I just realized I have a REAL Christmas cactus! I got it from my church, I help there with the plants, and when we turned it, a piece broke off. It is huge and heavy, and it takes two people to move it. It sits near a south window, and it blooms pretty much right at Christmas, and never before. I started several from that one piece, gave some away, sold some, and have a whole hanging basket full. Our church, Fountain Square United Methodist Church, has had this same cactus for 75 years. It has the scalloped leaves with no points, and it's a bright magenta color with no white on it at all. It's been there all along, I never realized it was rare. I've been propagating off my pieces and selling them at the farmers market for $1. :)

Hi, Alicia. I just this past weekend got starts from a real Christmas Cactus. My old neighborhood had a garage sale at the rec center, and there were 2 very, very large CCs sitting beside the fireplace. By large, I mean 12" pots filled with thick, old woody stems that spanned a good 2 1/2 to 3 feet across! I have no idea of their ages. I was told that one of the residents had taken them over to be housed while she was in Florida and they were left there, with the summers spent out by the pool. At any rate, they were loaded with blooms and one had been bumped into, leaving several broken stems on the floor. I grabbed them in a hurry (house cleaning LOL!). By the time they were into pots to root, I had a couple dozen segments to work with! Yes, these are the CCs with the rounded segments, not the T'giving cactus with pointed segments.

Speaking of Thanksgiving Cactus, I bought six at a Walmart markdown, have them in an east window and sitting above a tray of water. Many of the segments have roots up to 1/2" long already. They really love the humidity. Also, a friend has one in her kitchen that has been blooming fot 3 months now.

AdaO

AdaO,
Good deal! I hope your new starts do well for you!

I've had a "real" Christmas cactus for 25 years now. It was originally my grandfather's, and he gave it to my mother on the occassion of her wedding in 1936. By that point, the plant was of unknown age. All I can verify is that it is now 80 years old. When my mother died, I moved from NY to California (in 1979). By then the plant was 48 inches across, and had to be shipped by air in a specially built crate to protect it. It has survived numerous moves in all these years, and now hangs in a north facing window and blooms for months. This is a Schlumbergera bridgesii, not a Zygocactus, which is so often misnamed as "Christmas Cactus". The S. bridgesii has no "claws" on the leaves, and the flowers come in only one color (bright fuschia) and are perfectly symmetrical (Zygocactus flowers come in many colors, and are not symmetrical). On a related subject, while travelling in England a few years ago I came upon an antique shop that had a similar cactus growing in an antique pot (the pot was for sale, not the plant). I recognized it immediately as a relative of the familiar Easter Cactus (Rhipsalidopsis), and begged the shopkeeper for a sample of the plant. She allowed me to take two small "snips", which I carefully nurtured for the duration of the two week vacation in southern England, and then brought home with me. It turned out to be Rhipsalidopsis rosea, which I've never seen for sale in the US, except very rarely on a web site if one can find it. The two "snips" have now developed into numerous plants, the largest of which is about 10" across, and blooms in springtime with gorgeous light pink flowers.

I am the third generation to have our family 80 year old Christmas Cactus. We grew up on a farm and the neighbor women exchanged indoor plants. My grandmother was given the plant at Christmas time in 1926. She had the plant for several years and then it was passed on to my mother and now I've been fortunate enough to have had it for the past 20years. It measures 4 feet across and the frawns are 3 feet long. I have had it transplanted twice by a horticulturist. This past Christmas, as in Christmas' past, the entire plant was in bloom, truly spectacular.From what I have read the cacti that are long lived came from South America. The cacti now are hybrids and do not have longevity as those from South America.

I have the species Bridgesii as well. It was a gift from a DF in PA this past Fall. I don't know how old it is, but it was passed down to him from his mother. I'm 36 and he's at least 10 years older than I. It bloomed after Christmas(I believe) and was the most beautiful magenta color. Here is a pic of the bloom:
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Am I wrong or is the species name bridgesii not right?

According to the link presented above, Christmas Cactus are actually Schlumbergera x buckleyi....

