The Schlumbergera buds keep emerging in my cool workshop.
I bring them up when they bloom, so I can enjoy them in my office.
I really love the bright colors on a dreary, cold day.
Hundreds of buds are waiting to burst open.
It’s like flower fireworks for New Year’s Eve.
Happy New Year
Flower
Things should appear as they are.
I do not agree with augmentations to make things appear like we wish them to.
I usually hold up blooms so I can photograph them.
But that is not their normal posture.
I wanted to capture them as they are, hanging down like chandeliers.
I placed a mirror underneath some orange blooms.
Now you see what the hummingbirds see.
Reality is lovely.
Love what is in the mirror.
Flow
I just brought this up from my unheated workshop.
I love how it has blushed pink. It reminded me of one of the fairy’s dresses.
The blush can be seen moving down the buds.
When the blooms finally open, only the tips are white.
I think this is gorgeous coloration.
I do love the whites, but their blushing is pleasing.
Flower
My Schlumbergera collection is blooming a little late this season.
I have various colors. I will always love the red for Christmas time.
My three favorites are white, gold and salmon.
Both the gold and white blushed pink this year.
I went out of town for Thanksgiving, so I think the temperature dropped in my home.
I have read that getting cooler than 57 degrees Fahrenheit causes an increase in pink and red pigments.
I may experiment with a gold and a white next year to see if this is true.
Many more buds are forming in my workshop. I should have blooms through the New Year.
I so appreciate flowers this time of year. It’s another dreary, rainy day here. Bright flowers help my mood.
Hooray Schlumbergera truncata!
Flow
Just as the days get too short and the nights too long
and my garden outside dies from the cold,
my Schlumbergeras come into their glory
and bloom with explosive profusion
to show me that a FLOWER
can survive and thrive
inside in winter
and so shall I.
FLOWER
It is so difficult to choose a favorite Schlumbergera bloom.
How can one possibly pick a favorite among these lovely and vibrant contestants?
It takes an experienced judge to discern which one should be given the honor.
Should it be salmon, orange, fuchsia, red, white or pink?
The competition is tough, but not Ruth-less.
Our wise judge seems to be pointing to the salmon-colored Schlumbergera truncata.
Such an appropriate and well-thought-through decision.
So the salmon Schlumbergera has been selected Supreme for 2018.
Great call RBG. Keep up the good work.
FLOWER
(Lyrics sung to the tune of “How Will I Know?” by Whitney Houston)
How do they know that it is November?
They’re making buds on every segment.
They will be blooming in a few weeks.
I’m asking you what you know about these things
How do they know that it’s time to get lovely?
I brought them in to escape the frost (Halloween)
Watching them bloom is such a sweet treat.
They won’t bloom long, only several weeks.
How do they know?
How do they know?
How do they know?
HAPPY THANKSGIVING from the Thanksgiving cacti , Schlumbergera truncata
Singing FLOW
My Schlumbergeras are now blooming for the second time since I brought them inside.
I wondered, it is the daylength that has encouraged them to start blooming again?
I consulted the US Navy’s charts on Duration of Daylight for my area.
My cacti were blooming like crazy between November first and ninth of 2017.
The daylength for those days was between 10 hours and 42 minutes to 10 hours and 28 minutes.
Late January daylength has been just over 10 hours. Hmmm? I expected these to be about the same.
Even my babies that just rooted and pieces in water are blooming.
It could not be a change in temperature, because even the cacti in my cold workshop are budding and blooming.
Just when you think you know a plant, it surprises you.
Nice!
FLOWER
Just when you thought you could stash your spent Schlumbergeras in the basement,
you have one more assignment. You need to purge the excess foliage.
This is NOT the same as taking cuttings to root new plants.
I covered this last winter in the post, https://floweralley.org/2016/12/30/in-with-the-new/
In that case, you twist off healthy pieces that are three or more links long.
Purging is when you read the plant’s foliage to guide you on what should be removed.
I look for the shriveled sections and cut them off.
These plants have a form of triage.
When a shoot has too many branches to be supported, one gets bypassed and begins to die.
Cutting off the shriveled parts accelerates this process.
I cut all these pieces off of this one cactus.
You cannot tell it has been purged,
except that it is less cluttered and healthier in appearance.
Do not bother trying to revive and root these pieces unless it is a very special specimen that you only have one of.
I have tried various techniques. None have worked well for me.
You will be rewarded next year by taking this step now.
It is also a good time to shape up those lopsided plants.
If you can’t stand to toss a healthy branch in the compost,
dip it in a rooting hormone
and push the piece down in the soil around the mama plant.
Hey. It’s winter, you’re stuck inside. It’s an excuse to play with your plants indoors.
FLOWER
