Christmas cactus / 911爆料

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Introducing...

Christmas cactus

Botanical name: Schlumbergera

Common name: Christmas cactus

Prized for their vibrant flowering display over the festive season, these popular houseplants are easy to grow and long lived. They come originally from tropical rainforests, so need a warm location, out of direct sun, and prefer humid air.

Looks

These plants form clumps of succulent stems made up of flat, leaf-like segments. These start off upright, but over the years they get longer (up to 45cm/18in) and start to trail over the sides of the pot. Long, showy flowers appear at the stem tips each winter. Their colours range from red to pink, mauve or white, and occasionally yellow, and flowers can be either a single colour or several combined.

Likes

These tropical plants like warm temperatures of 18鈥�20掳C (65鈥�69掳F) in spring and summer, bright but indirect light, humid air and regular watering. They also prefer a drier, cooler spell in autumn, with a drop of about 5掳C (10掳F), to encourage flowering. Once the display fades, give them a second cool spell.

Dislikes

These are rainforest cacti, rather than desert cacti, so keep them out of hot midday sun, which can scorch the leaves, and don鈥檛 let the compost dry out completely, especially in spring and summer. Avoid overwatering too, as the roots can rot in damp compost. Too much warmth and water in autumn can reduce or prevent flowering.

Did you know?

It鈥檚 very easy to take cuttings from Christmas cacti, so once you have one plant, you can produce many more, which make ideal Christmas gifts 鈥� see our guide below for full details of how to take cuttings.