Here is a quote from that link about the names:

"The name Schlumbergera bridgesii, still seen occasionally, was mistakenly published for it very early, and only in 1964 was the plant's proper history and correct designation traced and reestablished by Will Tjaden, a member of the Epiphytic Plant Study Group in England."

Your thoughts??

Also, they can still be found in select nurseries....I just found a small one in one of our locals.

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Greattigerdane has, had? two varieties I am familiar with. The white one with darker veining was one grandfather loved, but never moved from its grocery store pot. When he bought it I'll never learn and alas it died on me. His had slightly longer points.
The huge red one was a pass along plant given to my mother as a young girl from a family friend from ?Pasedena?
However it may have been started in 1910, 1900 since it was quite old when she was given it. That plant still lives and has given rise to many other pots of the same. I still have the clone I made of it nearly 16 years ago. The single stem is thick and tough and it also has bloomed reliably for years.

For those interested, below is a link to a great article that clearly defines the differences between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Cactus. The overwhelming majority that are bought in stores nowadays are Thanksgiving Cactus.
Good growing! Merry Christmas!

I just happened upon this thread again. That's funny, so the Thanksgiving cactus is a species while the Christmas cactus is a hybrid.

Greattigerdane very generously shared cuttings of her beautiful cactus with me. Here it is, blooming this winter. Sorry the focus isn't better.

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This plant is also from cuttings from Greattigerdane:

{{gwi:116183}}

For those of you that have the old fashioned Christmas cactus, look straight into your plant's flowers. The true Christmas cactus will have peloric flowers - that is, you can cut the flower in half on any axis and both halves of the flower will mirror each other - the flower is circular.

Thanksgiving cacti can only be cut in half on one axis and still have each half of the flower mirror the other half. There has also been some mixing/hybridization between the Christmas cactus and Thanksgiving cactus over the years so that many of the supposedly true Christmas cacti now have non-peloric flowers.

Anyone that has a plant that is around 100 years old should have the true Christmas cactus.

Today's beauty

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Hi yanoosheck

Nice Thanksgiving cactus.

Larry

That's a beautiful Thanksgiving Cactus! Love the color...thanks for sharing!

The true "Christmas Cactus" is Schlumbergera x buckleyi

Wow! This thread is over 6 years old...amazing!!

Now that I know the difference I would like to find starts of the true christmas and easter varities.

I like to know the difference between plants of one cultivar and another. I once had access from 2 different sources for CC. I have been looking on line for Schlumbergera bridgesii also. I hope you find one. Everyone has given factual info, but if you want the true CC as I do, just keep searching. Farmerann

I find it VERY sad that REAL Christmas cactus are hard to find in the normal market. Seems retailers thing people are stupid and just market thanksgiving as "holiday". Makes me sick.

WOW i am lucky there is a local florist by me that sell big clumps of them as cuttings for only 5 to 7 dollars and in the bunch there is around 10 branches with at least 15 segments. She had shown me the mother plant when it was blooming so i could be real sure if it was a true christmas cactus.

Hello there,

Are you sure Grant, it's not about the bloom that distinguishes the plants, or the time of blooming, but the actual shape of the leaf segments (jagged segments rather than rounded edges).

If so, you are lucky indeed!

grantgarden2, what color is it? Can you get cuttings to send me and for how mugh? farmerann

growhappy, you have the real thing. Could I get cuttings and for how much? farmerann

I am trying to edit this post because it is a duplicate. farmerann

Jeffery Harris, what is that wide leaf cactus? I've never seen one like it. Where could I get seeds or a cutting, or maybe a plant? farmerann Today, 12/13/12, I saw one like it at Lowe's, labeled Coral Cactus. farmerann

My great gradnmother has at least five hybrid holiday cactuses, some 20 years old and never been repotted. All bloom without any manipulation between October and December and sometimes again in April. Most are at least somewhat serrated, making me think they are mostly "thanksgiving" in type, but one odd one grows both scalloped and unscalloped leaves on the same plant, sometimes on the same stems alternately, and it blooms off and on all fall and into winter.

