hate being over watered. I'm hoping that this is all it is and this is the extent of the damage. I usually let the soil become bone dry and then give just a sip of water and she was always happy with that. I'm hoping for flowers this year, it is the third spring I have had her and she has only had flowers when I first got her.

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Comments (9)

Will07
Original Author
10 years ago
Segment close up, notice the yellow from where it fell away from the plant
kaktuskris
10 years ago
Maybe I am wrong, but that looks more like a true Christmas Cactus to me than an Easter Cactus. I don't see the 'hairs' you usually see on an Easter Cactus...What do the flowers look like? Are the petals symmetrical or not? If not symmetrical this is a Christmas Cactus.

Christopher
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Will07
Original Author
10 years ago
Trust me it's an Easter cactus this is what it looked like when I bought it (that's a pic from Google but the blooms were exact).
kaktuskris
10 years ago
Indeed it is.

Christopher
teisa
10 years ago
Wow! She is Pretty! I love that color! Now on to questions.... Have you repotted it out of the mix she was originally in? If so, in what type now?

They really need a fast draining mix. One that you can water and it runs straight through.
User
10 years ago
Sorry, but they need lots more water than just a sip. They come from the tropics so they get a fair amount of rain. All the more reason they need fast draining mix. Your foliage looks good from here.
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
Your plant looks awesome! Yes, the piece that fell off looks dehydrated. (Did you stick it back in the pot? It should take root easily.) Unless you're having rot issues, I wouldn't let any 'holiday cacti' dry significantly. I'm starting to see some buds on ECs. Hope you do soon too!
Will07
Original Author
10 years ago
Teisa - yes I repotted her once about a year and a bit ago into a 6" pot from her 4". I used American violet soil. She seems to like it because all year she puts out new growth.

Pirate_girl - I realize they are from the jungles and need constant moisture. I don't let the root ball dry out completely just the top. For the past year this method has worked for me until I tried to water the soil till it drains out the bottom of the pot that seems to cause problems. I'm wondering and hesitant if I could pull it out of the pot, add some orchid bark and soil into the same pot and repot her. I'd like to hold off until the summer to see if I could get flowers this year. What would you recommend?

Purple - I threw the piece out because I felt it wouldn't matter. My thanksgiving cacti shed a few segments and I tried sticking them into the soil and they never rooted and I ended up throwing them out. I'm hoping for flowers this spring! I can't for the life of me get my Easter or orchid cacti to bloom!
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
Shedding segments doesn't sound right. Any idea why?

EC segments don't seem to ever rot when I stick them 'in' soil, but TCs do sometimes. You might try laying the next piece of TC on the surface, not at all submerged. With any type, let it callous (where the cut dries, seals) overnight. As we speak, there are pieces of TC and EC sitting on a shelf that I cut off the mama plants last night, waiting to be put in various pots later today. Most of the 'chunks of TC plant' I found on the ground last time I was plant shopping seem to have taken root. You can do it!

FWIW, people trade pieces like that, in the mail, of all types of C/S (and other plants.) I would be very happy to get something that size in trade, and plan to do a lot of trading when it warms up enough to do so.

How much sun is your EC getting?