Friday, February 27, 2009

Is There a Doctor in the House?

No, not for a human. For a plant!



Now, obviously, this Christmas cactus is healthy enough to bloom. But it looks awful. It's leaves are crinkled and oddly colored. They're purple, not green, like they used to be! Can anyone tell me what I might do to bring it back to a more healthy appearance? I will say that there is moss on the soil, and I plan to repot when it stops blooming. Maybe it's too wet? I water once a week or so, if the soil feels dry about a knuckle's depth below the surface. I keep it under a grow light, in a cool room, until it starts blooming. Then I bring it into the living room so we can enjoy it!

If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it!

3 comments:

Elephantschild said...

SUNBURN! Purple leaves means too much sun. Don't know why they're crinkled, because the watering sounds about right. But the purple leaves means sun-scorch. Which also doesn't make sense if it's normally under a grow light.

Hmmm.

Melody said...

No, it makes sense. The gro-light is on my plant shelves, which are in the south window of our breezeway. I'll move it and see if that helps!

Unknown said...

Mine has one branch that is purple also - the one away from the south, but indirect light. I did forget to water it for quite a while, but it still flowered & came back when I finally remembered.