Lindberg's Mistletoe Cactus

About

This is the rhipsalis you grow for long trailing stems. Its cylindrical green stems, a shade stouter than the common mistletoe cactus, branch and hang in ropes that reach two metres and more from a high pot, turning soft pink or bronze where the light is strong. Given a stairwell window or a tall shelf, it can make a long hanging curtain of stems.

It is a forest epiphyte, from the humid woods of south-east Brazil, and it lives up in the branches instead of in the soil, so treat it as a shade-and-moisture plant, never as a desert one. Cream flowers dot the stems through the cooler months and give way to pink berries, adding a little colour.

Vigour is its main trait. It grows quickly, roots from any snipped length, and puts up with shade better than most cacti, needing only filtered light, airy compost and steady, modest watering. Give it height and it will produce long stems; the main problems are a cold, wet pot and a spell of harsh sun.

Appearance and character

Its stems are round in section and a little thicker than the common mistletoe cactus, branching as they hang down, fresh green with a pink or bronze cast where the light is strong.

Soft and free of spines, they are safe to handle, and they can reach two metres or more, making this among the longest-trailing of all the jungle cacti.

Side stems emerge along the hanging stems and at their tips, so the plant thickens if it has room to hang.

The flowers are small and cream, scattered along the stems in the cool months, and the pink berries that follow add a touch of colour.

Where it is from

Rhipsalis lindbergiana belongs to the humid forests of south-east Brazil, where it grows on tree branches as an epiphyte in filtered light, with roots running through leaf litter and moss well above the ground.

Its care follows from that canopy life. Filtered light, which it takes even on the shady side, an open and quick-draining root run, and a steady but modest supply of water are its needs. A cold, sodden pot is the main thing that damages an otherwise vigorous and easy plant.

How it grows

Spring and summer are its main growing season, when the stems lengthen and branch quickly, and it eases back over a cooler winter, which brings the flowers and pink berries. Warmth, dappled light and even moisture support growth, and a season is often enough for it to add a lot of length.

Use an open, quick-draining epiphytic compost in a pot hung high, so the long stems clear the floor, and water once the surface has dried, holding the compost evenly but modestly moist. It must drain at every watering.

Bright, filtered light brings out the pink flush, though it copes with light shade; keep it above about 7 deg C and clear of both cold draughts and harsh sun. Shorten the stems with a trim if they get too long, and root what you cut.

Cuttings are easy: drop a length of stem into gritty compost and it roots.

Through the seasons

Spring starts strong growth. Bring the watering and monthly feeding back as the stems lengthen.

Summer is its main season. Hold it in bright, filtered light, evenly but modestly moist, and feed monthly for long, full stems.

Autumn slows it, and the flowers and pink berries start. Ease the feeding back a little.

Winter is a cooler, slightly drier rest above about 7 deg C, with the berries still hanging. Water a shade less and keep it off cold draughts.

Care difficulty

Easy, provided you give it height. It grows fast, strikes from a cutting, and tolerates shade and a little neglect. The main problems are a cold, wet pot, harsh sun, and a long drought that shrivels the stems.

Watering

Once the surface of the open compost dries, water it, and keep the root run evenly but modestly moist through the growing months. Being a forest plant it needs more even moisture than a desert cactus, but it must never be left standing in wet compost.

Ease off a little through the cooler winter rest, though not to the point of a hard drought, since the stems shrivel when parched too long. Tip away whatever collects beneath a hanging pot, as cold, wet stems rot.

Warning signs, diseases and pests

Soft, sallow or blackened stems over a mushy base are rot, the work of a cold, wet pot. Repot into something airier, water more sparingly, warm it up, and root sound lengths if the base is gone.

Stems gone wrinkled and slack have been too dry; a thorough soak usually restores them, since this is not a desert cactus.

Mealybugs tuck into the stems as white fluff; lift them off with dilute alcohol and check the trailing stems often, as dense growth hides them.

Growing environment

Bright, filtered light fills it out and brings up the pink on the stems, and it tolerates light shade. Harsh direct sun scorches it. Aim for brightness without glare, or a gently shaded spot.

It likes conditions between warm and cool, above about 7 deg C, in humid air. Keep it away from cold draughts and the dry blast of a radiator.

Set it in an open, quick-draining epiphytic compost in a pot hung high, so the long stems clear the floor, in a bright, filtered or lightly shaded, humid position.

Feeding

Through spring and summer, a diluted balanced feed once a month keeps the long growth coming. Reduce feeding in autumn and feed little over winter.

Pour plain water through the pot now and again to flush salts. A freshly potted plant needs nothing for its first weeks.

Troubleshooting

The stems have gone wrinkled and slack. Too long without water. Soak it well and keep it evenly, modestly moist; it does not bake dry like a desert cactus.

The stems are soft and yellow. Rot from a cold, wet pot. Repot into an airier compost, water less, warm it up, and root sound stems if the base has failed.

How is it different from the common mistletoe cactus? Its stems are a touch stouter, flush pink in good light, and hang far longer, to two metres or more, where the mistletoe cactus is finer and shorter. Both take the same care.

Will it grow in some shade? Yes; like most rhipsalis it takes light shade, though it fills out and colours best in bright, filtered light. Only harsh sun does it harm.

Is it safe around pets? Yes. Rhipsalis carries no listed toxin, and its stems are soft and spineless, so it is safe with cats and dogs.