Yet another Thanksgiving cactus question

17 years ago

Hi,

I've had my peach Thanksgiving cactus for about a month. I cant get the hang of watering it-too much or too little. I want to repot into clay as soon as its done flowering. Problem is the existing buds are all shriveling up and falling off. The plant hasnt been moved from its full sun location-full sun at this time of year. I've been keeping it moist, letting it dry out just a bit. Do you think it could be too much sun, watering wrong...I just dont know. I'd like to see more blooms. It hasnt gotten much fertilizer either. Thanks!

Jen

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

birdinthepalm
17 years ago
If your's in near a window as mine is, unless it's a double glazed window or has very good storm windows, you may find considerable fluctuations in growing conditions , depending on the weather outdoors, and mine can go from very cool and almost chilly on dull days to being quite warm on very sunny ones, and is now after setting buds through a very cool dark period getting much more sun and dropping it's buds. I don't think it's so much being too hot perhaps as that constant fluctation in conditions in that setting in the case of my own plant, and they are supposed to dislike changes once the buds have formed.
greattigerdane
17 years ago
Bud drop can caused by a few different reasons.

Water your cactus thoroughly, then let it get pretty darn close to dry before watering it again. Turning the cactus when buds are still under an inch long, as well as over or under-watered.
Also, a newly bought plant can lose buds just because it's been moved to a different environment.
Jungle cactus like it cool (50-65 degrees) to set bud and when in flower, plus, the flowers will last so much longer in a cooler room than in a heated one, so you could try moving it to a cooler place and put it where it will receive bright indirect light.
Sun is not needed for budding or flowering.It just might be it's too hot where it is now.
Even set in a north window in a cool room will suffice.

Billy Rae
Related Discussions
Thanksgiving cactus question
Q
Comments (8)
It's not a matter of needing Al's mix, in particular, but wanting something chunkier that drains well without compacting. The most recent repotting was actually to remedy that situation you brought up. It was compacted and the soil ball had come away from the sides. I did help it out by letting it soak a bit with each watering but I finally decided enough was enough and gave it fresh mix. I still think it gets sort of stodgy at the bottom, which is why I'm just going to change the pot to something else entirely. In this window, it gets direct sun from about just after noon until a bit before the sun sets. It's almost completely unobstructed. There are parts of it that look like sunburn holes, and burnt edges along some of the segments. It's enough light to bloom a geranium regularly, and bleach out a Hoya pubicalyx to pale yellow. Roommates don't tend to move the kitchen plants, but the living room ones have gotten moved around a bunch of times. It doesn't really bother me, but these aren't the plants I am fussy about. The hoyas and orchids are the ones I don't want other people messing with, so they reside with me in my room. It is a nice one, I found it at Trader Joe's a few years ago as a tiny little thing. It has large peach blooms and really does bloom right at Thanksgiving. Hopefully I can get it to bloom in my new place as well. It blooms way better than the bright pink one, which has never given me any more than one bloom at a time. Oh well, I don't mind; it is very attractive as a plant.
...See More
Question about Thanksgiving/Christmas Cactus cuttings
Q
Comments (15)
You are asking a very difficult question there ! ;-) I have rooted Thanksgiving Cacti and Christmas Cacti many times , and it differs so much "from one rooting to another" how fast they START growing, and the RATE of growth. - No rule there , and I honestly don't understand what factors it is that make the differences. Right now I have a pot with 4 cuttings that were planted in April and by now I'd call them a "cute little PLANT". I also have some cuttings ( 5 different hybrids ) that I received in trade in May that have just started growth , and I'd definitly call those things CUTTINGS. So what we do is ; give them the best care we know of and let them do things at their own speed. Not a clear answer , but it's the best I can do , maybe someone else can be more definite ... ( If you don't have any mature plants , I hope you can find a nice blooming Thanksgiving Cactus ( or 2 ! ) in the shops , so you can enjoy the beautiful flowers also this fall. I know it's not the same as plants you have grown "all the way" yourself , but still ... And next year you'll feel there "all yours" ! )
...See More
Thanksgiving Cactus Progression and Questions
Q
Comments (6)
Good luck with your Thanksgiving cactus! Love to see pics when it blooms! I too use tomato fertilizer on them for the last year, so far it's worked well, good blooms last year. Normally I get 3 blooming periods out of them no matter what fertilizer I'm using, the main difference seems to be is that the plants got much larger with the tomato fertilizer. It's low 40's here in the mountains often at night already so I have to do the inside late night out early morning thing to get good repeat blooms here for the next week or two or whenever I run out of time for it. Your a bit warmer than us so you should be able to keep them out for awhile longer with no problems, also probably no in out lol. Maybe yours will get some buds before you bring them in, mine get buds usually within two weeks or so after I bring them in. I simply can't leave them out until they do, it gets too cold. I keep all of mine in a partly shaded northeast window (lots of bright light but only a little direct sun), house is normally 50-60% humidity all year or higher, it's cooler near the window - probably 60 to 65 degrees, so yours should do well too where you keep them. I've found it can get a bit dark in some areas of the house by early January in my corner of PA so I tend to shine a cheap drop light with one of those curly 13 to 20 watt compact fluorescent bulbs (equivalent to 60 to 75 watt) on any plants that seem to need some additional light. Usually 8 to 10 hours a day has been quite helpful to them if they need it. Cheap to run too. Not enough to make anything but my african violets bloom but enough to make some of the other plants a little happier. Makes it so I can put some plants in some unexpected places when I run out of room!
...See More
Thanksgiving Cactus In Full Bud
Q
Comments (1)
Yea mine is the same. I just leave it alone, give it benign neglect, and it flowers every year!
...See More
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years ago
Once you repot it, try an improved potting mix. Add some extra 'goodies' to insure that it is fast draining and then the watering will be much easier to get the hang of. If you don't have access to bark fines or Turface, an added handful (or more) of perlite can help. Plants that thrive in somewhat moist soils must also have plenty of oxygen in the mix...a coarse texture will insure that.

Then you'll feel comfortable drenching your container properly in between waterings (which you will probably have to do more often).

Another thing to check for are drafts, hot or cold.

I let my CC dry out considerably between waterings, by the way.
tjsangel
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you, I kinda figured it was because of the change and moving it around. I'm definetly going to add some perlite to the potting mix. I have moved it out of the direct sun, put in a cooler room, into morning sun and I'm going to let it dry out a little more. I hope to have awesome flowers next season.

Jen
tommyr_gw Zone 6
17 years ago
I find the first flush of blooms does fine regardless of being moved, it's the second round where MY buds fall off but it MAY be due to needing more water.

Tom

Yet another Thanksgiving cactus question

Comments (5)

birdinthepalm

greattigerdane

Related Discussions

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

tjsangel
Original Author

tommyr_gw Zone 6

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Yet *another* Thanksgiving cactus question

Comments (5)

birdinthepalm

greattigerdane

Related Discussions

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

tjsangelOriginal Author

tommyr_gw Zone 6

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Yet another Thanksgiving cactus question

tjsangel
Original Author