The Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera bridgesii, also found as S. buckleyi and Zygocactus truncatus, has arched, drooping branches of curiously flattened and jointed sections, growing as much as 3 ft. across (1 m), with long tubular and many-petalled blooms of purplish-red, red, pink, white, and even yellow, depending on the variety. It can be grown outdoors in Sunset zones 16-17, and 21-24 in half-shade, or indoors in a cool but bright spot out of direct light.
I hesitate to jinx my luck by saying so, but I do almost nothing to this plant -- I don't feed it, I don't keep it in a dark spot in November to set its blooms for December, and I usually forget to water it regularly -- and yet it still rewards me with scores of blushed-white blooms in early December, and even here and there at other times of the year. It is also absurdly easy to root new plants -- pinch off a section of stem and put it in water for a few weeks, or plant directly into a pot.
This photo was taken from underneath the plant, which sits on top of a bookcase near a north-west facing window.
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