CactiGuide.com

Hey!

I’ve managed to pollinate one of my holiday cacti, and now the berry is just about ready to come off the plant.

I’m used to planting seeds in spring, so the plants can get the warmth and sun of summer. Is this necessary for holiday cacti? I’m assuming since the berry is ready now, that it’s natural for the seeds to be planted in fall?

Holiday cactus? Which one is that?

We don't know your location and climate, cultivation conditions (outside, indoors, greenhouse) so don't expect useful advices. Tropical cacti should be able to germinate any time soon after fruits are ready (red) if proper conditions (moisture & temperature, light) are provided.

Usually holiday cactus means Schlumbergera.

I don't think Schlumbergera experiences seasonal change, so from that perspective it won't matter when you plant it. It will probably like things humid and warm but not hot. You should probably plant them soon, though, because it's a habitat that doesn't favor dormancy, so I doubt they have a long shelf life.

I'd be far more relaxed about them than schmiggle.

There is some seasonality in the habitat of these plants - a warmer, wetter summer and a cooler dryer winter, although it isn't as extreme as for many desert cacti. If you are used to raising seeds in spring, I'd wait until then.

From my very limited experience of fruits of these plants, they are very persistent - they don't seem to ripen and then fall off or shrivel up, they just seem to stay on the plant for a long time (presumably, until eaten by a bird or animal). One fruit I opened had a few germinated seed in the fruit, so an unusal example of vivipary in a cactus.

That’s interesting that the seeds started without you!

I was very surprised at how long it took for these berries to even turn pink, I thought for sure I did something to kill them. But then finally about 9 months later it finally turned pink, and now I’ve just been waiting until it feels loose when I pull on it before taking it off.

I wonder if any seeds have germinated in there without me

That echoes my experience - they take a long time to change colour, then stay on the plant, seemingly indefinitely.

There is no where to hurry in the tropics: growing season is almost endless and you just have to wait for somebody to eat your fruits and distribute those seeds over the habitat...