This flower adorns the collections of many indoor plant lovers in our country. Most of them are better known as the Decembrist. Schlumberger flower is a beautifully flowering plant that does not require complex care. It received its name in honor of the French grower, a great admirer and collector of cacti, Frederick Schlumberger. Another flower name is zygocactus. It is translated from Greek as "rocker". The stems of the flower really bend in the form of a rocker.
Flower description
Despite the fact that this plant belongs to the cactus family, it does not come from a hot and arid desert. Under natural conditions, the Schlumberger flower grows in the moist forests of Brazil and South America. These flowers live on the trunks and roots of trees growing in the mountains. Hummingbirds pollinate flowers under these conditions.
Florists often call him Christmas or Decembrist. The names of these plants received by chance. This amazing flower blooms before Christmas. However, zigocactuses are so unpredictable that they can drive out numerous buds in the spring, and even in the middle of summer. But most often, flower growers manage to make the Decembrist bloom precisely in the winter.
Indoor flower Schlumberger is an epiphytic (forest) cactus. Each stalk of this beautiful plant is oblate-arched, branched, flower buds appear at their ends. They have a slightly hanging shape and can be painted in different colors.
Breeders are constantly working to improve this plant, and new hybrids appear annually. Over time, the Decembrist may experience trimming of the trunks. To Schlumberger flower was not one-sided, it must be periodically turned to a light source.
Varieties
Today, three types of Decembrists are most often used in indoor floriculture:
- Gertner;
- truncated;
- Bukley.
The first variety is a rather large plant with numerous leaf-shaped segments up to seven centimeters long. It blooms beautifully in bulk with bright red-orange flowers in the form of bells, which have petals pointed at the edges.
The next variety has stems consisting of leaf-shaped segments with sharp denticles on the edges. The flowers are symmetrical, the central tube is slightly beveled, and the petals are turned back. The color of the flowers is diverse: pale pink and white, purple and lilac.
Stems of the third grade consist of small segments of light green color, which have small protrusions at the edges. Symmetrical flowers of lilac-pink color.
Decorative properties
Schlumberger flowers, care for which will not be difficult even for beginners, thanks to its attractive appearance organically fits into any interior of the room. They look best in a hanging planter, because it is an ampelous plant. If you do not have such an opportunity, the Decembrist can be installed on an inverted pot.
The soil
The soil mixture is prepared from sheet, turf soil and sand. Acidity is required neutral or slightly acidic. In the prepared mixture, add a little powdered charcoal (activated tablets are also suitable). Drainage (pebbles, expanded clay) is laid at the bottom of the pot. The capacity for planting should be low and wide: the diameter should be greater than the height of the pot. Decembrists grow well and look spectacular in the original wicker baskets.
Crown formation
For a thicker and lush crown, Schlumberger's home flower is pinched and cut. Branches that do not branch, it is better to shorten. Due to the fact that the buds often appear on new young shoots, a frequent haircut is justified, as it promotes fast and abundant flowering.
Lighting
Schlumberger flowers, the care of which is surprisingly simple, loves light, but protected from direct sunlight areas of the room. In summer, the flower must be protected from the heat, which it does not tolerate. In the summer, the flower can be taken out to fresh air. However, it must be remembered that direct sunlight can harm the plant: the leaves turn yellow, the flower stops growing.
The plant feels quite comfortable on the northern, western or eastern windows. And in winter, the Decembrist can be rearranged on the windowsill of the south window. But this must be done before flowering, otherwise the Decembrist can lose buds.
Temperature
Decembrists are quite tolerant of temperature extremes and environmental conditions. The plant survives at temperatures from +2 to + 7 ° C. But do not abuse this feature. In order for Schlumberger flower to please you with its beauty, home care must certainly include control of the air temperature in the room. The thermometer readings in the range from +18 to +25 ° C will become optimal.
Bloom
When the flower of Schlumberger blooms, the photo of which you can see in this article, as if the gray winter days are brightening. Bright delicate flowers, like multi-stage fountains, cascade down the stems. And if you plant several plants in the pot, and even with colorful flowers, it seems as if a magnificent firework flashed on the windowsill. New Year holidays with such decoration become more colorful, brighter, and more joyful.
Schlumberger flower forms buds only when the temperature decreases and daylight hours are reduced. Therefore, it must be borne in mind that in spring and summer, as well as during the heating season, when the temperature in the apartment is from +20 to +23 ° C, the plant grows foliage. Under such conditions, the buds either do not form at all, or immediately fall off.
