Help me identify this plant
April 9, 2018 6:34 AM Subscribe
I inherited a lovely office plant. I have no idea how much to water it without killing it.
What is it? Relevant: Last year, it developed yellowish/reddish flowers at the tips.
The general answer for office plants is that if they're shrinking or wilting, you should water them a little bit more; if they're going a kind of streaky or blotchy brown and bits are falling off, you've been watering them too much.
Most people's instinct is to water their indoor plants way too much. Indoors is an inherently low-light environment, and plants adapted for low-light environments are not heavy transpirers. If the soil in the pot is not completely dry - as in, not even slightly damp - to a depth of half an inch or so, it doesn't need watering.
posted by flabdablet at 7:11 AM on April 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Most people's instinct is to water their indoor plants way too much. Indoors is an inherently low-light environment, and plants adapted for low-light environments are not heavy transpirers. If the soil in the pot is not completely dry - as in, not even slightly damp - to a depth of half an inch or so, it doesn't need watering.
posted by flabdablet at 7:11 AM on April 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I think this is an Easter cactus, which last I knew was classified as Hatiora; Christmas cactus (and other segmented cacti which bloom in the fall) are Schlumbergera. Hatiora have stem segments with rounded, child's-drawing-of-a-cloud margins, and produce flowers which are radially symmetrical (e.g.; also); Schlumbergera usually have jagged, pointy margins and the flowers have bilateral symmetry (e.g.).
Just to confuse everything further, some Schlumbergera varieties have rounded segments. Also Schlumbergera will also often bloom in the spring as well as the fall, so you can't go by the time of the bloom. I believe the only solid identifier is the symmetry of the blooms, but your plant has verrrrrrrry rounded margins, which is why I'm fairly confident about it being a Hatiora even though there's no picture of a flower.
It has been my experience that Hatiora is much, much fussier about watering, and will shatter (drop stem segments) at the slightest provocation. My record is about 3.5 years before the plant irreparably shattered, which I achieved by waiting until the soil was almost but not completely dry before giving it a thorough soaking, allowing excess water to drain off, and then putting the plant back in its regular location. Picking up the pot every day may help give you a sense of how wet the soil is, from the weight of the pot.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 7:34 AM on April 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Just to confuse everything further, some Schlumbergera varieties have rounded segments. Also Schlumbergera will also often bloom in the spring as well as the fall, so you can't go by the time of the bloom. I believe the only solid identifier is the symmetry of the blooms, but your plant has verrrrrrrry rounded margins, which is why I'm fairly confident about it being a Hatiora even though there's no picture of a flower.
It has been my experience that Hatiora is much, much fussier about watering, and will shatter (drop stem segments) at the slightest provocation. My record is about 3.5 years before the plant irreparably shattered, which I achieved by waiting until the soil was almost but not completely dry before giving it a thorough soaking, allowing excess water to drain off, and then putting the plant back in its regular location. Picking up the pot every day may help give you a sense of how wet the soil is, from the weight of the pot.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 7:34 AM on April 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Same opinion as advicepig. I have the same exact plant for 12 years. It blooms profusely around Christmas. And I too have a problem with getting the watering right.
posted by JayRwv at 8:05 AM on April 9, 2018
posted by JayRwv at 8:05 AM on April 9, 2018
In this case, follow the user with a plant name and clear concise rationale for a subtle ID.
Of course it will be much more clear once it blooms, but I think SpatheCadet has it: looks a lot like a xmas cactus, which is common, but the details suggest Easter cactus/Hatoria. See wikipedia page here , which confirms the genera confusion alluded to above.
Not that it really matters, you care for any of these the same way: overwatering is the surest way to flub it, so don't do that. Test soil with toothpick, pick up the pot and feel its weight, mark your calendar, etc. It depends a bit on your office and the pot size etc, but start watering around once every 4-6 weeks, and observe, less is better than more, it can easily bounce back from dessication, but just a little rot and it will be dead real quick.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:50 AM on April 9, 2018
Of course it will be much more clear once it blooms, but I think SpatheCadet has it: looks a lot like a xmas cactus, which is common, but the details suggest Easter cactus/Hatoria. See wikipedia page here , which confirms the genera confusion alluded to above.
Not that it really matters, you care for any of these the same way: overwatering is the surest way to flub it, so don't do that. Test soil with toothpick, pick up the pot and feel its weight, mark your calendar, etc. It depends a bit on your office and the pot size etc, but start watering around once every 4-6 weeks, and observe, less is better than more, it can easily bounce back from dessication, but just a little rot and it will be dead real quick.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:50 AM on April 9, 2018
I'm leaning towards Easter Cactus too (I just learned this was a thing last week actually-- along with Thanksgiving Cactus)
Are the spiny filament looking bits between the lobes more hair-like or spiky?
posted by travertina at 9:41 AM on April 9, 2018
Are the spiny filament looking bits between the lobes more hair-like or spiky?
posted by travertina at 9:41 AM on April 9, 2018
Who knew there were all these other holiday cactii! Thanks to all those who have improved my knowledge. I'll try to be as gentle as possible when "well actually"-ing the in-laws when they call them all Christmas Cactuses.
posted by advicepig at 10:24 AM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by advicepig at 10:24 AM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm the unofficial caretaker of our office's Christmas cactus, going on five years since I was the one to bring it back from death. My watering system is to literally feel the leaves. Do they feel plump and thick? It's doing fine and doesn't need water. A bit thin and/or droopy? Water it.
This method also works well with most of my plants at home. You start to get a feel (literally) for normal.
posted by lesser weasel at 1:58 AM on April 10, 2018
This method also works well with most of my plants at home. You start to get a feel (literally) for normal.
posted by lesser weasel at 1:58 AM on April 10, 2018
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posted by advicepig at 6:37 AM on April 9, 2018 [5 favorites]