Can I pollinate a Christmas Cactus?

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by globalist1789, Mar 19, 2006.

  1. globalist1789

    globalist1789 Active Member

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    Hello,

    My parents have some stunning Christmas cacti. I have a few questions regarding these plants.

    The first is whether there is anyone here able to tell me the difference between Christmas, thanksgiving, and Easter cacti. Is there one? I think I have a handle on it, but there are conflicting things in books and on the web.

    Secondly, have any of you pollinated these plants and what sort of fruit do they produce? I took a feather and did it to two flowers on one plant (I don’t know if flowers on the same plant will pollinate). Is this likely to work? When there are flowers on both the plants then I will try moving pollen between the two.

    Thank you
    Michael
     
  2. Marn

    Marn Active Member 10 Years

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    i dont know anything about polinateing them .. but the Christmas cactus has the pointy edges .. were as the thanksgivien/easter one has more rounded edges .. you will know what im talking about when you look a both of them ..

    Marn
     
  3. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    As to the difference in the three types of "cactus", I think Wikipedia has the correct classification of the plants at the moment - all genus Schlumbergera (not actually cactus.) Other plants could be referred to with those common names though. Follow the links in the article to learn more. There are a lot of links to other sites to explore as well.

    Others have been hyridizing these plants, so you should be able to do some pollination. Try searching out info on some of the external links at the bottom of the Holliday Cactus page for more info.

    If you do some breeding, please keep us posted on the project.
    Good luck,
     
  4. Takana_Hana

    Takana_Hana Active Member 10 Years

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    my grand mother has tried doing it.. and was successful. wat she did was lightly rubbed 2 blooms together for pollination to occur. and about 3 months later a large plump fruit appeared (seed pod) then she waited intil it got bigger and until it dried out to harvest the seeds.. she got this beautiful white and purple cross
     
  5. Thean

    Thean Active Member 10 Years

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    Howdy Globalist1789,
    Like Tanaka-san said, you can. I have done it before. You will have to wait a couple of days after blooming for the stigma to open up - at blooming it is like a club, long thin, red, with a rounded tip. When the ovaries are receptive, the tip open into a 'star'. Aplly pollen to it and you will get little berries about the size of the first joint of your middle finger. The berries turn pink or red when ripe.
    Peace
    Thean
    pS. I am not sure but I think either temperature or day length has a part to play. I find stigma of flowers that bloom before Christmas open readily but those that bloom around this time of the year remain shut.
     

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