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 died my Mum gave me the Christmas Cactus which had lived on Nana's living room windowsill. Nana died in 1986 and her plant was still going strong until two years ago - how's that for longevity! It took a great deal of courage to finally admit that despite the fact that it was still growing, my not so little plant was looking decidedly manky. The stems were woody, leaves dull and it seemed basically tied of flowering. Had I known better I would have pruned it each year to keep the life in it.

Not to be beaten however I took 3 cuttings from the original. I made sure they looked reasonably healthy and took them from the newer growth. Propagation seems quite simple with this plant. Ever the aspiring gardener, I just shoved the cuttings in some potting compost, gave them a drizzle of water and left them too it. All of them took well and now I have new plants on my window sill (the others having been given to friends). Technically when taking cuttings you should make sure that you don't over water them as this can cause them to rot. That said - over-watering is rarely a problem in my house!

The Christmas Cactus (posh name Schlumbergera) is originally from the jungles of South America where it grows in trees. The roots settle within the bark and the plant lives off whatever nutr
ients and rainfall make their way through the canopy. This plant is a short day flower plant which basically means it flowers when the days become shorter. This is a non prickly cactus and it also doesn't have any leaves! Apparently the green you see is actually stem growth. In most cacti the leaves have evolved into spines and as this doesn't have spines - it doesn't have leaves either.

I have never had a problem with my plants coming into flower. I am offered a profusion of buds every year. The flowers have little scent but they are incredibly beautiful - white and pink. There are some nice photo's of the flower here
http://garden.danen.org/danen/cc/index.shtml

What I have noticed however is that they seem to come into flower earlier and earlier so this year I am going to attempt to delay them a little by keeping them in the light.

Generally with flowering you need to be aware that the buds form according to the amount of darkness rather than light. If you have a problem plant that doesn't flower it may be because it's receiving too much light. Around mid October, cover the plant from evening to morning or put it in a cupboard overnight. Try to give it at least 12 hours darkness. This will force the buds to start forming. Once the buds have formed you can leave the plant in its normal place. Don't over water at this time. The flowers are quite fragile and I've noticed that sometimes if I have handled them or turned the plant some of the flowers drop off. Apparently I have since found that turning new buds away from light can mean that they use so much effort to find the light again that they just die. I'll try and remember that this year.

After the plant has flowered, you can do a little pruning to encourage new growth and direct how the plant looks. Of course you can plant the bits you prune off and start lots of new plants that you can give away as gifts the following Xmas :-)
r>Despite being a cacti (which makes me think of desert), the Christmas Cactus does need water - afterall the jungle is a humid place. When I haven't watered mine enough the stems start to look wrinkled and the whole thing looks like it's squealing. After flowering and up until the end of Summer make sure you keep the plant well watered (but not over watered). After this time towards flowering water more sparingly. Some gardeners say in the six weeks up to flowering not to water at all but well - that just seems a bit cruel for me!

My cacti sit on a south facing window so tend to get a lot of sun. Really they should be in semi-shade but mine don't seem to have suffered where they are. In Summer I try to remember to put them outside as I do with many of my houseplants to get some air. One thing this plant really doesn't like is drafts and artificial heat.

Keep the plant in a pot that is just the right size. It is better to be a little pot-bound than to have too much space in the pot. Because of the way the stems grow it looks great in a hanging basket.

As I said above - the flowers on my plant are pink and white but apparently they do come in other colours too - red, purple, orange and white.

This is a lovely plant to have in the house or to give as a gift. It's easy to take care of and very pretty. Since reading up on it for this opinion it seems as though longevity is one of it's known attributes - it could quite easily live out it's owner!

For me it will always just be Nana's plant. When I see the flowers forming I can still see her smile.