FOTD – November 25, 2018
Proving again that you really do need light to take pictures please enjoy the impressionistic photographs of my budding cactuses.
They are impressionistic because there was almost no light. I think maybe I’ll start a little earlier tomorrow.
We have one that had one bud last year and none this year so far.
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Ditto what I said before: Stop watering them. And don’t move them around. Find an east-facing window, leave them there, and water them ONLY WHEN THEY ARE ENTIRELY DRY. Not damp. Not moist. Dry as a bone.
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That’s what we do. We had to move it six months ago. So maybe that killed its blooming 😁
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It’ll come back. It just needs to settle down. You’ll probably wind up with flowers in the middle of summer!
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Wonderful!!!
Mine are in some sort of rebellious dormant stage. Haven’t blossomed in years!!
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Stop watering them. And don’t move them around. Find an east-facing window, leave them there, and water them ONLY WHEN THEY ARE ENTIRELY DRY. Not damp. Not moist. Dry as a bone.
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Thank you. It was a gift and though I’ve had one before, it was 40 some years ago and I’d forgotten!
I saw one at a Bed and Breakfast once that was more than 6 feet across and almost 100 years old!
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Lovely effects Marilyn, you’re lucky to have them come out now. I don’t seem to have a single bud.
Leslie
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They don’t all bloom at the same time. Some years, they bloom early (sometimes even earlier!) … and as often, they bloom a couple of months late, like early spring. Mainly. DON’T water them unless they are totally, absolute desert dry.
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I’ll watch the watering…
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Almost everyone over-waters their plants. It’s an instinct. I have to slap myself around to stop myself from watering plants. Plants produce flowers when they think they are likely to die. Plants are the seed pods, so they will not produce flowers unless they are “pushed” to do it. You have to get a sense of your plants, how far you can push them without harming them.
But remember: Christmas Cactus ARE cactus. They really don’t need much water at all. They retain water in their leaves and roots, so when you think they need water, they actually are already FULL of water. All succulents and cacti are like that. It’s the exact opposite of say, fuschia which can’t be allowed to go completely dry. I used to write about this stuff because for a few years I was the editor of the Doubleday Garden Guild and I learned a lot, just by reading all those manuscripts. And having like 400 plants growing in my house. It looked like a nursery.
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400 hundred plants, my goodness that would be quite the undertaking.
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It certainly makes for an interesting picture, Marilyn.
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And a little more light will make a better one! The problem is, my macro lens is just an f2.8 and macros need more light than other pictures, probably because you are shooting close. No problem outside, but a real problem inside on a not-very-sunny day. This house is pretty dark.
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My Christmas cactus is beginning to bud, too, but not nearly as far along as yours…no color, yet. I love your photos of this interesting plant!
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It’s actually not difficult to grow, but everyone feels they have to water it and watering it will make it grow, but NOT make it bud!
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You’re right; mine does best with somewhat lower light and less water.
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They thrive in rooms where there is not much artificial light and they can synch up with the natural day-night cycle. As it happens, I rarely use my dining room for anything but — well — growing plants!
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Lovely dreamy edits; the first like soft flames whose glow we have much need of just now.
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These are the deep red ones. The pink ones haven’t set any buds yet, but they often bloom in January or even March. Mainly, I don’t water them unless they are bone dry.
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