Emoree, It should be fine. It probably just got very dry. Keep it where you have it now, water regularly, but don't let water set in the saucer. I like to use a mix of Miracle Grow potting mix (not the water saver kind) and a little perlite. They don't put enough perlite in the premade potting mixes anymore. Don't use cactus mix. Despite the name, as Greenclaws said, it is not a cactus. If you do repot, go up one size only and stay with a clay pot. You can use a plastic pot, but be sure it has excellent drainage. The little segments will root, so if one falls off, just stick it in the soil with the end with the rootlets barely in the soil.

I, for years and years, had called mine a Christmas cactus because that is how they are sold in the stores here. All the stores get them in with the poinsettias. The growers manipulate the light to get them to bloom closer to Christmas.

Pardon me Sherry, they absolutely ARE a cactus, beyond question (the areoles make it cactus). It's just they are tropical cacti, rather than arid land, which makes them want humidity (like the tropics they come from), unlike arid land cacti. Not a direct sun plant, more bright indirect light.

Gill clarified it's Thanksgiving not Christmas cactus.

I would not advise terra cotta, I grow all my holiday in plastic, keeps mix from drying out too fast. I'd use African Violet mix mixed w/ Perlite (50/50 each). But care needs to be consistent, not frequent watering, but again, consistent.

Yes, I know that it is a Thanksgiving cactus. I was just explaining why most people call them a Christmas cactus. No one markets them in the stores as a Thanksgiving cactus. They are presented as a Christmas cactus in the stores. They, as I said, bring them in with the poinsettias, Christmas trees, and Norfork Island Pines.

It is much easier to overwater in plastic than terra cotta.

Emoree, good luck with your plant.

ETA: I should of said it is not what most people think of as cactus. Don't treat it like one.

Thank you all for your advice! I just repotted this last year and am surprised at how worn out the soil looks already. Is that normal? I used a nice mix with perlite for aeration, I’d have to look at the packages at home to be able to say exactly what. That seems to happen frequently with this plant, the soil gets old and “deflated” looking— doesn’t happen with my other plants. I remember when I reported last year this plant was SO happy— I thought it was just the new location/light but perhaps it was the new soil?

The soil actually feels kind of wet most of the time when I check it. It’s really weird. I don’t let it dry completely out but also don’t keep it soaked. I do keep water in a dish under the pot (which doesn’t touch the plant/soil) to increase humidity. I don’t want to switch to plastic for fear the roots will rot.

I will repot and cross my fingers! I’m not brave enough to take the segments apart but it’s possible they’ll fall apart a little anyway so I’ll plant those too.

emoree

How do you check if soil is wet or dry?

You said: ..."I do keep water in a dish under the pot (which doesn’t touch the plant/soil) to increase humidity"... is it possible that water gets reabsorbed back into soil, keeping it mucky at the lower part of pot? Even if it isn't touching plant or soil, but is the pot touching the water at all? Clay pot will wick the moisture.

I use plastic pots for almost all my plants - succulents, tropical, also have many perenials potted in pots. I do not have problem with rot at all. If soil plants are in is poorly draining/water retaining, one can expect problems regardless type of pot.

Greenclaws is correct in his identification of your plant. They are hybrids of plants that are native to the higher elevations of western Brazil, in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. As such, they do prefer cooler temperatures. I grow mine in an unheated sun room, but not in direct sun. (Even though it's unheated, it never goes below fifty degrees at night.)These plants also naturally grow on trees, and not in the soil on the ground. Therefore, they need good drainage. They also need good moisture and air that's not too dry. I think keeping them at a constant seventy degrees is not the best for them. If you have a north-facing window, keeping it close to that window might help, or maybe some other place that is cooler, especially at night. I've had mine for years, and it grows and blooms every year.

That mix must go, that is a huge first step.

Karen mentioned a good mix that would help those roots breath again and therefore reflect much healthier leaves.

The pot it’s in is a glazed pot with an attached tray base with holes allowing water to flow out from the soil. I don’t let water sit in there. I do have the pot sitting on top of another tray which I fill with water. There is no way (as far as i know??) for this water to get into the soil because the pot is glazed and there are no holes through the bottom (they’re on the sides inside the attached tray). I read that it’s a good way to give the plant some more humidity. Is that not true?