What is necessary for Schlumberger flower to bloom, how to care for it? First of all, it is necessary to maintain the room temperature not exceeding +20 ° C.
Watering
Despite the fact that Schlumberger flowers are called cacti, the care and reproduction of these exotics is not much different from other equally popular indoor plants. Water the flower with warm, defended water, since cold can damage the root system. In this case, watering should be moderate - Decembrist does not tolerate overdrying or waterlogging of the soil. In both cases, this is fraught with the death of the root system, and then the entire plant.
After the appearance of the buds, it is necessary to carefully ensure that the soil in the pot is always moderately moist. In the period from late April to mid-September, when the plant is actively growing, moisture is required to the root system only when the topsoil is dried.
From the second half of September, watering is reduced, and the plant is transferred to a cool room. During the heat, the Schlumbergera cactus evaporates a large amount of moisture from the leaves, so it should be sprayed with soft water. Periodically, it is necessary for the Decembrist to arrange a warm shower.
Top dressing
So that the Schlumberger flower grows well and for a long time pleased with lush flowering, do not forget about regular feeding. From February to October, organic and mineral fertilizers for cacti are usually applied to the soil, which can be purchased at a specialized store. During the formation of the buds, the flower is watered with nutrients for flowering plants.
Rest period
For the active development and lush flowering of the Decembrist, the plant needs a dormant period. After flowering is completed before the start of the growing season, the flower must be placed in a cool place and watering reduced to a minimum.
Breeding
If you decide to propagate your beautiful flower, you need to do this in late April or early May with cuttings from stems consisting of two or three segments. Carefully unscrew the cuttings from the mother plant and dry them for two days. After that, they are easily rooted in moist soil, sand or water. You can grow Decembrist from seeds, but this is a rather troublesome and lengthy process.
Graft
Fans of experiments can grow a grafted Decembrist, in the shape of a small tree. As a stock you can use other cacti: a cylindrical cereus, prickly pear, pereskia. Vaccination is done in early summer. The top of the rooted young cactus is cut with a very sharp knife, the top of the stem is slightly split and a Decembrist stalk consisting of three segments is inserted into the split. The vaccine is fixed with a thin needle and tied with a thread.
When the sections are fused, thorns and leaves are removed on the cactus. After this, the bandage can be removed. As soon as the flower develops a crown, it should be tied to a peg to prevent breakage. Owners need to know that grafted plants are short-lived: they grow very quickly and soon lose their shape. In addition, they are often affected by various rot.
Diseases, pests
If the decembrists begin to wither or die off the stem segments, yellow spots appeared on them, which means that the flower was struck by a flat red tick. The disease causes excessively dry indoor air.
Direct rays of the sun make the stems of the plant lethargic, the color of the segments turns pale. But this may be a sign that the root system began to rot in the absence of regular watering, or affected by pests.
If a flower drops segments, buds, it means that the air temperature in the room is too low. The plant can give the same reaction with insufficient watering, damage by pests and rotting of the roots. Lack of light or nutrients in the soil stops flowering.
Often the Decembrist is struck by a scale. In this case, the leaves turn pale at first, then dry and fall off. If you notice wounds on the surface of the stem, then it is likely that fungal diseases are brought in from the infected soil: phytium, fusarium, phytophthora. To get rid of the disease, fungicides are used.
If the flower has slippery and moist spots, it means that it is infected with a bacterial infection. The action of antibacterial agents is not always effective, therefore it is more advisable to remove the affected stem or part of it.
Extra Care Tips
Many acquire the Decembrist, seduced by beautiful flowering, not knowing how to care for him. Therefore, we will reveal to you some secrets of growing this flower.
- The Decembrist has a very poorly developed root system, so it should be grown in low pots.
- If you have acquired a flowering plant, then do not rush to transplant it immediately. Wait until it fades.
- Young flowers are transplanted every year, and adult plants after three years.
- After flowering is complete, the plant can be plucked (not pruned) from the tops of the stems to give the crown a beautiful shape. The stems will become more branched, many new shoots will appear.
Blossoming Schlumberger flower is unusually beautiful: bright, attracting attention. At this time, he becomes the decoration of any interior. If in natural conditions the Decembrist has only red flowers, then in indoor floriculture today plants are grown that delight with colorful buds. The flower belongs to centenarians. With proper care, he will decorate your apartment for twenty years.