Deva,

If the lobes of the leaves are pointy, they are Thanksgiving Cacti. If they are rounded, they are Christmas or Easter cacti. I'll leave the care tips to others as mine are currently struggling. :)

Nancy

I forgot to take pics last night! Darn it!

Thank you for the tips. I must have TG Cacti because they have pointy tips. I bought one with light pink flowers (as buds they still look white/creme) and the other has magenta colored buds. No flowers have opened yet. Do you think I can combine both into one pot? I like the idea of two colors of blooms coming out of what appears to be one plant.

I will have to make notes of your tips and tape it to the pot or something. Thanks again!!!

This is my yellow one. I bought 3 four inch pots after the holidays last year for next to nothing because most of the blooms had faded. I combined them in this half-round pot. I hung it outside after temps got above 50F in the shade on the north side of my house. They bloom better when they are crowded.

I also have a pot of odds/ends and broken pieces of different colors. They are blooming, but not as well as the bigger ones with well established root systems.

This is my white one. For some reason, you can't see the pink throats on the blooms very well. I'll get a pic of the blooms, too.

Crazy beautiful!

I love those blooms!!! I also like the idea of putting it in a hanging planter. they tend to go out and down so it only makes sense! Thanks again for your input!

Also, what kind of potting media do you keep it in? I have most of my succulents in Al's gritty mix. Is there any reason the TG cactus wouldn't like it as much as my others?

Hi Deva...TG, Easter And Xmas cactus are jungle cacti, not desert cacti, that's why they don't like gritty fast draining mixes, being dry for long periods or full sun. They prefer shade, light sun, damper mixes and humus. They often grow attached to trees in the fork of a branch where they root into the accumulated leaf litter. So, based on that I don't use soil for mine, instead I mix 20% each of chunky homemade garden compost, home made leaf mould, bark chips, orchid mix and vermiculite. It works for mine here in the UK. Hope this helps if only to explain the differences, but you may need to search for alternative ingredients.

Gill UK

Just an FYI I grow my TC in orchid bark. They're Epiphytes. They grow in trees.

Orchid bark huh?...

I have a good deal of repti bark, is this too small of a particle for schlumbergera? I have bark fines too if that would work better.

I also decided to buy a small plant. Wasn't planning on it, but they looked so healthy at IKEA. Didn't hurt that the price was right either :D

I read that they should be treated like a tropical plant vs. succulent.

This post was edited by hookilau on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 20:47

I know nothing about that bark but orchid bark is chunky. Water flows very freely though it. Which is what you want. I water my TC right now about every 7-8 days. In the summer every 5 days.

Interesting! I will have to do some research for a proper mic I can make here in the states.

Btw. Here is a pic of them. Can we confirm these are TG cactus. I'm posting from my phone so the pic may be sideways. If so I apologize.

Yup, TCs! Nice!

Ditto! Very pretty! Now you're gonna be hooked....LOL

The repti bark is fir bark a wee bit larger than 1/4 ". It's chunky, just on the smallish side. What size bark chunks do you estimate yours are?

3/4" to 1". Approx.

@Deva33: You have Thanksgiving Cacti and this page will teach you all about it.

http://cactus-epiphytes.eu/z_page_les_cactus_de_noel.htm

You want them in pure Orchid Bark. Or in mostly Orchid Bark with Perlite. In the summer if you're able to, put it in the shade of a tree, when you water add very little fertilizer to the water (the roots will burn quick if too much fertilizer is present) Water about every three to four days, if really hot; water every other (it'll dry real quick from the heat) Come September, cut watering to every three to four weeks and buds will develop (no need to do the over rated bag and darkness deal)

Exactly, bark or bark-based mixes work incredibly well for these arboreal cacti.

Josh

Hi again everyone!
the blooms on one of the plants are falling off!!! The white ones are growing and a few are starting to open, but the magenta colored ones are falling off. The soil is moist and compact. Could that be the problem? Any ideas on what I could do to prevent loosing all of them?

Deva, I bet your problem is solved now but I will say this anyway. This is easier said than done but try not to move them when they're setting buds. Moving, a change in temperature, humidity (basically any change), can make them drop their buds. I'd also cut back on watering while they're blooming unless they get wilted looking. After blooming let them "rest" for 3-6 weeks... they need their beauty sleep! ♡