Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera) White & Pink Flower Kokedama measures approximately 10 inches long with a 4 inch moss ball. The display plate is not included.
Schlumbergera is not a true cactus, rather it is an epiphyte. It is a jungle cactus or orchid cactus. The main differences between the three types of holiday cactus are the formation of the leaf edges and the pollen colour. Easter cactus (a type of rhipsalis) has rounded leaf segments. Christmas cactus leaves are more scalloped or tear drop shaped with pink pollen from the flowers. Thanksgiving cactus leaves are very pointed with claw-shaped projections with yellow pollen from the flowers. All holiday cactus blooms come in many color varieties, from white, peach, pink, salmon, red, and orange shades. The plant requires cool temperatures and shorter daylight hours to bloom. These kokedama are particularly suited to being suspended and hung upside down.
CARE: Thanksgiving cactus grows best in light shade during the summer months. You can give it more sunlight in the winter when it is blooming. Too much sun in the summer months can make the leaves pale and yellow looking. Too much sun can cause the leaves to turn reddish. Room temperatures of 15-18 °C are ideal. Be especially careful of higher temperatures when the plant has buds on it. Don’t let the kokedama dry out, but be sure that it doesn’t collect excess water in the root area, either. Squeeze excess water out of the kokedama after immersing it in water for a few minutes. Unlike a desert cactus, these like high humidity of 50% or more.
Once the flower buds have started to appear, apply a succulent plant food according to label directions to encourage lush growth and lots of blooms. Fertilize twice a month during the bloom season, then hold off on fertilizing until the plant starts actively growing again in the spring. Pruning the plant in the spring will encourage it to branch out and become bushier. Since the flowers grow on the end of the stems, this will also encourage more blooms. Use the pruned pieces to start new plants.
Thanksgiving Cactus White & Pink Flower
Schlumbergera is a small genus of cacti with six to nine species found in the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil. These plants grow on trees or rocks in habitats that are generally shady with high humidity and can be quite different in appearance from their desert-dwelling cousins. Most species of Schlumbergera have stems that resemble leaf-like pads joined one to the other and flowers that appear from areoles at the joints and tips of the stems. They are leafless, the green stems acting as photosynthetic organs.
Common names for these cacti generally refer to their flowering season. In the Northern Hemisphere, they are called Christmas cactus, Thanksgiving cactus, crab cactus, and holiday cactus. In the wild, the species of Schlumbergera grow either on trees (epiphytic) or on rocks (epilithic) and can form sizeable shrubs with woody bases; a height of up to 1.2 m.