I like the glazed pot because it seems to hold more moisture than unglazed but not as much as plastic. The way I check the soil is just by touching it a bit below the surface. Is there a better way you’d recommend?

Any ideas why the soil would look so old and deflated after only a year? I mixed in a significant amount of perlite. However greenclaws up above mentioned it looks “peaty” and sure enough i just looked it up and the base mix I used is mostly peat moss and peat hummus . What do you want in the mix instead of peat?

I will look for an African violet mix. I have never found a good potting mix for this plant, I hope i can get African violet mix here. I would love to make my own potting soil but have not had luck finding the separate components. I felt lucky for finding a bag of perlite! It’s all just pre-made bagged stuff. Even at greenhouses.

thank you all for your input. I wish I knew what was the primary stressor on the plant. Was it the direct sunlight? Sounds like the cold isn’t a big deal, and it wasn’t looking great even before it got cold. Is it the potting soil being all used up or whatever is wrong with it?

I can repot and then put back in the room where it gets good light but protect it behind a sheer curtain. Does that sound like a good plan?

I had few of those glazed pots with saucers attached, and found drainage was very poor - I got rid of them all. Most of my succulents are in plastic pots. I never use any water in trays for extra humidity - it is so minimal, that it doesn't help. But some ppl believe it helps - perhaps only way to find out is to keep record/measure humidity in the room.

Soil may dry out very fast on the surface and just touch below it. It is best to check deep inside the pot - it could be very dry or very wet, neither good for a plant. You could try to use a bamboo chopstick or even a wooden dowel with sharpened end. Pencil will do in a pinch :) Insert deep inside the pot - at least 3/4 deep. Leave in for few min, then pull out. You can see and feel if stick is dry, or cold/damp. If damp, soil particles may be sticking to it too. Soil looks really wet to me in your photos. I do not see any perlite there, if you added some, it may have been very small amount.

I am not quite sure, but think some ppl use mostly bark o grow these in too? Like bark used for orchids...Perhaps someone that does will comment.

I have TC, but would not advice you to do what I do because I actually neglect it...it was given to me in 2012. I never repotted it. It is in a plastic pot with another plant. I keep the pot in full sun, outside, whole Summer long. It gets watered approx. 1x/week outside. It is in quite cold room now, and I water it much less. It has bloomed every year so far. It is probably quite old, since stems are quite woody.

Wow Rina your plant is a toughie! I think mine never really recovered from having to leave my grandmother’s home when she died :( . It had a really great life there for a very long time! Hopefully we are done moving now so i can try to make the plant feel at home without uprooting it every few years.

Thank you for the watering hints! I’ll definitely start testing the soil deeper down before watering. I’ll also look for a better pot. I settled on this one because it was a good size and not too deep like most pots. Maybe an African violet pot would work.

I also don’t like to use pots with attached saucers, just regular plastic half pots for my TC’s as their root systems are not extensive. My mix is of equal parts seived perlite, bark chips from a pet shop, small grade horticultural gravel same size as for an aquarium substrate and home made partly decomposed garden compost/leaf mold, (not the fine part though) whichever I have to hand. The gravel, bark and perlite help with drainage and the humus part is the compost and leaf mold. The idea being is to replicate the humus that gathers in the crook of a tropical tree, there’s no soil there, just rotting leaves and debris.

My plants are greenhouse bound 365, occasionally hopping into the bathroom south facing window when in flower, it gets humid and warm so they like that for a change.

Gill

As I mentioned in my first post here, they are epiphytes, which means they do NOT grow in soil, but usually attached to trees, or sometimes rocks, like many orchids do. Therefore, they require excellent drainage so soil should not be a dense mix. If you really like the pot, you could drill some holes in the bottom. I've drilled ceramic pots with a masonry drill bit, using a piece of masking tape at the spot to be drilled to keep it from cracking (but drill slowly!) Then you can use one of those clear plastic drip trays. You may love the pot, but I think your plant may not. Otherwise, maybe you could decide which you like better, the plant or the pot and maybe change the pot. I hope your plant recovers. especially since it's sentimental for you. I have an Amaryllis that was give to me by my grandmother about fifty years ago, so I know how you feel. Good luck.