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LinkedInPosts Tagged: cactus
It's Friday Fly Day: How About a Mexican Cactus Fly?
It's Friday Fly Day, when folks post images of flies. Flies seem to the entomological...
A black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, foraging on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's Green Friday
Today is Black Friday, a day that marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It's...
A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, rests on a cactus in Vacaville. She's the last of the season. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
White After Labor Day?
It may be after Labor Day, but some of your plants may still be wearing white, breaking that...
To Catch a Cabbage White...On a Wing and a Prayer
To catch a cabbage white butterfly... It was early October and a gravid praying mantis, almost...
Praying mantis: "I'm hungry! What's to eat?" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "I shall stretch and offer up a prayer that dinner will arrive." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "My prayers are answered. Is that what I think it is? Dinner?" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "I shall eat everything but the wings." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "I'm not finished yet." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "My future offspring will appreciate the protein." This mantis is a Stagmomantis limbata, as identified by Lohit Garikipati, a UC Davis alumnus studying for his master's degree at Towson University, Towson, Md. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus? Are they the same species?
With only a few short weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas and two very similarly looking plants, you may be wondering whether the gift a loved one gave you for Christmas is a Thanksgiving cactus or a Christmas cactus. (Many sold in local nurseries and large box stores this past Christmas season were actually Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata), pictured below). While both are native to tropical regions of Brazil, host a wide array of flowers ranging from the more traditional pink hues to newer hybrids showing off white, red, yellow, and purple, they have different bloom periods. The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii), blooms about a month after the Thanksgiving cactus.
The Christmas cactus also has slightly different projections on its leaves, which are more scalloped and less pointed that the projections on the Thanksgiving cactus. Is yours still not in flower and not in the holiday spirit? Both species require cool temperatures and longer nights for about a month in advance of their flowering period. Both plants bloom optimally when grown outdoors when cool night temperatures dip`into the 50s and shorter nights reduce daytime light to 10 -12 hours in a 24 hour cycle. They can also be grown indoors in pots if kept in a cool dark area with no light between 5 pm and 8 am. During daytime, they prefer bright, indirect light. Full sun can cause the leaf segments to turn dark red. Both species require good drainage but, even though they are in the cactus family don't let this fool you! They need adequate moisture - particularly during boom- and cannot make it through long, dry periods without supplemental water. Unlike most houseplants, they prefer to feel snug in their pots, almost to the point of enjoying being slightly pot-bound.
Happiest of holidays however you choose to safely celebrate them this year!
Janet
