With the advent of the New Year holidays, on the eve of Christmas, a green miracle blossoms on the windowsill - a forest cactus with fancy flowers, called in Latin the Schlumberger. Home care for this indoor plant is not so burdensome, so the flower attracts the attention of many amateur gardeners. The people call Schlumberger a Decembrist or a Christmas tree, because its flowering period falls on Christmas. Although sometimes it departs from the rules and blooms in January, and even February.
It is difficult to find a more unpretentious plant than a Schlumbergera. Home care for this semi-epiphytic flower consists in the correct choice of location, preparation of the substrate, adjustment of watering, air temperature and lighting. Decembrist loves light soil, so you can buy ordinary soil and add vermiculite or coarse sand to it, it also does not hurt to add a couple of tablets of activated carbon or charcoal powder.
It is better to choose a pot wide, but not deep, because the flower has a superficial root system. At the bottom, you need to lay a decent layer of drainage, because stagnant water does not like Schlumberger. Leaving is meant regular with moderate watering. It is impossible to fill the plant, because the roots will begin to rot, it is also not worthwhile to allow the soil to dry out, so you need to water when the top layer of soil is slightly dry.
An excess of light can slow down the growth of the Decembrist, it can be placed on the windowsill, but direct sunlight should not fall on the flower. Western and northeastern windows love Schlumberger most of all. Home care requires maintaining a certain temperature. In summer, the plant rests, and it begins a period of growth, so it can be taken out to the balcony or to the garden, fresh air and diffused light will not interfere. In spring and summer, it responds well to feeding Schlumberger. The photos of these magnificent flowers are fascinating, but it is worth noting that the plants will not be attractive enough if once a month they do not add complex
mineral fertilizers to them.In September, it is necessary to reduce watering, as the indoor flower stops growing. It was during this period that Schlumberger began to prepare for flowering. Home care requires lowering the night temperature to + 17 ° C, because only under such conditions flower buds will be laid. Moderate regular watering resumes as soon as buds appear on the plant. You can also give fertilizing in the form of mineral fertilizers for flowering indoor flowers. The pot can not be twisted and rearranged during budding and flowering, compliance with this condition is very important.
At the end of flowering, the watering of the Decembrist is gradually reduced, the pot must be rearranged in a cool place. It should be noted that Schlumbergera bloom at low temperatures of about 15 ° C. Christmas can be attributed to long-lived plants, it will delight with abundant flowering for three decades.