FREE CHRISTMAS CATCUS CUTTINGS

Today I trimmed and bagged up three lots of three bags each or about three dozen cuttings. That would enable about nine pots of potted cuttings of four in a pot. What are they....I guarentee a duke's mixture a chance lot containing no traditional deep red to purple as commonly seen. There are soft reds to pinks, yellows, whites and even an orange. They are all three and four node cuttings a few with branches all trimmed and ready to pot.

The smallest US Post office flat rate box moves for $4.80. Your deal is you send me five bucks worth of common postage stamps for business letters. I will take the first three to post here and claim the deal. I will then Dmail you my address.

They are packaged in baggies with a sprinkle of water. They will ship with popcorn for protection. I guarentee that they will arrive in good shape with no rot or disease. If they don't I shall send your stamps back to you less one. The whole Northeast normally ships in two or three days. Anyone else will have to do a little guessing. If something goes wrong you could lose the value of one stamp in this deal.

Here's just one of the cuttings you may recieve. If this deal closes fast I will ship no later than Tuesday....providing the winners are known regular chatters. Stake your claim right here so we can see who the Christmas Cactus addicts really are.

This message was edited Jan 3, 2010 2:17 PM

This message was edited Jan 3, 2010 2:20 PM

oohhh me me me... please!!!!.. I don't have any and would love to start!!

You have Dmail. Now two packages left. One happy scout. LOL

Thanks!!!

Me, Me, Me! I was just saying that I only have one white cactus and need some color. D-mail comming. Holly

HOLLY............YOU HAVE Dmail. NOW ONLY ONE PACK LEFT. The above packages will ship this afternoon. You should get them by Thursday. Are we having fun yet? LOL

I'm having fun just listening in!

Doc, you're the best. My pale gold CC from your cuttings just bloomed! I must get a photo for you. :-)

Wow......two packages just flew off the shelf. Now I wish someone would jump for the last Christmas Cactus free cuttings package. I hate to see my potential babies not find a home. You can not get better cutting stock at any price. The quality of these cuttings rock.

Thanks so much Doc. Ric swung by the PO today when he was running errands and mailed out my envelope to you. Can't wait to get those cuttings. They sure came at just the right time. I was Jonesing for a new plant and everyone had such pretty Christmas Cactus.

That white one is a beauty!

The one that just got its first blooms looks just like the photo you posted at the top of the thread, very soft pretty gold color.

I am resisting only because I have 4 little pots of CC already from you! I don't know the color on 2 of them, so now I'm hoping for white LOL.

I think people don't check the forum for new threads as often... we get in a rut and just read the threads we're already "watching."

I hope somebody will post for them in the morning. If those cuttings still need a home when you're ready to head out to the post office, though, please send them along... you know I will find good homes for them! :-)

(But please, anybody else wanting them should go right ahead and ask.)

We are sold out on this give-a-way. All cuttings are on their way. Critter got the last CC box to be mailed this year. We have more or less now four growers with starts of my collection. I will more than likely snoop about and see what else is out there in the CC field. I found these in a Pennsylvania greenhouse somewhere between Philadelphia and the Eastern Shore. I now have six or seven all different. Unless a sport shows up the cuttings will give you what I have.

I am not interested in having three or four near whites to position my desires. The one I feel is the nicest out there and showing a two years ago or the Spring of 2008 is what these cuttings represent of all the colors I chose. These are not spin offs and near look alikes. They are all named varieties whose records I made no effort to save. That pretty creamed colored one is still good enough for me. That will drive Critter nuts but as one great pipe smoking cartoonest said many times....."I are what I are".

By this time next year we should collectively be able to show this whole collection as part of next year''s show. I could have done it this year but elected to make the excitement of discovery my present to you and perhaps many others on down the road. I know all three of the new growers of these cuttings share with their friends and associates.

WoW! I'm always a day late and a dollar short :-( Have been eyeing these all season.

Doc can't wait to get them. I'm not good with names either, half the time I lose them or aren't sure which is which after I plant them. New Years resolution to be more organized with my plants. I was showing off my violets the other day. Holly

Holly.............I assure you I did not make that New Year's resolution. I try to avoid any promise that will make me feel less than human when I break the promise. This year I promised myself not to eat watermellon, tomatoes and lopes in the first three months of 2010. LOL

So sorry..................they are all out of here and on their way to new homes. Mark your calendar for the holiday season's ending next year. If I remain in good health I shall trim them about this time next year. They do get a bit frizzled up if not pinched back at least once a year. I wacked them pretty good this time.

