To get Thanksgiving Cactus, or Schlumbergia truncata, to rebloom is more straightforward than one may experience.
A Master Gardener lecture I attended at the beginning of November refreshed my recollections of how to get Thanksgiving Cactus to rebloom. Any plant can rebloom if you can imitate what is going on when that plant comes into bloom in nature.
Thanksgiving cactus is native to the coastal regions of Brazil. Brazil’s forest and jungle cactus need special care because the blossom can be very delicate, and plants will shed their flowers quickly.Â
Our goal is to imitate the conditions of the forest and jungle in Brazil when our Thanksgiving cactus comes into bloom.
Schlumbergera is a genus of cacti with as many as nine species found in the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil. In the wild, these plants would have grown on trees or rocks in habitats generally in high-humid shade and are very different from their desert dwelling cousins.
Thanksgiving Cactus has what may look like thick leaves joined to one another. Flowers grow out of the top of these leaves or cladophylls through little pores called areoles at the joint and tip of the stems.
When the cactus comes into bloom, the celebration gives names such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Cactus to the specific cactus.
My grandmother kept a few of these Thanksgiving cacti for as long as I can remember.
Grandma was terrific with all the plants; she got these two plants to bloom every year. I remember grandma breaking one of these leaf stems or cladophylls and giving them to her friends, which were easy to start. She always said don’t thank me for the plant when she would give someone a piece.
Seriously, I never really knew why, but she did. My sister still has some of the original plants from these cacti, which are still blooming.Â
My sister, mom, and grandma would take some extra time with these cacti, and they looked good over the years, but they knew some tricks to get these plants to bloom well, which aren’t tricks.
One of the things that I have learned as a gardener and a landscaper is that if you want a plant of any sort to do well, imitate the conditions in which you find the plant in nature.
These cacti being jungle and forest plants means they will need an atmosphere with humidity and lower amounts of sunlight. In other words, don’t let this plant dry out much.
You would find Mom’s cactus where she had the hot tub, so the humidity was in the air.
One tip I have today is to place cookie sheets with shallow sides and a layer of gravel where you can put the cactus on top of the gravel and keep water in the bottom of the pan.Â
The pan will provide enough moisture for the atmosphere around the plant.
The idea of getting your Thanksgiving Cactus to rebloom begins when it has shed its flowers.
For the least amount of shock to the plant, you can do serious work like pruning, thinning, or transplanting just after the blooms come off the cactus. The delicate Thanksgiving Cactus flower sheds its blooms naturally.
We can look at repotting after this. We then ensure that we test the soil in the pot at least once a year. If the plant is not using the nutrients, it may become poisoned. Repotting the Thanksgiving Cactus is the best time to gauge the nutrient levels.
After the blooms have fallen, the cactus needs a period of rest. Water the cactus intermittently once a week in medium light at about 55 degrees from mid-January to March. April and May increase watering but allow the soil surface to dry between waterings.
From the beginning of June to the middle of September, place the cactus outside in a shady area and protect it from slugs. From the middle of September to the middle of November, before the flowers come, reduce watering and lean towards the dry side. The flower buds need to keep cooler to help them to form.
Precisely, long nights and cool temperatures form the buds. A night-time temperature of 55 degrees F to start flower bud development or a long night as a 12-hour night will also cause the flower buds to set.
Once the buds form, increase the water and temperature. Manipulating light and temperature to get these cacti to bloom is called “DIF Treatment” in greenhouse parlance.
Once the cactus has bloomed, we need to move the plant into a bright window without direct sunlight and with no drafts.
I hope you enjoy the plants you have in your home this year. If you have problems, such as pruning or fertilizing your Thanksgiving Cactus, e-mail me at ericlarson546@yahoo.com.
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