A beautiful festive plant, known among amateur gardeners as the Decembrist, or Schlumberger, pleases with its flowering during Christmas, which is reflected in its other popular name - Christmas cactus. The plant is recognizable thanks to the segmented stems and bright flowers that appear at their ends and sides. They are usually red, pink, purple, yellow or white. Ripsalidopsis is sometimes called a Christmas cactus, which differs from Schlumbergera in more rounded segments of leaves without denticles and the shape of flowers. The buds of this plant appear during Easter. But their care is similar, the difference is only in the resting period, due to which the time of fertilizer application changes.
How to plant Decembrist at home
Schlumbergera was bred from two unique parent plants that grow in the tropical forests of South America, mostly in Brazil. If the flower is taken care of properly, a month before Christmas, the tips of the leaves begin to grow. They become darker every day until a kidney is formed. Four weeks later, the buds open as if by magic, adding spring warmth and light to any holiday. Reproduction of the Decembrist is sometimes called seedling, but this process does not mean division of the bush during transplantation. A flower usually has only one stem, unless there are several plants in the pots. Then it is easier to increase the number of Decembrists, but cuttings are most often used for reproduction.
In order to separate several bushes, it is enough to extract them from the pot and carefully untangle the roots, and then place each of them in a separate container with new soil. After a couple of weeks, the Decembrist will take root and start to grow. But what if there is only one stem in the pot, but want to get more flowers for Christmas? This plant is considered a great gift for friends and relatives. Therefore, knowing how to plant a Decembrist at home, without using the method of dividing the bush, will help make something nice for loved ones and show them a real winter miracle. For best results, propagate it better in spring. Therefore, it is advisable to prepare for this in advance.
Christmas cactus breeding rules
Before the holidays, Schlumberger can be found in supermarkets and specialized stores in an already flourishing state. Usually, one-day plants that die after flowering due to improper care and transportation are sold this way. But even they can be saved. To do this, you need to know how to plant a Decembrist flower and how to care for a young plant to get a flowering bush for next year. Propagating a Christmas cactus is easy. Therefore, it is a great way to share this wonderful plant with others. There are several ways to plant a Decembrist. But most often resort to rooting parts of the plant. All you need to do is take the parts removed during trimming and put them in a new pot with suitable soil. Less time-consuming methods are used: vaccination and propagation by seeds.
In order to understand how to properly plant a Decembrist at home, remember a few simple rules:
- The cuttings of the Christmas cactus begin with cutting a short Y-shaped tip of the stem. Before planting the Decembrist, you will have to find a part of the plant, consisting of at least two or three connected segments. The shoots obtained after formation are also suitable.
- Cuttings are chosen from healthy foliage. Then they are dried for several hours. This is necessary to avoid decay from excessive moisture during planting.
When breeding in water, it is important to monitor its purity and constantly change. Otherwise, bacteria that appear in the water can also lead to decay of the plant. There is also a way to plant the Decembrist by leaf. In this case, exactly the same techniques are used as when grafting, but for reproduction one plate is broken off, and not the entire branch.
Decembrist propagation by seeds
Cuttings - the best way to properly plant a rare Decembrist. Vegetative propagation gives 100% transmission of the characteristics of the parent plant, in contrast to seed germination. But the second method is often used to obtain new varieties of Decembrist. Seeds can be obtained by manually spraying two different plants on the third day of flowering. Pollen is usually transferred using a cotton swab or brush. It is important that the plants are not related. The dominant signs will be pink and purple tones. Pollen lasts more than a week, therefore it can be preserved if the periods of the two Decembrists do not coincide. With successful pollination, after a few days the flowers will fall off, and in their place the berries will be tied.
Inside each fruit there will be approximately 50 seeds. They retain their germination for several years, but the one-year-olds grow best. They can be stored at 50% humidity in a clean linen bag. Having cleaned the seeds from the pulp and dried, you can start sowing. First, disinfection is carried out. To do this, the seeds are soaked in a pink solution of potassium permanganate or three percent peroxide. Pathogenic microbes die, which helps the seedlings germinate. Soaking in sodium glutamate or a growth stimulator will also help to improve germination. The container for planting is pre-treated with alcohol or other disinfectant. Seeds are sown superficially in well-moistened soil from sand and universal soil, preferably in the spring. They do not sprinkle with the ground, they just press it into the surface easily.
Seedling Care
Sometimes, for better germination of Christmas cactus seeds, greenhouse conditions are used. To do this, cover the container with crops with a lid or film. But it is important to monitor the humidity and ventilate the seedlings daily so that they do not rot. The temperature in the room where the container with seeds is located should not fall below +20 ° C, and it is important to protect the place from drafts. Because the Decembrist does not like a sharp change in conditions of detention, and seedlings are very tender and more difficult to tolerate. The soil is moistened with a spray gun to maintain moderate humidity.
