How to grow and care for a Christmas tree

Zygocactus, aka Schlumbergera bridgesii or simply Decembrist, Christmas tree is a popular houseplant. Our tips site will tell you how to grow and care for this beautiful and rather unpretentious flower. Find out why Christmas trees are so popular with homeowners.

In America, Schlumbergera bridgesii is often referred to as the “Christmas cactus.” This is true, because the period of active flowering of the plant falls in December – January, up to February. The Russian name – Decembrist is also associated with this feature of the zygocactus, which belongs to the genus of epiphytic plants, that is, living on the branches of other representatives of the flora. At home, of course, Christmas trees are grown simply in pots of a suitable size..

Originally, Schlumbergera bridgesii grew only in tropical forests, in what is now Brazil. But in 1816, a beautiful and interesting flower was brought to Europe by the collector Allan Cunningham. In 1858, the plant was officially named Schlumberger in honor of Frederick Schlumberger, who collected succulents..

There are many varieties of Decembrists. But all have characteristic leaves with jagged edges, jointed shoots and beautiful, fairly large flowers that can be white, pink, red, lilac, orange, purple. The most common Christmas trees in our country with pink and white flowers. They are always located at the ends of the articulated hanging stems and can reach a length of 8 centimeters. Schlumberger does not have thorns, like ordinary cacti.

The easiest way, of course, is to buy an already mature enough plant in a specialized store. But growing a Christmas tree from a cutting is also easy. The edge of the stem breaks off – for a length of three to five segments, is placed in water or a very wet substrate. On top of the container with a handle, experts advise covering it with a cut plastic bottle to make a mini-greenhouse. A fragment of the stem will root out and can be transplanted into a flower pot. At first it is small, but then every three to five years the plant will need to be transplanted into a larger container..

Important! Christmas trees grow slowly. There are plants that are decades old. Such “elderly” Decembrists have the stems noticeably woody.

The ideal soil for the Decembrist is a substrate that is easy to make with your own hands. You need compost soil and sand (2: 1), some peat, sawdust and activated carbon. Such a substrate, by the way, is suitable for most indoor plants..

Zygocactus feels best in partial shade. For a Christmas tree, the ideal place would be a window sill on the west or north-east side of the house, so that there is no bright direct sun.

Important! Despite its tropical origin, Schlumberger hate the heat! In summer, the flower will be best at temperatures up to + 20 ° C, and in winter – up to + 18 ° C. Therefore, in summer, flower growers are advised to take the Christmas tree out to the terrace, balcony, but only in the shade, not in direct sunlight. However, this zygocactus will calmly survive the heat up to + 40 ° C and the temperature drop to + 2 ° C. But it will stop blooming and growing with such differences.

Watering the Decembrist needs regular, but moderate. The earthen coma must not be allowed to dry completely, but it is not necessary to fill it. In summer, tropical zygocactus should be sprayed at least once a week, and in winter – once a month. Water is used standing, not immediately from the tap, but standing for at least 10 days, at room temperature.

Christmas people are fed during the period when it is gaining green mass, that is, from March to August, monthly with special fertilizers for cacti.

Anyone who decided to grow Decembrists at home needs to know about several features of this plant:

• To stimulate flowering, it is advisable to transfer Schlumberger to an unheated and shaded place from October to November. 12 hours of darkness and coolness will help the plant to bloom abundantly, amicably;
• When buds appear on the zygocactus, you shouldn’t touch it at all! Even just turning the pot on the windowsill is not worth it. Buds and blossoming flowers can simply crumble;
• Flowers open slowly. The Christmas tree will delight with its flowering for a long time, at least a month. It happens that flowering lasts from November to the end of February;
• The Decembrist is not cut off, but simply broken off old or extra leaves with their hands. This is not difficult to do. This “haircut” is carried out to form a beautiful crown.

Against such fungal diseases of Christmas trees as phytium, fusarium and phytophthora, special preparations are used: fungicide, “Topaz”, “Vitaros”. It is best to simply stop bacterial lesions by cutting off the affected, blackened stems in time; antibacterial drugs are often ineffective.

Against the spider mite, you need to use the preparations “Fitoverm” and “Actellik”, and mealybugs are afraid of “Aktar” and its analogues.

Like all other succulents, small Decembrists can become part of the florarium, about the creation of which the portal has already written about with its own hands.

By the way, a Christmas tree blooming in winter will be a good gift for the New Year. And caring for him, as you already understood, is quite simple.