How to Care for a Christmas Cactus

A beautiful ornamental plant for the holidays, Christmas cactus (Scientific name is Schlumbergera or Zygocactus usually blooms during Christmas or Easter if cared for properly. The buds can be seen starting to sprout. The tips of the leaves are getting darker and darker each day until the flower buds are formed. At Christmas, like magic, the buds suddenly turn into flowers. beautiful, contributing to the festive season with its color and warmth.

Table of Contents

Choose a location, soil and prepare

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The Christmas cactus needs a lot of light, but indirect light. You should place the plant in a place with a lot of light (for example, near a window), away from direct light. Heat and strong light can stunt plants and burn leaves. You should also avoid placing the plant in hot winds, vents, fireplaces, or other sources of heat. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Move indoor plants outdoors in the summer to a shady spot. It is best to keep the plant indoors at a normal temperature of about 18 to 20°C. However, you also need to use cooler temperatures at night to stimulate blooms. We will discuss stimulating plants to bloom at the end of the article.
If you place the plant in a north or east window, you won’t need to worry about light. But if it’s a south- or west-facing window, you should disperse the light with translucent material curtains or other light scattering device.

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Provide moisture to the plant if you are living in a dry environment. Place a tray of water next to the cactus to allow the water to evaporate and spread the moisture. You can also place the pot in a waterproof dish filled with gravel and fill it halfway with water.

Optimum humidity will be around 50-60%. ^{[2] X Research Source} If the surrounding environment reaches this humidity, you do not have to worry.

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Use pots and well-drained potting soil. As for plant pots, some cheap pots in the nursery can be used well, orchid pots (plastic basket style) can also be used. Find another pot that can hold water and fit the planter basket inside. Place a few medium sized stones in the bottom of the pot so that the planter basket is about 2.5cm above the bottom of the pot. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Use a mixture of 3 parts potting soil to 1 part sand to grow your Christmas cactus. You can substitute with a mixture of 1 part potting soil, 2 parts peat moss or compost, and 1 part sharp-edged sand or perlite. ^{[4] X Research Source} Regardless of which type you use, you need to fill the outside pot with about 5 cm of room temperature water, then place the planter basket in the pot. After about 12 hours, drain all the water. Repeat this process every time the plant needs water; depending on environmental conditions. Monitor your plants’ needs with a moisture meter and adjust accordingly.

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Fertilize to help plants grow. Vigorous plants need to be fertilized with indoor flower fertilizers. It is best to fertilize when the plants are 2-3 weeks old. Follow the dosage and frequency instructions on the package.

Fertilization is an important factor to maintain good conditions for plants; The delicate nodes of the tree can break if the tree is weak. In general, Christmas cactus needs to be fertilized 2-4 times per year with a 20-20-20 fertilizer, however you should stop fertilizing about a month before the flower buds appear (ie. usually stop fertilizing at the end of October).

Water the tree

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Be careful when watering the Christmas cactus. Caring for this plant can be quite complicated because you need to be careful not to water too much or too little :

The Christmas cactus is a tropical cactus, not a desert cactus. Unlike most desert succulents, this cactus does not tolerate completely dry soil. If the soil is too dry, the flower buds will drop and the plant will wither. You need to test the soil with your finger; If it feels too dry, it’s time to water the plant.
Over-watering will cause white rotting spots to appear on the leaves and possibly defoliate them. Soil must be evenly moist for best plant growth. The motto here is that it is better to water less than to water too much.
When watering plants, you need to water them thoroughly. Before you plan to water the plant again, you need to check first that the 2.5 cm of topsoil is completely dry. Mist the leaves and water the soil.

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Change the watering schedule according to the season. Water your Christmas cactus depending on the environment and time of year. The following is the proper method for watering cactus: ^{[5] X Research Source}

Dry climate, growing outdoors : every 2-3 days when it is warm and sunny
Humid, cool climate, growing indoors : Water weekly
During the fall and winter months: less watering is recommended to stimulate flowering.

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Stop watering around October. Your watering duties end at the start of October. You can carefully water lightly again in November. If you live in a dry climate, you can place the potted plant in a tray of wet gravel. This is also used when the tree blooms during the Christmas season.

Another time to stop watering is after the plants bloom. By this point, you should stop watering for about 6 weeks to give the plant a rest. New shoots will still appear; and that’s when you should water again.

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Beware of flower bud drop. One of the most disappointing things that happens to cactus plants is that the flower buds fall off the plant after forming. This phenomenon can be caused by many different reasons. Usually it’s due to over-watering, but it can also be due to lack of moisture or lack of light.

