Christmas Cactus, Easter Cactus And Other Decembrists (part 1)

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Such different Decembrists

When it's cold and snowy outside, you want warmth and bright colors. Therefore, many growers grow flowering plants. These include the Decembrists, which bloom here in the cold season. We can say that they got their name from the time of their flowering.

Features of plants

Decembrists are a generalized name that we often incorrectly use for plants that are similar in appearance, but each of them has its own scientific name and certain environmental requirements. The Decembrists - "Christmas cactus", "Easter cactus", phyllocactus belong to the Cactus family. But unlike other cactus plants, they need almost the same watering regime as deciduous plants.

The homeland of the Decembrists is the humid tropical forests of Latin America, where humid (with frequent and heavy rains) and dry (lasting several months) seasons stand out. Decembrists are epiphytic plants, which also include orchids, bromeliads, cactus plants, and some ferns. Due to the lack of light in the humid rainforest, they do not settle on the ground, but on the trunks and branches of trees. Therefore, these plants should not be kept in direct sunlight. Plants require diffused or reflected sunlight. Bright lighting can cause stunted growth or yellowing (chlorosis) of the edges of the stems. The windows on which my Decembrists live face the east, so in the morning (from spring to autumn) I cover the plants with a thin white spunbond. They can be grown as ampelous. These plants do not like stagnant air, as at home,high in the trees, a light breeze blows them.

Rainfall provides epiphytes with essential water as well as minerals and nutrients. These plants are not parasites: their roots grab onto tree branches only to stay on them. The first to settle on trees are mosses and ferns. Dying off, they form a layer of soil in grooves and branches, where epiphytic plants then settle. Therefore, the soil for them must be loose, slightly acidic, permeable, with a slightly acidic reaction and poor in nutrients. But I make up the soil for the Decembrists a little more nutritious than for other epiphytic plants, which has a beneficial effect on their flowering.

Landing of the Decembrists

The earthen mixture for my Decembrists contains several components in equal proportions: sifted earth from the greenhouse, compost (I don’t sift it, because in nature, in the homeland of the Decembrists, no one does this), Greenworld soil for flowering plants (based on peat), prepared coconut substrate (makes the earthy mixture loose). In addition to these components, I add in a small amount per liter of ready-made earthen mixture 1 tablespoon (without a slide): soil Bio Vita "Flower", biohumus; 2 tablespoons each (with a slide): finely chopped sphagnum moss with scissors, powdered pine and spruce bark, vermiculite; one teaspoon (no slide): perlite and 1/3 teaspoon of AVA fertilizer (for one year). I mix all the components thoroughly to enrich the earthen mixture with air,I water with microbiological fertilizer "Baikal EM-1" (1 ml per 1 liter of water) or "Extrasol" (2 ml per 1 liter of water), mix again and leave this soil for a week, covered with plastic wrap, but not tightly, but so so that air flows freely there. A week later, I start planting or transplanting plants, stirring this earthen mixture again. I plant ferns and hippeastrum in the same soil (only in pots for these flowers I do not add pine and spruce bark). I plant ferns and hippeastrum in the same soil (only in pots for these flowers I do not add pine and spruce bark). I plant ferns and hippeastrum in the same soil (only in pots for these flowers I do not add pine and spruce bark).

Having purchased a plant in a store, I immediately transplant it, having previously washed it with warm water, even if it blooms. I choose a pot 2-3 cm wider than the previous one, at the bottom of which there are many large holes through which excess water will come out after watering, since these plants do not tolerate stagnant water (they grow on trees). At the bottom of the pot I pour a layer of large expanded clay, and on top of it I lay a layer of sphagnum moss. Sphagnum moss does not allow the earthen mixture to fall between the holes in expanded clay, and with abundant watering it absorbs excess moisture, protecting the roots from waterlogging. I transplant a Decembrist with a clod of earth without damaging it. I water the soil with Energena solution (13 drops per 250 ml of water) and put the pot with the plant in partial shade for one week. In the first year after transplanting (planting) I do not water the plant with any fertilizers (since there are enough nutrients in the earthen mixture), but I only water it once every two weeks with HB-101 solution (2 drops per 1 liter of water), alternating it with Ribav -Extra "(3 drops per 1 liter of water) and once in a month and a half I must water with the preparation" Baikal EM-1 "or" Extrasol ".

Coconut substrate must be prepared in advance. To do this, I soak the coconut briquette in warm water. I pour the water onto the briquette, but not all at once, as written in the instructions, but as it increases (until the dry briquette becomes wet and increases in size). Then I put the coconut substrate in a bag sewn from two layers of gauze (half filling it) and rinse it in a basin under cold running water. I do this in order to remove various salts that it contains. After that, I squeeze the coconut substrate, transfer it to a bowl to dry and put it next to the battery. During drying, I periodically stir it. When it dries up a little (but does not dry out), i.e. when moisture is not released when squeezed in a fist, I add it to the earthen mixture. I put the excess coconut substrate in a plastic bag and cover it,but not tying. Store at room temperature.

Top dressing

In the second year (when new leaf-segments begin to grow), I begin to feed the plants once a week with liquid fertilizers. I use fertilizers: for orchids - Etisso (alternating fertilizer with a red cap - for flowering, with a green cap - for leaf growth), "Ideal" (be sure to add "Baikal EM-1" or "Extrasol" to it). Top dressing with fertilizers alternate with top dressing HB-101, "Ribav-Extra", "Energen". For example: in the first week of the month - dressing with Etisso fertilizer with a red cap (according to the instructions); in the second week - HB-101; in the third week - Etisso with a green cap; in the fourth week - "Ribav-Extra". Next month: in the first week - “Ideal” (one cap per 1 liter of water) together with “Baikal EM-1”; in the second week - Energen; in the third week - fertilizer for orchids (according to the instructions); in the fourth week - HB-101. For 1-2 months before the formation of buds, feeding should be stopped. I water the plants only with warm, settled water at any time of the year. When watering plants with tap water, the earthen mixture is alkalized, and the Decembrists grow in slightly acidic soil. Therefore, it needs to be acidified periodically. To do this, once a month I add lemon juice to the watering container (I squeeze 1/2 lemon for 10 liters of water).

The Decembrists are quite tolerant of temperature conditions. But, of course, they have their own preferences: they grow best within the temperature range from + 18 ° to + 27 ° C. They will survive at temperatures ranging from + 2 ° C to + 38 ° C.

This is a short day plant. The laying of flower buds in them depends on a decrease in the length of daylight hours and the temperature of the content. During the rest period, the Decembrists need little moisture, more fresh cool air, the optimum temperature should be + 10 ° C … + 12 ° C. During the dormant period, I water the plants once a week, drying the earthen lump, it is impossible to feed the plants during this period. The rest period for the Decembrists lasts from two (at least) to several months, depending on the species.