Christmas is coming. There is just no way of getting away from this fact, with our televisions and radios beginning their yearly deluge of seasonal ads. This week's gardening column comes down with a case of Christmas fever, allowing me introduce you to a beautiful seasonal houseplant. That houseplant is the Christmas cactus, or to give it its full Latin name Schlumbergera bridgesii. To be quite honest, for the majority of the year the Christmas cactus is a drab looking specimen with green segmented leaves whose joints are rather fragile.

Then, out of nowhere in the month of November the plant begins to produce buds at the tip of each stem. These buds swell to produce stunning blooms, whose unreal appearance cause many people to wonder if the plant is really a manmade reproduction. Depending on the particular variety of Christmas cactus, these striking blooms can vary from pure white to dark red with every shade of pink in between.

If you have generous visitors to your house over the holidays, you may be fortunate enough to receive a Christmas cactus as a decorative gift. This gift will usually be in bloom, but as for whether these flowers remain for long or whether the houseplant thrives and blooms again the following Christmas is up to you. By closely following the tips below, you allow your Christmas cactus its best opportunity to brighten your house for many winters to come.

Temperature and light

The Christmas cactus thrives and retains its blooms much better in a cooler environment. Keep it well clear of radiators, fireplaces and other contributors to draughts of warm air as they cause buds and blooms to drop prematurely.

A bathroom, such as a utility bathroom without a shower is an ideal cool location. Position the plant where it will receive some natural sunlight (morning sun is best), but avoid placing it on a windowsill in direct strong sunlight. Excessive direct sunlight can brown or burn the leaves and lead to poor blooming.

Watering and feeding

Unlike its desert inhabiting relations, the Christmas cactus actually prefers a slightly moist soil. How moist is moist? Well, if you pop your finger into the plants top layer of compost and you find the first inch of the soil is beginning to dry out, you should water the plant thoroughly.

Instead of following a strict schedule of watering once a week, what you should be doing is checking the compost for moisture weekly and watering as and when required. This method will prevent you over-watering the plant to the detriment of its health.

When you first receive your Christmas cactus, it will usually have a supply of feed within its compost to sustain it throughout the festive season. Come the New Year, the addition of a feed specially developed for cacti or even the commonly available ?Baby-bio' is all that is required each month up until the end of October. Then each November, add an indoor plant food high in potash to boost the plant's unreal flower production.

So, until next week happy gardening and remember that a weed is just a plant in the wrong place.

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