Zygocactus - A Big Bloomer

While at this time of year there is not much going on in my outside garden, it is the time for the inside plants to shine and take center stage. So over the next several indoor months, this blog will just have to focus on the inside beauties with the occasional update to the outside.

In that spirit, I bring you pictures of my blooming Zygocactus. I hesitate to call it a Christmas Cactus because it does bloom at Thanksgiving for me, without fail, every year. There is also an Easter Cactus which obviously blooms in the Spring. The tag that came with my "Holiday" Cactus does not indicate a botanical name other than Zygocactus and gives the following information.



Features: Thick, succulent leaves and large flowers.

How to Grow: Indirect light. Moderately moist soil. Cool/moderate home temperature 60-70F (15-21C).


I give it exactly what is called for. It gets bright, indirect light, it is watered about once a week, and we keep the temperature in the mid-60's during the winter. I do turn it every so often so it gets even lighting all around. Every year we get great blooms as you can see for yourself. We keep this plant in an area where Lillian is not too often, which is good. She is very intrigued by the blooms and likes to touch them and pull on them, which will make them fall off.



I did read that it is fairly easy to propagate these from leaf cuttings. And although I have never done so, I may try it. They would make great holiday gifts in a year or two!

This is my entry in my blogging friend Fern's latest contest at Life on the Balcony. You can check out the contest by clicking the link to her site, but to give you the gist of it, you are to post a photo of your favorite, most beautiful indoor plant. Thanks Fern, for always sponsoring such interesting contests.

Check out this Contest!

Fern at Life on the Balcony is having another contest this month. It's super easy to enter, all you have to do is contribute to the conversation by commenting on one of her posts. You can find all the details, rules, etc. on her site by clicking RIGHT HERE!

She has great ideas for container gardening and small space gardening and is always finding cool stuff on the internet to share with us. Go check it out, you might be her next winner.

Woo - Hoo, I Won!

I was so excited when Fern at Life on the Balcony contacted me earlier this week and told me I had won her October contest for guessing how many cilantro seeds she had collected. You can see the picture of the actual seeds in my post from last Friday which also included my guess of 98. Well, I was only off by 2 - the actual number being 96.

The excitement of winning continued when my wonderful prizes arrived.
First was the book "Big Ideas for Small Gardens" by Emily Young and Dave Egbert.


Second was a $10 gift certificate to Renee's Garden where I can buy all sorts of cool heirloom seeds for next year!

Thanks so much Fern, I really enjoyed your contest!

Fern's going to be running a contest every month for the next several months, so be sure to keep an eye on her site. You might be the next winner. And even if you aren't, she always has great tips for small space / balcony gardening. This is a great site even if you have a large space, for what is a large space but a collection of smaller spaces.