I usually pinch them a little bit about the first of July if they need it. These pinchings would grow but need baby sitting and to much carefull care to my liking. I have on occasion had a drop leaf take root. The best time to try and root them is right now and up to about March when the first new growth is begining to show.

Jadajoy, if you make it up here for the "Think Spring!" seed swap party (last Saturday in Feb), I'll fix you up!

I'll be potting these up to share around, although a few pots might just sorta "stick" to the plant shelves. :-)

Thanks for the invite Jill! That would be a great incentive. I'll have to see if I'm working by then. If not, I might be able to swing it.

doc- I enjoyed this 'event' although I kept my mouth shut and hands under my arms (not raised ME ME!) because I am not a good CC mommy. But I will help somebody else out hwen they're all rooted and needing homes-- smirk-

ROFLOL Sally, I will do my best.

Doc, is each bag mixed also, or are the cuttings separated at all by type? If I put 4 in a pot, will they all maybe be different (which could be really cool)?

Jada, just make a note of it somewhere... if you don't make it to the Feb swap, I can bring you cuttings or plantlets at one of the plant swaps or other gatherings...

Thanks Jill!

Doc my cutting came today and they look great. Ric was home so they didn't sit outside at all.
Critter, My Mom's old CC was both Pink and White. For years it bloomed like that now only the white blooms I'm thinking that the pink one must have died back at some point.
I was up there taking pic's. Her CC is just about finished blooming it started sometime around Thanksgiving. Thought you might like to see how big it is.

Holly that is a huge plant. I cut mine all back about 40% to encourage new and expanded branching.

The bags you got were three in number... The plants are all mixed up with a little of everything I had going in each bag. Therefore if you go three or four in each pot from any bag you would almost certainly get a mix into the newly planted pots.

There are all kinds of opinions as to how to go about sticking cuttings. I use four inch pots and stick four in a pot. If one dies out I still have a good full pot to grow. I like to stick a knife into the medium and slip the cutting into the slot until the cutting has one full joint and a third of the second segment in the medium. I rarely lose one doing it this way. When you see new growth you will know that you are rooted. Don't be pulling at them. They will tell you when they are rooted by showing new growth. I feed them nothing until new growth is up and looking good.

My feeding is all weakly weekly teas after new growth is strong and still growing not before new growth. If they get to pushing to fast back off the feeding another notch. They like to be damp only...not soaking....even drier than this after fully established. Mine grow best right in the same light as the violets grow.

Thanks Doc, Do you use rooting compound? I was thinking sandy mix potting soil.

CC root so easily I never used any rooting compounds on them. My potting medium this year was Pro Mix with choir plus a little real finished compost and some kind of grits I had laying around. I put in about 10% water crystals. I water once a week.

All potted up 9 pots of 4 each.

They sure should do well. They were off the plants only four days and here they are all potted and ready to go.

Last summer I had a critter clip off a cutting. I found it rooted where it was let lay as I was doing my fall patio clean up. All it had to work with was the limestone dust between the bricks and a hand full of blow in leaves.

I love that I don't know what colors they are. It will be so fun to watch and wait. I just love surprises.

that's a lot of cuttings!!

I have a pot with a CC from a cutting I picked up (from the floor!) at DPF, will be a total surprise when it blooms.

mine are all settled in there pots as well.. and yes I love the surprise as well!

I'll be watching for mine tomorrow... have potting mix ready to go!

I am loaded with buds... Thanks Doc!!!!

Blooms here, too... the different colors are really fun!! Thanks, Doc!

does not look like he is a member anymore.. hope all is well

We did hear from him a little while ago and he was doing great and getting very involved in a Photography site. Can't remember where he posted but he posted a few of the pics he took and they were really good.

ok good

Yes, I knew he'd become involved elsewhere... just wasn't sure if he was still watching this thread; hadn't realized he wasn't subscribing any longer. I think the grandson who is such an excellent wrestler is a senior this year, and I know he spends a lot of time going to his meets to cheer him on!

that's awesome!!