Caring For Your Christmas Cactus

A Christmas cactus in full bloom is a great gift idea for that special gardener. They are easy to care for and can be grown indoors throughout the year. The flowers range in color from yellow, salmon, pink fuchsia, and white or combinations of those colors.

Light

While the Christmas cactus can adapt to low light, more blooms are produced on plants that have been exposed to high light intensity. Keep your plants in a sunny location indoors. Plants can be moved outdoors in summer but keep them in a shady or semi-shady location. Too much direct sunlight will burn the leaves. When it’s time to bring the plants back inside in the fall, adjust the plants to live indoors by slowly increasing the number of hours they spend indoors each day. If you want to grow your Christmas Cactus indoors a north or east window is best. If you must put it in a south or west window, you must diffuse the light. The dappled shade of a porch or patio during the summer months is a great spot for this plant. Christmas cactus needs shading from the sun between May and September.

Soil

Christmas Cactus love well-drained soil. Using a commercially packaged potting mix for succulent or cacti plants would work very well.

Water

The plant is not a true cactus. It does require more water than a cactus. It is a succulent plant and can store a reasonable quantity of water in the leaves.

Water thoroughly when the top half of the soil in the pot feels dry to the touch. The length of time between watering will vary with the air temperature, amount of light, rate of growth and relative humidity. During the summer, water so that the soil is continually moist. When fall arrives, water the plant only well enough to prevent wilting.

During the month of October, give the plant no water. Cautiously resume watering in November, but do not let stems get flabby from over watering. If the atmosphere is dry, place pot on a tray of pebbles. Keep pebbles moist with water in the tray.

After the plant completes blooming, let it rest by withholding water for six weeks. When new growth appears, re-pot and top-dress with fresh soil. Resume watering to keep the soil fairly moist. If your plant remains wilted after watering for a long time, it may be showing signs of too much water.

Fertilizing

As tender growth appears in the spring, apply a weak solution of liquid houseplant fertilizer for 2-3 weeks.

Temperature

The Christmas Cactus likes warm temperatures, although evening temperatures of 50-55 degrees F will help to start flower buds to form. The plant starts to bloom because of day length. From October on, keep the plant where it is cool at night (60-65 F). Keep away from drafts, heat vents, fireplaces, or other sources of hot air.

Propagation

Taking short Y-shaped cuttings of the stem tips easily propagates the Christmas cactus. A well-tended cactus can get massive in time. Maybe even too heavy to carry. To root cuttings for new plants, cut back shoots from the tips, cut at the second joint of each tip. Place cuttings in a moist peat and perlite or peat and sand mixture. Put them in a shaded warm spot. To avoid rotting, water sparingly. After two or three weeks, water as you would any other cutting. When cuttings are rooted, put them in a very loose mixture of good potting soil.

Repotting

Plants should be re-potted every two or three years, or whenever the pot is filled with roots and the soil appears to be depleted of nutrients. Christmas cactus are usually is re-potted in the spring, but a plant, which is unhealthy because of the root system, can be re-potted any time of year.

Bud-Dropping

Common causes of bud dropping are over-watering, exposure to cold drafts, a position too close to a hot radiator or vent, and lack of sufficient potash in the soil. Water plant sparingly and feel a little liquid manure weekly.

How to Get Your Christmas Cactus To Flower

Medium-light and soil high in organic matter will get your Christmas Cactus to flower. Do not allow the plant to dry out, water when the soil surface begins to feel dry. The plant may be kept drier in the fall. Cool temperatures or long nights are required to induce blooming. They will bloom when given night temperatures near 55 degrees and day temperatures below 65 degrees.

Flowering is related to day length and night temperatures. The temperature range for flower bud development is 55 to 60 degrees for a six-week period. If temperatures remain in this range, they will develop buds regardless of day length. If temperatures get above that range, the plant will need 13 hours of uninterrupted darkness each night. Placing them in a completely dark room, or covering them for the recommended time can do this, or longer, each night with a dark piece of cloth – or keep the plants in total darkness like a closet until buds develop. For holiday blooms this usually means in late September to mid-October

During flower bud formation, stop fertilizing and only water enough to keep the leaves from becoming shriveled. Once the buds form, then you can keep the plant in normal light and temperatures. Keep it evenly moist and fertilize every other week with a mild fertilizer solution

A YEAR WITH YOUR CHRISTMAS CACTUS

January

Flowering

February to March

Resting 55 degrees, infrequent watering

April to May

Water thoroughly when potting mix begins to dry out

June to August

Place outdoors in a shady spot

September to October

The plant prepares to flower. Reduce the length of daylight hours. Keep on the dry side and cool (55 o 60 degrees F) until flower buds form. Then increase water and temperature.