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Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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Posted by cactilover75 8a (My Page) on Sun, Nov 22, 09 at 16:08
Hello,
I've read a lot of the posts about holiday cactus on the forum, but I still need a little bit of help.
Yesterday my mom finally gave u the ghost of raising her now 2 year old Christmas/Holiday cactus...so she gave it to me. lol
Two years ago it was a sight to behold indeed! It was lush and full, with a beautiful flush of gorgeous red blooms.
That is the last time it bloomed, and it has been thinning out ever since. It's gone from needing it' 8 inch ot...to maybe being able to fill out a nice 4 inch pot.
I would like to reot it, it has no bud at all...so it won't effect anything like that.
The soil in the pot now it the same mix from when she purchased the plant....it looks to be a heavy eat mix with traces of erlite mixed it...but, mostly peat.
It has a funky smell, and eveything on the surface is kinda orange looking.
I picked out all the dead leaves, and dead branches.
How would I go about getting all of this soil off the roots without hurting them, and would reotting it now be my best solution?
It's in wet soil now.....I laced it in my sunny kitchen window....and now i'm just trying to brainstorm the best thing to do with it. I don't want it to die, it was a beautiful plant.
Any help is greatly appreciated and accepted! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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| I am very new to growing them, but I have lost a couple of them due to root rot, so I am very familiar with peat soil that stays wet too long. If it were mine I would re-pot it now since you said it has a funky smell, it might already be rotting or have some type of fungus, so at this point in my humble opinion you have little to lose. This is what "I" do when I want to remove the old soil from a plant(others may have better ideas)but this has worked well for me. I gently remove it from the old pot and take a hose with a spray nozzle and spray the dirt off as gently as I can...till all or most of the soil is removed. You probably should have the "new potting" mix all ready to go, so when you're done removing you can pot it back to the same or similar sized pot. I would use a good potting mix, with a lots of perlite or pumice or crushed granite, small pieces of orchid bark. Maybe 1/3 each? Basically what you want is a very porous free draining potting mix that will drain quickly and not stay wet too long. You may have to tweek the ingredients to your type of growing conditions. I'm sure some of the more seasoned CC growers will chime in and give you more advise. Best of luck and hope you are able to save it. |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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| Thank you for your response! If I find out it has a fungus issue or even a bit of rot...is there some tpye of systemic or something like that I could or should use to hopefully overcome it after I replant it? |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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| I'm pretty sure, and again I'm not a CC expert...IF it has rot you will want to cut off all the rot till you see healthy segments/branches...basically you will be left with cuttings and then you will have to root those. I've heard of people dusting the ends with cinammon? Maybe someone here knows of a product that you should use? I'm hoping someone will post that knows more about them. I personally don't have the best luck rooting them, but I'm not giving up! I am trying to root some right now. |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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| I have a lot of cuttings I've rooted over the past year...one of them ever has a bud on it. lol I'm just not familiar with a plant that may or may not be in decline...or is for sure in stress. Thanks for replying...I appreciate it! |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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I use reg potting soil and add crushed granite, small pieces of orchid bark to make sure it drains well, if you have no buds on your plant I would let it dry out and the take it out of the old pot save old pot, remove all soil you can then wash the rest off, let the roots dry off for a few hours then repot with new fresh soil and new pot about 1 inch bigger than it in now give it a very little drink and then don't water until you see new growth.
I'm not an expert but with over 50 holiday cactus growing so far this has worked for me, I do this with lots of epies that I get that look like there in need of help. Bear |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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| Thank you Bear! The plant was of 8 inch size 2 yrs ago...and, is still in the 8 inch pot. I was going to pot it back down into either a 4 or 5 inch pot...as a lot of the plant has died...it no longer needs a pot that is so big.
I was able to find a cute orange CC, and they are roughly the same size...and it's in a 4 inch pot. |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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| Pls. pot in back down (not up), potting it up at this point will only encourage rot. I've never seen Fungus type problems w/ this plant. If you have them, I'd look to watering habits & improve them & your mix (as Pug suggests). I would not suggest a systemic on these plants. |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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I would do as Pug and Pirate advise.
Get the old soil/mix off of those roots, and re-pot in a smaller, appropriately-sized container. If you do this, additional treatment may not be necessary. I've rooted Christmas Cactus cuttings in (nearly pure) bark...even woody cuttings....and I've never lost one. These plants can handle daily rainshowers - in situ - due to superior drainage in the crooks of trees. As long as your mix provides that drainage, you should have happy plants. Josh |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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Put the old soil in a plastic bag, and get rid of it, the old pot thould be put in bleach and sit for 2 hrs, let it sit out in the sun to dry if you intend to use it again.
Quarteen the plant until it starts to grow again, keep it away from other plants, you don't want whatever it has to spread to other plants. Keep us posted what you do to save it. We want to learn as well. Mine are also in flower now, but they are very young plans of about a year old. Norma |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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Hello everyone!
Thank you very much for your replies!!
I repotted the plant into a 4in clay pot....all my other plants are in clay pots, I feel like I have a little more control over moisture that way...
What I thought was a fungus, might have just been where something from within the soil leached out and into the perlite, and crusted ontop of the soil.
The roots looked good, just very wet.
I potted it in a mix I had on hand....1 part african violet soil and 2 parts perlite.
I would have gona out and bought new soil...but, it's getting close to Christmas, and I sorta felt a little guilty getting myself something before I had all the presents for my kids bought.
I think it will be fine as long as I made diligent about how much water I give it. I appreciate all of your adivce! |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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| That mix sounds fine to me - the 2 parts perlite should keep it fast draining, which is key for these plants. |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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Cactilover, sounds like you did the right thing with your plant...that potting mix should do much better for you. Please keep us posted on its progress down the road.
Good luck! |
RE: Help with gifted Holiday cactus
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| Typing in the dark so late makes me look like a drunk monkey! lol I was checking over some cuttings I took from this plant maybe a month ago...I have a three segment cutting that has started to root, and that crazy thing has a bud on it. I just poked some holes in the bottom of a plastic drink cup and added some perlite to root it...then I kinda forgot about it. lol
Just thought i'd add that..I'm excited to have a bud! |
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