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Thursday, July 3, 2025 at 6:08 PM
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Edith on the Christmas Cactus

Edith on the Christmas Cactus
by Edith Isidore-Mills —  Now that the holiday season has officially arrived, if you look in the garden center or florist section of most stores you will start to see amaryllis bulbs, poinsettias, and a less popular plant called the Christmas cactus.It was 2005 when I purchased my oldest Christmas cactus and it is still going strong.  In fact, it is blooming right now even though Christmas is still about seven weeks away.  Since 2005, I've purchased five more Christmas cacti in different colors and I expect all will bloom and continue blooming off and on from now through Easter.If you see plants in garden centers or florists shops this time of year with glossy, jagged edged, green segments and tubular multi-pedaled flowers then you have probably found a Christmas cactus.  The flowers range in color from white to red to fuchsia to pinkand even orange.Christmas cacti are not truly cacti but succulent epiphytes native to the tropical forests of South America.  In their native habitat, Christmas cacti are usually found hanging from the trees.  They set their roots down in the decomposed debris that collects on the branches in the dense tree canopy.As a house plants, Christmas cacti make nice hanging plants or can be placed on a table.  They tend to hang over the edge of the pot but don’t droop down like pothos.Unlike true cacti, Christmas cacti like humidity.  However, they don’t like to sit in a puddle of water either.  The best watering regime is to only water when the soil around the plant is dry to the touch.  After watering dump any water that has drained into the saucer beneath the pot.With proper care, Christmas cacti can live many years but they will only flower if placed under the right conditions from September until around Easter. During this periodChristmas cacti may have several flushes of blooms. This year my Christmas cacti started blooming just before Halloween.  They are day length sensitive and will only flower if they have just experience days with at least a 12-hour dark period.  Another condition required for flowering is nighttime temperatures between 55°F and 65°F.After the holidays, day length can be longer and water and fertilizer applications need to continue.Fertilize Christmas cacti once a month with a weak solution of houseplant fertilizer.In September place the Christmas cactus in a room that doesn’t receive any supplemental light after sunset and chances are it will bloom again around the holiday season and send out several flushes of blooms until around Easter or the Spring Equinox. The daylight periods length beyond 12 hours.  Keep watering a lightly fertilizing though and your Christmas cactus could bloom every year for many years.       Support local, independent news – contribute to The Fallon Post, your non-profit (501c3) online news source for all things Fallon. Never miss the local news -- read more on The Fallon Post home page.

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July 4, 2025 -Fallon Gears Up for a “Bee-autiful”  - page 1
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COMMENTS
Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I knew Sam as a member of our church growing up. He always had a warm smile, a kind word, and a great sense of humor! He will be great missed!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:57 AMComment source: Obituary -- Samuel Bruce WickizerComment author: Mike HinzComment text: Great teacher, great coach, but even a better person!!! Rest in peace Mr. BeachComment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:53 AMComment source: Obituary -- Jack Victor Beach, Jr.Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I had Mrs Hedges for First Grade at Northside Elementary in 1969. I still, to this day, remember her as a wonderful teacher…one of my favorites!!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:29 AMComment source: Obituary - Nancy Marie Hedges C Comment author: Carl C. HagenComment text: What are MFNs and PBMs ?? ............................ From the editor: This is a very good question and we apologize for not catching that wasn't in there. We reached out to the writer/submitter and got this info back...hope it's helpful. PBM: Pharmacy Benefit Managers are pharmacies that are owned by insurance companies. (CVS is one.) They negotiate with drug makers to get reduced pricing for medications, but they historically have not passed along those savings to patients. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/pharmacy-benefit-managers-staff-report.pdf MFN: Most Favored Nation pricing is a policy that means a country agrees to offer the same trade concessions (like tariffs or price reductions) to all member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). When applied to pharmaceuticals, it could disrupt global access, deter innovation, and obscure the deeper systemic issues in American health care. https://petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2025/05/22/the-global-risks-of-americas-most-favored-nation-drug-pricing-policy/Comment publication date: 6/23/25, 7:47 AMComment source: L E T T E R TO THE EDITOR
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