Live Everyday like a Holiday!: What a Blessing it was to enjoy Mothers Cactus on Thanksgiving

Saturday, November 26, 2011

What a Blessing it was to enjoy Mothers Cactus on Thanksgiving

This beautiful cactus budded the 1st week of November. Went into full bloom the second week of November and now it's the end of November and the new buds still continue to open. It was in full bloom the whole week of Thanksgiving and rightly so because it's a Thanksgiving cactus. One side is red and one side is white. I took a picture of the red side but on the left you can see a bit of the white peeking through.

I gave this cactus to my Mother on Valentines Day in 2010. Hence the reason it's red and white. Sadly, 10 months later we lost our Mother after a long 7 month battle in the hospital. Mothers beautiful cactus continues to live and bless us with it's beauty. For this Thanksgiving I placed the cactus right in the middle of my dinner table. I wanted to be able to look at it and be reminded of how blessed I am during this holiday season. Her beautiful cactus will never go without love.

For all you cactus lovers; if you have a cactus but don't know what kind it is, maybe this information will help. I took Horticulture many many years ago but didn't dare try to remember the spelling of these names so I went to the trusty Internet for help. Below I will pass on cactus descriptions and names in hopes of helping you figure out which cactus you may have. Happy Holidays! :) Pam
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Fun Facts about the cactus:

Schlumbergera is a genus of cactus from the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil. Plants grow on trees or rocks in habitats which are generally shady with high humidity and can be quite different in appearance from their dessert-dwelling cousins. Most species of Schlumbergera have stems which resemble leaf-like pads joined one to the other and flowers which appear from areoles at the joints and tips of the stems. Two species have cylindrical stems more similar to other cacti. In Brazil, the genus is referred to as Flor de Maio (May flower), reflecting the period in which they flower in the Southern Hemisphere.

This genus contains the popular house plants known by a variety of names including Christmas Cactus, Thanksgiving Cactus, Crab Cactus and Holiday Cactus, which are Schlumbergera cultivars, and flower in white, pink, yellow, orange, red or purple. (The Easter Cactus or Whitsun Cactus, which may also be called a Holiday Cactus and has vivid scarlet flowers in the most commonly grown form, is now placed in the genus Hatiora.) The cultivars of Schlumbergera fall into two main groups:

The Truncata Group contains all cultivars with features derived mainly from the species S. truncata: stem segments with pointed teeth; flowers held more or less horizontally, usually above the horizontal, whose upper side is differently shaped from the lower side (zygomorphic); and pollen which is yellow. They generally flower earlier than members of the Buckleyi Group and although common names are not applied consistently may be distinguished as Thanksgiving Cactus, Crab Cactus or Claw Cactus.
The Buckleyi Group contains all cultivars with at least some features clearly showing inheritance from S. russelliana: stem segments with rounded, more symmetical teeth; more or less symmetrical (regular) flowers which hang down, below the horizontal; and pollen which is pink. They generally flower later than members of the Truncata Group and are more likely to be called Christmas Cactus.

Common names

Plants are offered for sale under a variety of common names. The earliest English common name was "Christmas Cactus". In Europe, where plants are largely produced for sale in the period before Christmas, this remains the most widely used common name in many languages for cultivars of all groups (e.g. Weihnachtskaktus in German, Cactus de Noël in French, and Cacto de Navidad in Spanish). This is also the name used in Canada. In the United States, where plants are produced for the Thanksgiving holiday in November, the name "Thanksgiving Cactus" is used; "Christmas Cactus" may then be restricted to cultivars of the Buckleyi Group, particularly the very old cultivars such as 'Buckleyi'. The name "Crab Cactus" (referring to the clawed ends of the stems) is also used for the Truncata Group. "Link Cactus" is another common name, describing the way that the stems of the genus as a whole are made up of linked segments.

The Easter Cactus or Whitsun Cactus is now placed in the genus Hatiora, but was at one time included in Schlumbergera (or one of its synonyms). The name "Holiday Cactus" has been used to include both Schlumbergera and Hatiora cultivars.