A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Please help! Chtistmas catus and lucky bamboo

I know I never really been in this area of garden hepler- both of my plants were a work. but now i have them at home.

I have two questions.

1) What in the world is a Christmas catus and how do I care for it? (It was given to me for the Holiday)

2)I thought lucky bamboo would root and start the bamboo if you over brok off a thing of leaves and planted it, but all i have is two stalks of leaves. How can I get it to "bamboo?"

Thanks for any help.

Gardendaughter

Christmas cacti really are cacti. They are greenhouse cultivars of Schlumbergera Bridesii, an epiphite originally from Brazil. They don't like full sun or to be too dry, like most other cacti, but beware, overwatering is still the major cause of death. It sets flower buds in the fall in responce to the shortening hours of daylight.
I don't have personal experience with 'lucky bamboo' but I grew some hardy bamboo outside for a while (until it froze to death one winter) and advice I received for that was this: Bamboo is closely related to grass. In the growing season sun + water + nitrogen fertilizer = growth. I wouldn't fertilize it in the winter, though. I also wouldn't look for a lot of growth until warmer, sunnier weather.

kareena so glad to see you puttering out of the banter and into the learning (by the way, how is school? ellie graduates in may, finally!)

your lucky bamboo is actually a draceana, and if you do a search (not sure i spelled it right) you will get lots of info, but the short answer is they grow slower than others unless the light is very good. if you have a flourescent light anywhere in the house, that is where you want it, otherwise a south or west facing window. treat it like you would any other house plant by watering when dry to your first knuckle, and feeding it half strenght about every other watering.

the christmas cactus probably won't bloom the same time next year unless you "force" it, but it makes a great hanging basket plant. i let mine get slightly drier than my other houseplants and it doesn't mind a bit. same principle, feed half strenght every two or three waterings. mine is in a west window also. hope this helps!

One more thing, most christmas cactuses soild are actually thanksgiving cactus. The difference is Thanksgiving cactus have pointy edges like devil horns and Christmas cactus have rounded scalloped edges.

Care is the same. They will bloom if given a few weeks of 50-55 degrees F. temps and or 12 hours of total darkness. I love em!

Happy new year to all!

Tom

I've started new canes of lucky bamboo before...you don't take a cutting from the top (the leaves), but rather from the bottom (the cane). If like me, you grow it in water this is easy. Take it out of the vase (if in soil, I guess you'd gently dig it out)and cut the cane into 2 pieces of your desired length with a sharp knife, make the cut as clean and even as possible. Then put the 2 pieces back in water or soil....the bottom part that's already rooted will sprout leaves at the top, and the cane that already has leaves will sprout roots! Make sense? For future reference. As far as what you've done to your cane, I don't think anything will happen with that leaf cutting, but the cane you topped should sprout new leaves.

Thanks Karamy!