This cactus is a clone that my mother made from my grandfathers plant. I was wondering if anyone new exactly what it was. This one is about 15-20 years old the original is over 60 years old. Apparently it is quite rare since one of my cousins was not allowed to take it out of Canada when she moved about 10 years ago. It flowers with lot's of water and an approximate 12/12 light cycle. Here are a few shot's i got of it this winter when it was flowering.
Im sorry to tell you , but your plant is not rare it is quite common actually. They are usually sold around christmas time in most stores, your cousin was not allowed to bring it out of Canada simply ecause you need to proper documentation to move plants across national borders.
What you have is a "true" Christmas Cactus, the kind your Great Grandmother had called, Schlumbergera x buckleyi. Unfortunately, these particular jungle cactus are not sold in stores, only hybrids. What some people might think are Christmas cactus, are really Thanksgiving cactus, sold under the name, Schlumbergera truncata.
Thank you for the responses. After some further research it is indeed the Schlumbergera x buckleyi. It is one of the original "species" which is the reason she had not been able to bring it out of the country. There is no documentation to get it out, they just won't let you. It is basically a "hand me down" plant now. They are not sold in stores and can only be obtained like mine from a trimming usually of a parent plant. I have a few clones going 1 is about 2 years old and a few just started. I must say it is very beautiful and it's nice to know that I have a rather unique and "TRUE" Christmas Cactus. I have personally always found it nicer than those found in stores.
This is what my Grand Parents always used to call a Christmas Cactus, they are very common and the end of 2008 was one of the best years ever for seeing these in bloom for some reason, a neighbour of our has one in their porch and I have never seen one with so many flowers on it, the same with the ones in the Garden Centres were all in full bloom.
Whom I guess you are right. There certainly was a lot less daylight during November/December after the first really heavy snowfall in Nottingham for nearly 20 years. I'd forgotten what the stuff looked like. I forgot to mention that the Porch of our neighbour is enclosed in double glazing and heated. That may have helped. But it was definately a good year for the blooms over here in any case.
It looks a lot like the Christmas cactus I have. Don't have a technical name, just have always known it and others like it as Christmas cacti.