HW, that sounds interesting. Both kind of leaf segments on the same plant. I am still looking for cuttings of CC with scalloped leaves. Can anyone help? farmerann

1meanmop, how did you get such a user name? I am looking for cuttings of the true CC. If you find any, let me know. Thanks, farmerann

Old thread is old. Google brought me here.

I have a Schlumbergera x buckleyi (I suspect the 'Buckleyi') variety. It's got the magenta flowers that fade into a white tube.
I believe this is one of the original, true kinds, right?I looked up S. bridgesii and google comes up with Thanksgiving type cacti. I'm confused. I thought the buckleyi one is it. Am I mislabeling mine or did it go through a name change?

I got it as a cutting from my grandma. She got hers from a lady she called old and my grandma is at least 87 years old now. According to my grandma the lady had huge ones she grew outside and she generously gave my grandma cuttings.

Where my memory fails me is how long I've had this one. Is there a way to tell how old one is by just looking at it? I'm trying to figure out if this is the one I got when I was ten or if I got it later. I remember my parents moving and most of my plants died in the move. But the Christmas cactus might have survived. it was a small cutting at the time. If I got it later, it would have to be at least 17 years old.

As far as my grandmas CC's go, unfortunately she doesn't let hers get very big. She takes cuttings and sells/donates the larger ones to her church.

2nd pic. (a few years older.) The site only allows me to upload one image per post.

I do! I think they are ugly unless they are in bloom which explains why I almost threw mine out a few times and totally ignore it until it's time to bring it in...Yes, I almost let the frost get to it but at the last minute, at about 34 degrees felt bad....

So now it sits on the floor looking all junky trying to figure out a place for it...

Yours are beautiful..

Mike

There is a music store near where I live that has a true Christmas cactus in the window. It's a monster! I asked if I could get a few clippings and he obliged but told me that year was the first time it bloomed in twenty some years. I plopped them in a cup of water an forgot about them. Not only did they root but they bloomed in the water! They are now happily growing in soil.

FofF...that is a nice true CC you have, looks quite healthy, I'm sorry I can't help you guessing its age. By the looks of some of the very woody piece that at the soil line, I would say its quite old. Please post when it blooms...

Grimesel, what a nice find getting some cuttings from a nearby store, good luck!

Hey Mike, I bet once it blooms you will be glad you didn't leave it out to freeze,lol...if you ever get the urge to toss it, send it to me haha...

As Nancy says, almost impossible to guess the age. Too many factors go into the rate of growth and the speed at which the stems begin to lignify (become woody). The fact that it has woody stems does speak to a certain maturity. My own Christmas Cactus (34 years old) is fairly large, but nowhere near what it would be if I didn't prune it to keep it shapely and self-supporting of its weight. Of course, I wouldn't have anywhere to winter it if I let it grow too large!

Mike, I recommend that you start pruning your Christmas Cactus so that it has a nice presentation even when it isn't in flower. Here's mine, as of this morning, and I've noticed some of the first tiny buds beginning to set :-)

Josh

CC are the best! I wish more people liked to talk about Schlums or collected the x buckleyi hybrids. We could all trade bits then.

I actually like the form of the non-blooming plant-- a lot. It sort or reminds me of an arching weeping willow, and maybe that's why I have less love for the truncatas, which have a more angular form to me. But I really love them all.

I wish there was a group for Schlumbergeras. There is a yahoo group, but it seems dead.

Yours is SO Nice Josh...beautiful and healthy! I finally have a small pot (from a nice member here), I'm hoping it will bloom in the next couple of months...no signs of any buds on any of my TC's either...still very warm here :o(

Julianna, are you on facebook?
I just saw a Schlumbergera Group recommended this morning....

Nancy, thank you :-) You always get great flower-set and color on your Holiday Cacti collection!

I took two pics of my CC this morning. This is the other, showing a bit more of the plant's width.

Josh

Josh,

I am and I searched for one before. I hate how fb search can be so hit and miss. I'll take another look! Thanks!

