Christmas Cacti

Yes, this post is almost unforgiveably late. Please pardon this transgression.

So, one of the main categories of house plants I grow is the illustrious Christmas Cactus. Scientifically known as the genus Schlubergera. S. truncata, S. opuntioidies, S. orisichrissiana (sp), S. russelliana, and two I have never seen pictured or heard of them being grown outside Brazil. I was first drawn to my mother's plant when I was a kid. Every Christmas it was cloaked in drooping, symetrical, pink flowers. This plant sat in a cold room with windows facing north and west and it loved every minute of it. Despite my best efforts I never managed to get a single seed pod from them. These are the traditional cultivar "Schlumbergera X bucklei" and yes my spelling may be wrong.

When I got older and addicted to ebay I found other varieties, ones with toothy looking leaves, not the scalloped ones I had known. To cut a long story short I now have 23 pots worth at home and another 6 at work (6 of them are Bucklei including mom's original plant which got me started).

Peach, red, purple, pink, white, 2 kinds of yellow (yes yellow ones do exist). Yes, a glutton for schlumbergeras. I even shelled out for an S. opuntioides 2 years ago. Look it up, then search desperately for 6 months and you'll find one. Whether you want to pay that much for a tiny plant is ultimately up to you (or your wife, or if you want to pay for utilities that month).

My plants at work all set buds and dropped them, all but one. My grocery store pale pink. Huge blooms on monster stems. Amazing what a leftover plant, one step from the garbage can, can become. It garnered lots of comments from anyone who came to my office and I have now infested two coworkers offices, well one coworker and my supervisor, with their own clones. The cleaning lady even asked for some and I belatedly potted her cuttings up yesterday.

The plants at home bloomed like champs EXCEPT for the traditional Christmas Cacti. I trimmed them up in late summer when they moved in. DO NOT EVER DO THAT! So they are healthier, but won't bloom till next December.

There is a term you may have heard, self incompatibility. This applies to all genera of Christmas cacti as a defense against inbreeding. Since they grown readily from cuttings seeds aren't essential even in their native jungle. However, most varieties sold today, S. X bucklei included, come from seedling crosses. So all I had to do was pollenate a clone of the original plant with one of the new hybrids and voila! seed pods. To date I have never sewn a single seed I bred since I don't have any more space to row them on. However, the colorful, juicy pods last for a year or more and brighten up the foliage until it's time for them to bloom again.

So, why post now? Because the purple one at home is setting a few new buds, and my yellows are blooming again. The ones at work, which dropped their buds, are now covered in new buds, and the pink one is showing off by being covered in still more.

Where are the photos. Photos or it didn't happen is the rule right? :) I don't have any recent pictures, didn't think to take them this winter. But since you asked nicely, I will take some and post them soon.

2014, new opportunities

WOW, 76 page views in the last month! I hope you enjoyed my old musings from yesteryear. This must mean there is some interest in what I am up to, or folks have followed me back from Facebook and the garden blogs I've been reading. So lets have a big hello for Scotland, Maine, Denmark, Norway, Russia, England, Texas, Delaware, Washington State, etc!

So, a lot has happened since 2012 ended. I helped my parents move from Manassas to Hopewell (40 years of stuff is a lot to pack and move), taken up a martial art, lost 40 pounds, chopped much wood, and my garden is about to get some long defered attention.

This year I've been learning about permaculture gardening, and as it happens parts of my yard are perfect for several species which like open forest habitat. Hog Peanut, Caucsian Spinach and others which I hope to try for 2014. Another addition is the much whispered about ground nut/hopnis/Apios americana, which likes moist, stream conditions (something my hiltop house may not provide much of).

The veggie garden is getting a huge expansion as soon as I can decide which method to use to import the 38 cubic yards I have calculated that I need. You may ask, what on earth can this single guy need with 2,027 square feet of garden at a depth of 6 or 7 inches. Well, raspberries, currants, blueberries, Jerusalem artichokes, corn, beans, longbeans, zinnias, amaranth, quinoa, calendula, sunflowers, squash, bitter melon, celosia, cabage, kale, potatoes, mint, herbs, onions . . . you get the picture. This year is a huge experiment and any overage will be preserved (no, I don't know how to can food) or given away to neighbors and friends. Watch the bugs get it all instead. ;) The first step was getting sufficient concrete blocks to outline the expanded main garden and one on the north side of my house between my lot and the neighbors' ( a lovely couple). I am six blocks short, but that is easily remedied.

So this is where I still hope to share musings, but also talk about gardening, hiking, the local area and Ninpo (Gunbukan Rules Baby!). Maybe some day I'll translate my posts into futhark characters. >:)