Christmas Cactus

Quick Tips To Grow & Care For

At this time of the year, we are lucky to have several gorgeous house plants that provide holiday color and splendor.

One of them is the Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera species), an undemanding plant, that rewards you with its seasonal flowering year after year.

Here are some fast tips on how to grow and care for them.

Light:
Medium to bright indirect light

Water:
It is a succulent, so it can take dry air and infrequent watering; however, it will require more attention when it is in bloom. Prefers well-drained soil, and likes to be slightly potbound.

Fertilizer:
During blooming and growth, fertilize with an all purpose, soluble houseplant fertilizer every 10 days.

Temperature:
Average to slightly cooler room temperatures, and when not in flower, as low as 60° F (15.6° C). Evening temperatures of 50 to 55° F (10-13° C) can be used to initiate flower bud formation.

Bud Dropping:
Common causes are over watering, exposure to sudden changes in humidity or temperature, which can happen if you grew the plant outdoors and then brought it in. Try to locate the plant in a cool area and use good watering practices.

Flowering:
Christmas Cactus needs 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness at night for 5 to 6 weeks or until buds form. They also need cool nights, under 65° F (18° C).

Keep plants slightly dry until flower buds begin to form, then water thoroughly when the surface of the soil is dry.

Year-Round Schedule At A Glance:

January - Usually Flowering

February to March - Resting (Maintain 55° F (13° C), and infrequent watering

April to May - Water thoroughly when soil begins to dry out

June to August - Place outdoors in a shady spot

September to October - Plant prepares to flower. Reduce number of daylight hours. Keep plant on the dry side with cool temperatures of 55 to 60° F (13 to 16° C) until flower buds form. Then increase water and temperature

November to December - Flowering. Water normally. Temperature no less than 55° F (13° C)

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - www.weekendgardener.net

Have a great day!

Grow a Parsley Present!

Make a beautiful and fun gift for someone special!

The holidays are just around the corner, and kids will be home from school for vacations. This is a fun time, and perfect to start to grow a Parsely Present, or, even if you don't have kids, just grow some parsely for yourself!

Parsley is a particularly beautiful herb plant, and besides being decorative, parsley also has all kinds of uses in the kitchen. Parsley grown in a pot, makes a terrific present, expecially for someone who likes to cook, and it's easy and inexpensive to do.

For step-by-step instructions: How To Grow A Parsely Present

For more gardening tips and gardening ideas go to: Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

Bug Facts!

As much as plants are important to our gardens, so are the insects, as the current worldwide bee problem is showing us. So I thought it would be interesting to list a few fun bug facts!

. There are five times as many insects as all other types of animals combined

. Scientists discover between 7,000 and 10,000 new kinds of insects each year. They estimate that nearly 10 million more are yet to be discovered

. One of every five living species is a beetle

. Most insects live less than a year. A mayfly lives just a few hours

. A dictionary-style listing of all known insects would be 6,000 pages long

. If a 175 pound man had the comparative strength of an ant, he could lift 4 tons


For more gardening tips and gardening ideas go to: Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

New Pumpkin Variety for 2008

I know we just finished the growing season, but I am always on the lookout for new things to grow next year.

Take a look at this new pumpkin variety that is new for 2008! It's called Pumpkin 'Jarrahdale' (Cucurbita maxima).

It has a unique bluish-gray fruit, which grows up to 6 to 12 pounds (7 to 5.5 kgs), that is excellent for fall décor and Halloween.

Also making it different, is its golden to orange-colored flesh, that is sweet, nutty, and stringless, making it great for baking. This is nice, because many ornamental or decorative pumpkins are not so good tasting, but this one is.

Harvest in 100 days from seed. Seeds are available at: Botanical Interests

Overall this seems to be a very versatile pumpkin and I am going to try it out next year, I hope you do to!

For more gardening tips and gardening ideas go to: Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine