Of all the potted plants in bloom for December display, my favorites are the holiday cactuses, sometimes known as Thanksgiving or Christmas cactuses.
In fact, with a little care, holiday cactuses will thrive and rebloom for years -- 20 years, in the case of Ara Basherian's plant. His mother-in-law gave him the small cactus two decades ago.
"It kept growing, and we kept putting it in larger pots," says Basherian of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
For those who'd like to try growing them, holiday cactuses are widely available in stores this time of year.
People shopping for holiday plants for indoor decoration may not realize how easy the cactuses with the fuchsia-colored flowers are to grow and get to rebloom, says Bridget Behe, a horticulture professor at Michigan State University.
They "see that beautiful flower and think they're complicated or challenging," she says. But with the right location and a little care, it's "an ideal flowering plant."
The Basherians' cactus lives in part of the house set back to 60 degrees overnight. Placing the cactus' pot closer to the floor, rather than on a higher shelf, also keeps it slightly cooler.
Especially after flowering, these cactuses prefer being dry to soggy and can survive without care -- if, say, the owners are on vacation -- for a couple of weeks. The plants can use slightly more water as they form buds and flowers but never so much that the soil stays soggy.
For summer, move the plants outdoors to a shady spot and bring them inside before the first frost.
Before that transition, Basherian sponges off his plant's flat, segmented stems with a mixture of water and a few drops of liquid dish soap to rid them of any bugs.
Usually, just being outside in the fall will be adequate for the plant to set buds.
Or you could move the pot to a cool, dark place where there is no night lighting for sixweeks in the fall. Exposure to cooler temperatures as well as to increasing hours of darkness encourages bud set for the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactuses.
And when they flower in November and December, they will be so gorgeous that you'll want more cactuses to be part of future holiday celebrations.
They're festive and, unlike many other holiday plants, they don't turn into compost fodder by January.
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