A. Christmas Cactus, are very easy to grow. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas Cactus are the same variety, Schlumbergia truncata. Over the years, they have taken on different common names based on the holiday period they’re available. Also, there is a spring blooming variety commonly called Easter Cactus that is a different variety. They all do best indoors in an area that gets lots of indirect light or outdoors in a protected location. I’d feed them monthly with a mild houseplant fertilizer from February thru August. Christmas Cactus is easily rooted from cuttings by snapping off a section(s) at the joint and placing them in a small container of moist potting soil. The potting soil should drain quickly to prevent rotting from being over watered. They set their buds in the late fall as the days get shorter and cooler. Many times they will set buds without any additional help. If they don’t, you would then need to move them to the coolest room you have and give them thirty days of twelve to fourteen hours of darkness. The easiest way to do this is to cover the plants at dinnertime with a sealed box and uncover them at breakfast. This is called the short day treatment. Also, you should reduce the watering frequency. The water stress aids in the setting of buds. Once the buds are visible you return to the normal schedule. For a Thanksgiving bloom, cover them in October and in November for flowers at Christmas.
Q. I have a fairly new Meyer Lemon bush that is fruiting but some of the lemons are resting on the ground. Is this a bad thing? Should it be pruned now with my other fruit trees? Also, what should I be doing about the yellow leaves?
A. While deciduous fruit trees are pruned during the winter months, citrus, that is oranges, lemons, limes etc., are not. The suggested time is after the danger of frost has past which is around St. Patrick’s Day in most areas.
Pruning Myer Lemon’s can present a quandary as there never seems to be a rest period with flowers and fruit present year-round. By doing nothing, the plant then gets very large and over grown. Although Meyer Lemon is listed as a dwarf plant, it can get to be ten feet high and six feet wide. The spring pruning removes all the vegetation damaged by the cold along with any dead wood. You then trim for shape and containment the balance of the year. The lower branches are removed to lift the canopy, as you don’t want fruit resting on the ground. Yellow leaves are common at this time of the year because of the cold temperatures. They will green up when you resume you monthly feeding of Citrus Food in March.
Buzz Bertolero is Executive Vice President of Navlet’s Garden Centers and a California Certified Nursery Professional. His web address is www.dirtgardener.com and you can send questions by email at dirtgarden@aol.com or to 360 Civic Drive Ste. ‘D’, Pleasant Hill, Calif. 94523.