Christmas Cactus, Thanks Giving Cactus

PLANT WILL BE GIVEN WITH A POT

Height & width:         6-8 inches

Common Name :  Zygo Cactus

This unique perennial plant does not have a stem and its leave keep on working as stem. The upper tip of leaf gives birth to new leaf. This plant blooms Pink flowers during winter season. Other variety of same plant produces red, white flowers also. Upper tips of leaves produce flowers. It prefers to grow in shady area. Interestingly, it blooms even in shade. Hence it’s also used as indoor plant. It can survive without water even for a week.

Never over water this plant. Give water, when soil becomes dry. During summer season, keep this plant in shady, humid and cooler place.

            But this plant cannot tolerate hot summer weather (temperature higher than 32⁰ C). Low humidity (less than 35%) further deteriorates its condition. Its leaf starts wilting due to hot weather and if we do not shift the plant to a cool and humid place, the plant becomes dormant. After some days, the plant may die. To protect from hot weather, we can keep this plant in air cooled room (by desert cooler) also. This plant prefers misting during summer.  But misting should not cause overwatering in the plant soil.

If we are unable to keep this plant for whole day at cool place, must keep them in afternoon hours (when atmospheric temperature is maximum). We can cover this plant by wet Jute cloth to provide relief from hot weather. Wet Jute also enhances humidity level in surroundings of plant. During summer with rising temperature level, atmospheric humidity level comes down at the lowest level. Humidity level of your city can be checked easily on www.google.com. Humidity percentage less than 35 % may adversely affect this plant. During summer, most of the Indian cities with high temperature face low humidity level. In Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi etc. humidity % goes less than 20% during hot days of summer. Such low level of humidity acts as slow poison for this plant. An outer cover of wet Jute cloth provides plant protection from high temperature and due to continuous high rate of evaporation, humidity % also increases. However during winter, this plant can protect itself.

Watering & Sunlight:  This plant prefers to grow well in diffused sunlight. We should water, only when the soil becomes dry. During winter season, we must reduce watering. Proper drainage by making sufficient holes in bottom of pot is must.

Soil:     Its potting mix must be aerated well by use of drainage media upto 20 % (river sand, Leca, Pumice/Perlite or rice husk- use any one of them). All these items help in aeration also. We can mix upto 20% cocopeat and 50 % (mix of 20 % vermi compost + 20% sterilised garden soil +15% wooden Charcoal + 5% Neem Cake) in its potting mix. We may add liquid fertlizers on monthly basis.

 Uses:             Ornamental use.