Christmas Cactuses?

     For some years now I have had a couple of different Christmas Cactuses, one is mostly white (see below), while the other (pictured above) is pink and white.  What amazes me about them is the complexity of the flowers that emerge from the tips and the joints of the stem.  Christmas Cactuses are from the genus Schlumbergera and the six species are found within the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil.  Plants grow either on trees (epiphytic) or on rocks (epilithic) in habitats that are shady with high humidity.

     Cultivars of the Schlumbergera fall into two main groups: the Truncata group which have pointed stem segments, horizontal flowers and yellow pollen, and the Buckleyi group which have rounded stem segments, flowers that hang down and pink pollen.  Both of the above are of the Truncata group, which also tend to flower earlier.  My experience is that they often bloom in October or November, so I like to think of them as Birthday Cactuses.  Flowers can be white, yellow, orange, pink, red or purple or bicolored.  In addition to the two pictured above, I also have one in orange (Truncata) and three that have pink flowers (Buckleyi group) - the latter have set bud but have yet to flower.

     In addition to the four types of Christmas Cactuses, I have two Easter Cactuses (genus Hatiora) which have very similar leaves, but daisy-like flowers that hang down and bloom around Easter-time.