Christmas Cactus

CHRISTMAS CACTUS Firstly, a big "thank you" to everyone who's posted listings about Christmas Cactus - I've picked up loads of tips about caring for them from your advice. I've got a huge Christmas Cactus that my partner inherited from his parents. They'd had the plant for about 15 years before giving it to him as a house-warming present when he was 19 - he's 46 now, so it's at least 42 years old!!! The poor thing has been through the mill over the years - it's been moved from house to house, was left in a garage for 2 years, and then was thrown down 2 flights of stairs by my partner's ex wife!!! - however, it's survived and is ...  Read the complete review

Christmas cactuses are lovely house plants which produce a lovely flower from early december to late january. The flowers on these cactuses differ in colour on different plants but each plant has only one colour of flower on them. The colours are usually yellow, pink, purple or white. my nan has always had these in her bathroom and they flower every year. She brought me two of them 3 years ago when they were in flower and they looked lovely, one purple and one white. I keep them on my livingroom window sill so that they get lots of light and water them as soon as the soil in the top of the pot feels dry as they are not very good at tolerating ...  Read the complete review

I used to think Christmas Cacti were quite boring. I've had one of years. But my humble little Christmas Cactus really is quite an exotic specimen. These cacti are related to the Schlumbergera - a genus of tree-dwelling cacti from the Organ Mountains north of Rio de Janeiro in south-east Brazil. In Brazil they are called May Flowers (Flores de maio). In their natural tropical rainforest habitat these cacti grow as epiphytes - plants that grow on the trunks or branches of trees where they are able to take advantage of regular rainfall that flows from the tree tops and drains off the roots of the plant quickly. Schlumbergera are generally only found at higher regions of ...  Read the complete review

The christmas cactus also sometimes seen as the easter cactus in some retailers. This is not really a cactus in fact more of a light succullent type of plant with thick fleshy leaves that store a lot of water and the petals of the flowers themselves are also quite watery. The plants can be found at almost every retailer from your local supermarket to garden centre and are sold in the masses around both christmas and easter. Costing around three pounds for a small plant they are a good value plant as they are not too difficult to look after and they will flower a couple of times a year and if looked after will keep growing and last for many years. ...  Read the complete review

It seems silly to say that I am sentimentally attached to my Christmas Cactus but let me explain why. When I was a child my Grandmother meant everything to me. Nana loved plants both inside and outside the house. Her garden was always immaculate with rows of pansies, roses and piles of lavender. Inside, spider-plants wept from every corner and an African violet always adorned the coffee table. My favourite of her houseplants though was the Christmas Cactus. Every year I would ask, 'But how does it KNOW it's Christmas?? To which Nana would smile and reply 'Because I talk to it every day and this is it's gift'. When Nana ...  Read the complete review