If this starts to appear, water less and add fertilizer to the pot. Move the plant away from the heat vent and place it in a slightly more sunny spot.

Stimulate plants to bloom at the right time

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Stimulate flowers to bloom during the holiday season by lowering the temperature. The secret to Christmas cactus blooms in time for the holidays is proper light exposure, proper temperature, and limited watering. If you can control these factors, you can time your plants to bloom at will.

Christmas cactus will bud when the day is as long as the night and when the temperature drops below 10-15.5 degrees Celsius for a few weeks. Plants may not bloom if the temperature is lower.
Between September and October, you should place the Christmas cactus in a cool room around 10-12°C, which can fluctuate a few degrees. Do not expose the plant to freezing temperatures. The plant will bloom during the holiday season if the temperature-lowering measures are applied from early November.

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Place the plant in a dark room at night. During the fall months, the Christmas cactus needs to be placed in a location that receives lots of indirect light during the day but is completely dark at night; Plants need long periods of time, about 12 hours in a row, in the dark. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Start using the method of placing in the dark around mid-October to stimulate blooms during the holiday season. At night, place the plant in a dark place for about 12 hours or more until flower buds form. Wall cabinets or unused bathrooms are great places to put potted plants.
You need to be very careful when watering the plants during this time. Reduce watering a bit. Do not over-water the soil after the dry period; Moisten only a few centimeters of the topsoil, as flower buds, flowers, and even leaves can fall off if the roots get wet suddenly.

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When you see flower buds appear, increase the light and humidity. The “dark age” is over when the tree begins to bud. At this point, you should increase the humidity, light, water (just a little bit, of course), and temperature. In other words, you can continue to care for the tree as you did a few months ago.

If the plant sprouts too early, you should lower the temperature to slow the growth of the buds. When the time is right, you can increase the temperature, and the flower buds will continue to grow. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Caring for plants after blooming

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Prune the Christmas cactus one month after it blooms. This will stimulate the tree to branch, especially after the “resting” period. The plant will not look very nice after the flowers have faded. Some people wait until about March, when the tree begins to sprout, to start pruning.

As mentioned above, stop watering for 30 days after the plant blooms. When you see new shoots forming, you can start watering again.

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Propagate the Christmas cactus by cutting short, Y-shaped pieces. Each segment should have two or three segments. Let each piece dry for a few hours before putting it in a 7.5cm wide pot containing the same soil as the parent plant. Plant about half way deep first and water moderately to prevent rotting. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Take care of the tree segments like an adult plant. In about 4-6 weeks, the segment will take root and start sprouting new shoots. They will grow fast and branch in about 2-3 weeks. You can fertilize after the segments have grown a new node.

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Replant once every 2-3 years. Christmas cactus can grow well for several years unless the roots are diseased or damaged. Besides, you also need to re-pot the plant when the roots are crowded or the nutrients in the soil are depleted. People usually do this in the spring.

When replanting or repotting plants, you should use fresh, new soil. A few tens of thousands of dong is worth it because the tree will live in this land for a long time. Trees are creatures just like humans, they deserve the best conditions.
The best time to repot a plant is from February to April, about every 3 years. ^{[9] X Research Source} Just don’t choose a big pot; Christmas cactus flowers bloom best when planted in a pot that fits the roots.

Advice

Remember to rotate the pot periodically while stimulating new shoots. Otherwise, your Christmas cactus will only grow profusely on one side, and sparsely grown on the other.
The cactus will only grow to the circumference of the pot. If you want the plant to grow larger, you must plant it in a larger pot.
The Christmas cactus is a beautiful plant that can bloom for many years; You can keep the tree even after the holiday season is over. You can also maintain the tree for many generations.
The guidelines for inducing blooms above are based on the cold Christmas season. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, it may be difficult for you to get a Christmas cactus to bloom around Christmas, and the plant needs to be in a more controlled environment in order to bloom in time for the holidays. Perhaps the chances of stimulating the plant to bloom are higher during the coldest months of the year.

Warning

The ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center classifies Christmas cactus as non-toxic to dogs and cats.
Any sudden changes in temperature, light and water will damage the Christmas cactus. Hot airflow and extreme temperatures can cause flower buds to drop before they bloom. You need to gradually acclimate the plant to the change.
Never place Christmas cactus near doors that open to the outside. Similarly, you should place the plant away from heat pipes or near fireplaces or hot drafts.

Steps