Schlumbergera

Aesculus , I was always wondering why this stupid craft , that does not look good at all



now I do know why ....

we need some sunshine to try few of them .

 

Not sure why I'm doing this as they're cheap to buy and easy from cuttings, but they germinate really easily (and quickly) from seed...............

 

I don't follow what are Longk?

 

Sorry Sal only just seen your post, but I think Aesculus has it sown up.

Me I just did it to see if I could make it work, the Epis grew at a much faster rate than normal and I used to hack large lengths off after flowering each year.
Not sure what happened now but I think after a few years the Opuntia rootstock started to deteriorate, as if it was having the life sucked out of it and large pads started to drop off under the weight.
In the end it became unsightly, so I got rid of it, and moved on.

 

Ignore me - I had a moronic moment!
What I meant to post (but posted before I finished) was..................

Not sure why I'm doing this as they're cheap to buy and easy from cuttings, but Schlumbergera germinate really easily (and quickly) from seed...............​

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From my self collected and freshly sown seed they took less than a week to germinate.

 

Oh I see well it's fun to experiment and you never know you might get something interesting do you know what the parents were?

 

Are they not self pollinating/need two plants for successful germination?
If not, it's a pure white one. If it does need two plants boogered if I know as this was the only one in bloom at the time! The seed pods took forever to ripen though.........

 

Must be self pollinated then, I'm not well up on my Schlumbergera knowledge so they may be self fertile I know a few species epi's are... I'm told that the seed pods can take upwards of a year to ripen

 

That was about it - missed a flowering season.
It's my first attempt at growing any succulent or cactus from seed, so a wee victory from where I'm sat

 

you are hooked now , did you ever try dragon fruit???

the point with cactus is that are really slow to grow , not to germinate , many cactus variety are slow to grow even in warm weather , that`s why all this little trick .....

if you pop in homebase they may still have all the Christmas Schlumbergera reduced to 40/60p , I never wanted to buy them , but all started with the fact that I was reading that they can survive in a protected site outdoor ....but with the later temperature we are having, i doubt they will survive , mine are in flower at the moment and they are in the greenhouse .

 

The true Christmas cactus ( Schlumbergera x buckleyi) is now becoming a rarity. This is true Christmas cactus that was grown by our grandparents. It is recognised by its smooth rounded pads and pendant symmetrical flowers. I used to have a huge, very old plant in a hanging pot. It was left with my parents when I left home and they rapidly killed it!

The Cacti now being sold in place are hybrids of Schlumbergera truncata, the Thanksgiving or Crabs Claw cactus. This species has pads with points around he edges and the flowers have a lopsided appearance. It does come in a far greater colour range though, everything from white, pink, red and yellow and all shades in between.

 

Popped out on my lunch break at work the other day and spotted this hiding in the gardening section at the local Oxfam book shop cost me £1.99 the guy below is obviously delusional but still it's a fascinating little book with a list of the most common named hybrids and an explanation of how the yellow flowered hybrid came about

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0646088327

 

Awesome find! How did the yellow hybrid come about? I just assumed it was cross breeding with Epiphylum.

 

Nope no epiphyllum in it

The yellow Schlumbergera was finally achieved by B.L. Cobia Inc. and was released in 1982 it was completed by self pollinating the growers most promising research specimen (orange was the closest colour currently in schlumbergera at the time) it took many repeated self pollination's and over 50,000 seedlings until the final selection was made which produced a rather unattractive leggy plant with yellow blooms this intern was crossed with another research variety with a white flower and bush form which produced a seed pod of about 200 seeds 150 of which turned out to be yellow of which a single plant was selected and named 'Gold Charm'

 

Interesting. Quite nice to know its not of hybrid origin. I've always liked the yellow flowers more than the pink ones.