Scientific Name:
Schlumbergera truncata
Pronunciation:
shlum-BURG-ur-uh trun-KAY-tuh
Common Name:
Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus
Family Name:
Cactaceae
Plant Type:
Flowering pot plant, Succulent or Cacti
Key ID Features:
Stems flattened, green, and toothed with soft spines (remnants of leaves); flowers with bilateral symmtry, terminal and solitary.
Habit:
Arching, Epiphytic
Form:
Weeping
Texture:
Coarse
Mature Height:
0.2 - 0.4m
Mature Spread:
0.1 - 0.3m
Origin:
South America (southest Brazil)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 10: (-1 to 4 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Low, Winter dry, Summer dry
Landscape Uses:
Indoor plant
Additional Info:
Google. Epiphytic in nature.
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Opposite
Texture/Venation:
Leathery
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green
Colour in Fall:
Dark-green
Shapes:
Deltoid, Other
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Truncate
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
Above information refers to leaf like stems (cladophylls) as the true leafs are reduced to spines.
Inflorescence Type:
Flowers solitary
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
11+
Corolla Shape:
Funnelform
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White, Orange, Yellow, Pink, Red
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
Sep, Oct, Nov, Can flower any month
Additional Info:
Short-day plant: requires 13 hours of uninterrupted darkness for 8 weeks to initiate flowering.
Fruit Type:
Berry (true)
Fruit Colour:
Red
Fruiting Time:
Additional Info:
Showy, rarely forms on indoor plants
Bark Morphology:
Showy, Smooth, Other
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green
Additional Info:
leaf-like stems
Organ Modifications:
Succulent stems, cladophylls (or phylloclades)
Propagation:
Cuttings
Optimal Temp.:
Medium
Light Level:
High
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
Root rot (Pest resistant, Disease resistant)
