DIGGIN鈥� IN
Crab cactus can also bloom during the holidays
Q: I鈥檝e had the same 鈥渃actus鈥� for over 30 years. I鈥檝e never done anything to it other than cut it back and water it. I鈥檝e never had to 鈥渇orce鈥� it to bloom. Every year it blooms like this. I read your article, but still can鈥檛 tell if it鈥檚 a crab or Christmas cactus. Thank you. 鈥� K.A., sa国际传媒官网网页入口
A: From the photo, I am confident you have the variety Schlumbergera truncata or crab cactus. It might have been labeled as a Zygocactus truncatus when it was purchased all those years ago.
Here鈥檚 why I鈥檓 so sure that yours is of the crab variety. I want you to notice how, on each leaf segment or joint near the end, you can see pointy protuberances on each joint. They aren鈥檛 separate, it鈥檚 just the way the joint grows.
Those wee pointy parts that look like crab pincers, if you will. No, they don鈥檛 have spines and won鈥檛 hurt you, it鈥檚 just that they look like crab parts.
I suppose that S. truncata is a sturdier variety and easier to propagate which is why, nowadays, most of the Christmas cactus you see for sale are, in my opinion, really crab cactus. They bloom just like their cousin. And since they bloom at the correct time and look so like their cousin, they are simply sold as Christmas Cactus. Which isn鈥檛 wrong 鈥� they sort of look like cacti and are in bloom during the Christmas holiday season.
In my 鈥淲estern Garden Book,鈥� the 鈥渞eal鈥� Christmas cactus is named Schlumbergera bridgesii. This variety doesn鈥檛 have the pointy protuberances on the joints. Their edges have a scalloped look to them, no pointy parts on the leaf joints.
So yes, you have, in my opinion, a crab cactus.
Q: I just received a sweet small ficus tree as a gift. It鈥檚 very young, living in a 6-inch pot, but I think I saw a couple of fungus gnats fly out of it when I was bringing it home. How should I treat the plant so I don鈥檛 have trouble later? 鈥� L.P., sa国际传媒官网网页入口
A: Here鈥檚 what I鈥檇 suggest.
First I鈥檇 fill the kitchen sink a scant third full of tepid temperature water and stir in no more than a tablespoon of dish detergent. Then I鈥檇 set the ficus pot in that warmish water and slowly, using a cup measurer or plastic cup, pour the soapy water on the soil.
Be sure to turn the pot while it鈥檚 in the sink so all the soil gets a soapy water drench.
Once you are confident that all the soil has been drenched, let the plant 鈥� pot and all 鈥� sit there for about a half hour. Then do it again. Douse the soil with the soapy water.
When you are done with the second drench, unstopper the sink and allow the pot to drain for several minutes. Once you are pretty sure most of the water has drained away, set the pot on a clean saucer. I would aim to keep the new plant in a certain state of quarantine for a couple of weeks to see if it鈥檚 still harboring any more of the fungus gnats. If you need to treat again, do.
I hope that one good soapy water drench will eliminate any pesky fungus gnats and that the ficus has found a new and happy home.
Happy Diggin鈥� In and Happy New Year to us all!
Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, sa国际传媒官网网页入口, 7777 Jefferson NE, sa国际传媒官网网页入口, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.