Seeds can tolerate short-term overdrying, but this is best avoided. You can dive seedlings a month after the appearance of the first shoots. Six months later, strong sprouts appear, which are transplanted into separate pots. Even if some of the seeds have not germinated, do not throw the container away. Some of them may still rise after some time. The first year, seedlings grow very slowly, and can bloom after a year and a half. Care for them is the same as for crops: spraying from a spray gun, observing the temperature regime and protection against drafts.
Decembrist transplant and anti-aging pruning
Christmas cacti prefer small pots. With a lack of space for the root system, the plant blooms better. This means that it will not need to be transplanted more often than once every 2-3 years. To do this, use a slightly larger pot and well-drained soil. A Decembrist transplant, the care of which was carried out according to the recommendations, is desirable in the spring or early summer. This allows the plant to take root before flowering during the holidays. But do not transplant a Christmas cactus while it blooms. Otherwise, the buds may fall.
It is advisable to add fertilizers to the soil to help plant growth. After the transplant, the Decembrist is not watered for 3-4 days. Fertilize after a month, but stop feeding about a month before the appearance of the kidneys, usually by the end of October. Rejuvenating pruning of the plant is usually carried out about a month after flowering is completed. This will encourage the plant to branch and begin to grow again after a short rest period. In order to prune a Christmas cactus, no sharp tools are needed. Simply turn the stem between the segments and remove the part. If the plant grows too fast, you can cut to 1/3 of the green mass every year without harming the plant. Pruning is also the best option to share a rare varietal plant, since all the signs of the mother flower will remain.
How to pick up the soil
Before planting a Decembrist at home, it is important to choose the right soil composition for it. The flower prefers a slightly acidic environment, therefore, for better growth, bark is sometimes added to the substrate. Christmas cacti require nutritious, well-drained soil. This means that the usual universal mixture with the addition of sphagnum and perlite is suitable. A good layer of expanded clay or pebble drainage is placed in the pot. This is necessary so that the roots do not rot. After successful rooting, this plant should be fertilized every two weeks with diluted mineral fertilizer, but do not use organics. It is important to remember that Christmas cactus should be stopped feeding about a month before winter flowering, which usually means the end of October.
Lighting Tips
This plant loves a lot of sunlight, but prefers not to be exposed to direct rays. They can easily burn tender leaves, so windows facing east or north are best suited to house a Christmas cactus. Before planting a Decembrist at home, it is worthwhile to choose such a place in advance. It is able to adapt to low light conditions, but only blooms in bright indirect light. A flower does not like when its pot is rotated and moved, especially during the flowering period, therefore it is desirable that the place is permanent and no rearrangement is required.
Rooting Decembrist cuttings in the soil
After drying, the shoot is placed in a small container with a mixture of peat and sand or 1/2 part of coconut soil and 1/2 perlite. Before planting, the soil is thoroughly mixed and moistened, then a recess is made in it. The stalk should be about a quarter of the length below the surface of the soil and positioned vertically. A pot with a process is placed in a well-lit place, avoiding direct sunlight.
Too much heat and light can delay growth and burn leaves. It should also be away from drafts and other sources of hot air. It is not necessary to water the plant abundantly, otherwise it can rot. After about two or three weeks of propagation of the Christmas cactus, the cuttings should show signs of new growth at the tips of the leaves. They are usually reddish in color. Long cuttings are preferably supported with a stick. Otherwise, they will bend to the ground, which will damage the delicate roots.
Transplanted rooted escape
After the root has been rooted, it can be transplanted into a larger pot with loose soil. It is advisable to add a small amount of sand or compost. It is important not to water too hard and not to let dry. You can use a spray gun and spray the surface of the soil until its top becomes wet. As the cuttings grow, you can water them deeper. A small watering can or a small bottle is suitable for this.
The answer to the question of when the Decembrist can be seated is simple - any time will do. Even the flowering period, but only if there is no fear of losing part of the buds. Experienced flower growers prefer to root the cuttings immediately after pruning, after drying them first. But if you carefully unscrew the shoot of a flowering plant without turning the pot over, all buds should remain in place. After the rooting of the cuttings and the appearance of several new shoots, the young plant is pinched to stimulate the appearance of new shoots. With more branches, flowering will be more abundant.
Young plant care
The water method may seem simpler than reproduction in the soil, but, nevertheless, it rarely leads to a satisfactory result due to changes in the conditions of detention. This process is more difficult to root and adapt to the ground. Rooting in the substrate is the easiest way to plant Decembrists with cuttings. In the beginning, some flowers may fade, but this is normal. In the end, everything will be restored.
Further care and transplantation of the Decembrist flower is also quite simple. Now a young plant can be watered more often, fertilized and additionally illuminated. For abundant winter flowering, the plant needs a little care. Christmas cacti need care very similar to that required when growing succulents. It requires moist soil to grow, but these plants do not like to be in a pool of water. The best way to find out when to water a Christmas cactus is to test the soil with your finger. Too much moisture can cause brown spots or rotting of the roots, and insufficient moisture can cause flowering problems.