Time to Hibernate for Holiday Plants

Christmas cactus

It's time to bring in the amaryllis and the Christmas cactus. Mine have spent the summer outside, tucked in a corner of the garden (amaryllis) and hanging from a tree (Christmas cactus). I cleaned them up a little the other day, and brought them inside to rest in the dark for 6-8 weeks. They need this cycle of dark and cold (cactus) to bloom later in the year. I put the Christmas cactus in the garage so that it will get cold temps and dark at night, and the amaryllis goes in a dark corner in the basement for 8 weeks. I find that usually my Christmas cactus starts to get buds in about 3-4 weeks, so as soon as I start to see buds, I bring it in. It's usually blooming at Thanksgiving, so I guess I have a Thanksgiving cactus.  See all that color already on the Christmas cactus? That means something is happening and buds will be forming soon. I think the cold nights outside have already started its bloom cycle.

Christmas amaryllis