Rare Christmas Cactus – Potted Schlumbergera Buckleyi
This really is a true hard to find Christmas Cactus. Most of the so-called Christmas Cactus you find in stores and for sale online is actually just mislabeled Thanksgiving Cactus. Christmas Cactus does not have sharp pointed protrusions on the edges of the leaves. The true Christmas Cactus does have rounded indentations on the edges but they are smooth.
Christmas Cactus Schlumbergera Buckleyi – Schlumbergera Bridgesii
This Christmas Cactus has stem segments with ROUNDED teeth. The flowers hang down below the horizontal, different from the Truncate Group–Thanksgiving Cactus which has POINTED teeth & is usually above the horizontal. Buckleyi also generally blooms later (between later Dec. to Jan.) than members of the Truncata Group which makes it hard to find.
It’s best displayed in a hanging basket or on a pot on a stand so that the long chain of stem segments may hang downward freely. It is sold in ROOTED PLANT in 4″ pot with a least 3-4 stems. They are well-established. Photo is for reference only to show when it flowers.
What color are the flowers?
Good question, the flowering of the cactus varies in hue based on climate, sun or lack of sun, and also water to soil level. The overall shift in color ranges from a pale red to a more blood color of red. A magenta-pink hue is more the type you can expect. Hope this answers your question well. My husband says it is a carmine blush.
Caution: Every other ‘Christmas Cactus’ listing we checked on Amazon were actually selling Thanksgiving Cactus. Even the big succulent sellers were not listing the true Christmas Cactus. It doesn’t really matter if they were purposely misleading shoppers or simply did not know themselves. If you really want a Christmas Cactus and not a Thanksgiving Cactus be very diligent in viewing the photos and reading the descriptions of the plant.
Shipping: For the months of December, January and February this plant is best shipped to the south and west but not to the north of America due to inclement weather. Items will be shipped in 2-3 day priority mail. Currently we do not ship plants to Hawaii, Alaska, California, and internationally.