Josh,

did a search and this time it popped right up. I joined a few other cacti and succulent groups and perhaps that is what made it easier this time. Another schlum/epi group came up that was linked to a few I am already on-- so it seems like it's all about association. Thank you!

Julianna

Josh! Beautiful and you do know that my special CC is still treated well, right?
As for the one I have had for years, it's abused..
Yours is an exception to beauty for sure..LOVE it!

Nancy, if I ever decide too, you bet..lol

Very nice guys and gals and hoping you are all well..

MIke

I thought I'd revive this thread as there is a wealth of useful and interesting info on TC ad CC. Read today on another forum there's a white-flowered variety of Schlumbergera x buckleyi. Does anyone here grow one, by any chance?

Lena

Parodise, I know a friend who has a family heirloom, whose true christmas cactus blooms white, but it has a pink throat and some blushing on the petals. May I ask what forum you are talking about, and could you post a link to the discussion? I would like to know more.
Grant

Grant, thanks for the reply. I saw it mentioned on one of the FB forums and can't remember for the life of me which one it was. Today, quite serendipitously, I happened onto a potential source of white Sh. bridgesii on the Internet. I'm not sure, though, if it's a real white CC. According to your description and, in particular, the mention of a pink throat and blushing on the petals, it might be it. I will post a couple of pics from the Internet. Tell me what you think of them, please. I also wrote the owner today asking to post some pictures of the plant in bloom.

Lena

A close-up of the buds. Pictures are not my own and have been posted as reference only.

It looks like It has potential of having white blooms, it may be the cultivar 'sanne'. Please email me, I cannot find your email on your page. I would like to know where you found the source and the pictures.
Grant

Grant, do you have any more info/pics on "sanne"? I googled it and basically found nothing. Are there any other cultivars of bridgesii that you know of?

Lena

I was also wondering if truncata and bridgesii cross-pollinate easily? Anybody ever tried that? I cross-pollinated my White large-flowered truncata and "Samba Brasil". Both seem to have set at least 5 fruits each. I don't think all of them will make it, but it will be interesting to watch them develop.

Lena

ALICIA7B HI! After ALL these comments, and posts, that went WAY off the track, to what YOU posted, asked for, ...did you EVER find any of the OLD/ANTIQUE/ORIGINAL Christmas Cactus from anyone?

I was sent THIS post, to look at.... I have just put up my own post, looking for cuttings of the plant myself. My original one, that was over 150yo!! The last of it JUST died, and it is weeks before X-mas now. Nice gift:( I was the one in the family to be entrusted to keep it alive, I am the gardener in the family. But after 3.5 decades in south Fla. after living in Conn. all its life, and mine, it died.

I got some cuttings of the ORIGINAL cactus after mine started to rot and die slowly over a period of years, from some very nice people, like 5 years ago. But THOSE plants just gave out on me, after a super HOT summer, and Hurricane Irma coming through my city, it just got to stressed, I assume, and it finally died.

Did YOU ever get any cuttings/stems from someone with a huge specimen...and maybe might be willing to part with a few more? IF you even see this reply to your post....I am hoping you do....maybe you can tell me who to ask. Thank you.

******* I see a picture of a HUGE pot of the X-Mas cactus, you got it from someone. You got A LOT of cuttings from someone!!! Wow! THAT is the one I am desperate to get. I can see a few other pics. But they are not the same thing. This is an old post, so the pictures are not showing up.

I dont see how a cactus that is over 150yo,...mine was,...can be a 'hybrid'. It is the one that all the others came from! I cant read ALL these posts, but i read a few, and someone said it was a hybrid. All i know is that THIS is the one i would like to find. I hope YOU or someone sees this, and can help me out. THIS was my 150+ yo specimen. Maybe YOU can help me out? That one you have is huge, and now 6 years later, it must be much bigger...??? Care to share????

I'm not very experienced with Christmas cactus, I have what I think is actually the Thanksgiving cacus, but mine blooms from early December through Easter with lovely peach flowers. It is about 20 years old. His name is Boris. ;)