Christmas cactus turning light green and then yellow

My Christmas cactus is turning light green and some of the smaller pads are turning yellow.
It would not make sense to fertilize it this time of year.

Can my problem be with the amount of light the plant is getting?

This change of color seemed to begin this past summer when I set the plant on the north-facing front porch. It got early morning sun and afternoon light with no direct sun.

About a month ago I put it in the house with several other plants. It is in front of an all-clear-glass door facing
north. The door opens to a 6 ft deep porch which has a roof. I have placed two spot lights and two small florescent lights near it in the house.

I have a greenhouse, but was afraid that if I put it in the greenhouse, at bloom time it would go into shock when I put it in the house to enjoy the flowers. (incidentally, I only heat the greenhouse warm enough to keep the plants from freezing.)

What am I doing wrong and how do I fix the problem??

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Kay

Kay,

My Christmas cactus lives in a greenhouse and gets way more sun than its happy with. It is yellow. I think part of its problem may be lack of fertilizer but a lot of it has to do with too much sun.

I think the element that is lacking usually is magnesium but don't quote me on that. Being yellow for the winter won't kill your plant but as soon as it starts growing late this winter, fertilize - A LOT! Use one-half strength soluble fertilizer, such as a 20-10-20 or 20-20-20 with trace elements.

Daisy

Needs more light and have you been feeding it?

Daisy, thanks for your thoughts on it! I wonder if a very small dose of Epsom Salts would do any-
thing for it now.

Tommy, thank you, too! I have not fed it since summer. At that time I used those little plant
spikes, 20-20-20, I think. I have always heard that if you fertilize plants in the fall (when, of
course, a lot of them are going dormant) you are setting them up to be frozen because the sap
has not gone down like it normally would on a dormant plant.

Oddly enough, I purchased several starts of Easter cactus this past summer. They have been side by side with the Christmas cactus all this time. They are all bright green and healthy looking! Go figure!

Hmmm... You do know these plants are not hardy outside in your area. They need an inside spot to spend the winter but will be happiest at about 60 - 65 degrees.

There's no sap running down to the roots - they are just taking a little nap while contemplating their next move. Luckily, most decide at the beginning of November, that the next move should be to set buds.

You stopped fertilizing at just the right time - mid to late summer. They set more flowers without that end of summer fertilizer. Hopefully, it will set buds and bloom this winter. I would not add any fertilizer at this point. Wait until late winter when it starts to grow again then feed. A little epsom salts can go a long way. Be careful! It would be better to find a fertilizer with those trace elements.

Although you are cutting back on water for the winter, never let them go completely dry.

Christmas cactus and Easter cactus are not the same plant. Thanksgiving cactus and Christmas cactus are both in the genus Schlumbergera while Easter cactus is in the genus Hatiora.

Daisy

Daisy, thanks for your help.

Oddly enough, I had a night-blooming cereus (sp?) that had gotten so huge it was really taking up a huge part of my smallest greenhouse, so I decided to get rid of it. (Every year it does this and every year I decide to get rid of it.)
However, this time I just set the entire pot outside under a big pine tree. We have had temperatures down to 37 and it has not been fazed yet. However, we had temps down to 11 one year, so it probably won't make the winter.

I know myself, so I know what is going to happen. Right before the first hard freeze, I'll feel remorse and go take a cutting and put it in the greenhouse. LOL