This video has been two months in the making, from flowering to planting new starts. It will show the step-by-step process I use for propagating my Thanksgiving Cactus, aka Christmas Cactus, to make new plants to share with friends. This plant reliably has beautiful blooms from mid-December until late January, and is known to grow for 50 to 100 years. This plant is sold in many stores between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and is almost always advertised as a “Christmas Cactus”. But, it is so easy to propagate, there is no reason to buy one if you know someone that already has one - just ask if you could have a couple cuttings to use to start your own plant. It only takes a month or less to root cuttings and pot them for a new plant.
There are three different types of these blooming cactus: Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), Christmas Cactus Schlumbergera x buckleyi), and Easter Cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri). In the video I show how to identify the differences in the type of cactus. The Thanksgiving Cactus is a popular tropical cactus that is sold around the holidays for its gorgeous and prolific flowers. It starts blooming in mid-December, while the Christmas Cactus does not start blooming until about February, and the Easter Cactus starts blooming in the spring. That is why stores sell the Thanksgiving Cactus at Christmas time, and label it as a Christmas Cactus.
Many people recommend rooting the Christmas Cactus in either soil or water, but I have found that damp vermiculite gives more reliable results with fewer cuttings rotting before rooting. The damp vermiculite supports the stems to keep them upright, but it is easy to pull the stem out to check on the status of the new roots. I use Rooting Hormone, aka Rooting Powder, to start the rooting process, but it is not required. I have found that the cuttings form roots a couple weeks sooner when I use the rooting hormone, but that is the only advantage to using rooting hormone.
After the roots are well established on the cut stems, it is time to pot them up. I will use a fairly small pot, and put all of the cuttings in it evenly spaced so that they can develop a full display. Thanksgiving cactus should be grown in a potting mix that is humus-rich, airy, and well-draining with a fairly acidic pH. One part peat moss, one part perlite or vermiculite, and one part orchid bark is a perfect mixture. After the plant starts showing new growth, start applying a balanced, diluted half-strength liquid fertilizer, such as FoxFarm Big Bloom, every two weeks during the spring, summer, and early fall. Once the flower buds have started forming, discontinue fertilizer until after the blooms fall off and new growth starts again.