Life Span
Annual
Perennial
Type
Vegetable
Cactus
Origin
Central America, Mexico
-
Types
Slicing, Pickling and burpless
Christmas Cactus, Thanksgiving Cactus
Number of Varieties
36
0
40000
👆🏻
Habitat
Floodplains, Wet forest
subtropical regions, Tropical Forests
USDA Hardiness Zone
7-813-15
0
99
👆🏻
AHS Heat Zone
12-1
12-10
Sunset Zone
A3, H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Habit
Vining/Climbing
-
Plant Size
Minimum Height
15.20 cm15.00 cm
0
3900
👆🏻
Minimum Width
180.00 cm20.00 cm
0
6350
👆🏻
Plant Color
Flower Color
Yellow, Gold
Purple
Flower Color Modifier
Bicolor
-
Fruit Color
Green
-
Leaf Color in Spring
Light Green
-
Leaf Color in Summer
Green, Dark Green
-
Leaf Color in Fall
Green, Dark Green, Yellow green
-
Leaf Color in Winter
-
-
Shape
Leaf Shape
Heart-shaped
Cylindrical
Thorns
✔
✘
✔
✘
Plant Season
Summer, Fall
-
Growing Conditions
Sunlight
Full Sun, Partial Sun
-
Growth Rate
Very Fast
-
Type of Soil
Loam
-
The pH of Soil
Neutral
-
Soil Drainage
Well drained
-
Bloom Time
Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer, Early Fall, Indeterminate
-
Repeat Bloomer
✔
✘
✔
✘
Tolerances
Drought
-
Where to Plant?
Container, Ground
Container, Ground, Pot
How to Plant?
Seedlings, Stem Planting
Seedlings, Stem Cutting
Plant Maintenance
Medium
Medium
Watering Plants
Watering Requirements
Keep ground moist, Requires a lot of watering, Requires regular watering, Requires watering in the growing season
Average Water Needs, Do Not over Water, Needs very little water
In Summer
Lots of watering
Lots of watering
In Spring
Moderate
Moderate
In Winter
Average Water
Average Water
Soil
Soil pH
Neutral
-
Soil Type
Loam
-
Soil Drainage Capacity
Well drained
-
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
-
Pruning
Prune after flowering, Remove shoots
Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead branches, Remove dead leaves
Fertilizers
Compost, organic fertlizers
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer
Pests and Diseases
Bacteria wilt, Fungal Diseases, fungus, Fusarium wilt, Leaf spot, Striped cucumber beetles
Red blotch
Plant Tolerance
Cold climate
Drought
Flowers
Showy
-
Flower Petal Number
Single
-
Fruits
Showy Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Edible Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrance
Fragrant Flower
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Leaf
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Bark/Stem
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Foliage
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Bark
✔
✘
✔
✘
Foliage Texture
Coarse
Bold
Foliage Sheen
Matte
-
Evergreen
✔
✘
✔
✘
Invasive
✔
✘
✔
✘
Self-Sowing
✔
✘
✔
✘
Attracts
Ants, Birds, Flying insects, Insects, Rats, Squirrels
Birds
Allergy
Throat itching, Vomiting
-
Uses
Aesthetic Uses
Showy Purposes
Beautification, Showy Purposes
Beauty Benefits
-
-
Edible Uses
✔
✘
✔
✘
Environmental Uses
Food for animals, Food for birds
Air purification
Plant Benefits
Medicinal Uses
Antioxidants, Combats Stress, Fiber, Improve heart health, Indigestion, Inflammation, Rich in Iron
Soothing and relieving pain
Part of Plant Used
Fruits, Seeds
Flowers
Other Uses
Used As Food, Used as Ornamental plant, Used for its medicinal properties
Used as Ornamental plant
Used As Indoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Used As Outdoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Garden Design
Edible, Herb / Vegetable, Vine
-
Botanical Name
MELOTHRIA scabra
Schlumbergera truncata
Common Name
Mexican Sour Gherkins, cucamelon
Schlumbergera, false Christmas cactus, Christmas cactus
In Hindi
Mousemelon
Schlumbergera
In German
Maus Melone
Schlumbergera
In French
Mousemelon
Schlumbergera
In Spanish
Mousemelon
Schlumbergera
In Greek
πεπόνι ποντίκι
Schlumbergera
In Portuguese
melão rato
Schlumbergera
In Polish
mysz melona
Schlumbergera
In Latin
mouse melon
Gymnocalycium
Kingdom
Plantae
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Magnoliopsida
Order
Cucurbitales
Caryophyllales
Family
Cucurbitaceae
Cactaceae
Genus
Cucumis
Schlumbergera
Clade
Angiosperms, Eudicots, Rosids
Angiosperms, Core eudicots, Eudicots
Tribe
Melothrieae
Rhipsalideae
Subfamily
Cucurbitoideae
Cactoideae
Number of Species
506
1
27800
👆🏻