The Christmas cactus , often look up to as the " holiday cactus , " is a low - criminal maintenance and lovely plant life . The beautiful pinkand red that come along from Thanksgiving to the new year can add festive cheerfulness to any home , urinate these plants nearly as popular as poinsettias . No matter what holidays you celebrate , these cacti will brighten any dreary wintertime days that come your way . If you want to add some color and cheer to your nursing home this winter , here ’s everything you need to know about how to care for a Christmas cactus - and if you ’re peculiar about Thanksgiving and Easter cacti , we ’ve got some answers about them , too !
Why you should grow one (or tons!) in your home
The Christmas cactus is an easy - to - wish - for works that , when cared for well , will honor you with stunning orangish , pink , violet , scarlet , or white blooms during the holiday season . While most other houseplant have recruit dormancy and are n’t flowering , you ’ll be capable to love pops of color from this ( non - spiney ! ) cactus , especially when you pair it alongside a few poinsettias .
If you could get your hands on some Christmas cacti that have dissimilar colored blooms , it may be worth grow more than one ! They reflect as hanging basket plants , and their unique shape still offers beautiful greenery during the seasons when they are n’t flower .
Is the Christmas cactus unlike from the Thanksgiving or Easter cactus ?
Yes and no ! All three are type of vacation cacti ; however , they ’re different varieties that are often mislabeled for one another ( and for the holiday cactus in general ) . The Christmas cactus ( Schlumbergera russelliana ) is a variety bred from the vacation cactus ( Schlumbergera x buckleyi ) and the Thanksgiving cactus ( Schlumbergera truncate ) . The two together result in the beautiful blossom and specific blooming metre that the Christmas cactus has .
rent ’s take a look at the other two :
Although they ’re all similar in appearing , they do n’t bloom at the same time . If you want to create a dynamic smell for your place , try having one or two of each hanging in your home ! That way , you ’ll be able-bodied to savour bloom throughout a good part of the year .
How to care for a Christmas cactus
Caring for a Christmas cactus is n’t complicated , especially if you ’re already used to the refinement of other cacti kind . However , there are still some differences . Here ’s how to care for your Christmas cactus .
Step 1 : Keep your Christmas cactus in a in high spirits - humidity environment .
The Christmas cactus is aboriginal tohumid , tropical environmentsinstead of dry , arid ones . It needs much higher humidity levels ( more so during their blooming time of year , due to the dry condition of winter ) than regular cacti .
Step 2 : aim the Christmas cactus where it will be affectionate during the day and slenderly cooler at dark , specially when it get down to bloom .
The Christmas cactus prefers environments around 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the fighting growing time of year ; however , once the buds start to set , it choose a infinite that drops to 55 to 65 degree Fahrenheit at Nox .
footfall 3 : Keep your Christmas cactus away from drafts .
Step 4 : Place your cactus in partial or diffuse light .
Step 5 : quash place it in direct light or full sun during springtime , summer , and fall .
Step 6 : water system it exhaustively and allow the dirt to dry out entirely before watering again .
measure 7 : Prune your cactusafter it has flower , using desexualize shears or scissors .
you’re able to cut a Christmas cactus to help oneself advance branching and fuller growth ! The good time to do so is right-hand after it ’s done bloom , though pruning can be done safely until late spring without posing much peril to the plant life . Up to a third of the cactus can be removed without stressing the industrial plant .
Step 8 : Deadhead expend bloom .
Can a Christmas cactus be propagated?
Yes , and you may even use the trimmings as cuttings for new Christmas cacti ! The best time to circularise lines up with the near sentence to prune ( commodious , huh ? ) , so you wo n’t have to worry about leaving some stems on the plant for extension afterward on . Here’show to propagatea new Christmas cactus from slip :
measure 1 : Prep a container make full with cactus - specific potting mix .
Step 2 : Take a clipping or cutting from your cactus with a astute , light pair of scissors .
Step 3 : stash away the cut somewhere dry for two to four day until the end have callused . you could skip this step if you do n’t have the space or time to allow them dry out . However , leave behind cuttings to callosity typically yield better outcome .
pace 4 : order the shortened end of the slip straight off into the potting soil .
Step 5 : Water lightly , let the soil juiceless exhaustively between waterings . Roots on feasible cuttings should lead off to form within two to three weeks .
The best way to encourage blooms on your Christmas cactus
If you ’re enquire what you’re able to do to get some beautiful blooms around the vacation season , the answer is simple : proper care . By caring for your Christmas cactus , you ’re set it up to have the energy , food , and maturation it involve to bloom .
Keep in mind that the more stems you have , the more places your cactus has to flower ! Pruning yearly gain the plant in more ways than one , and it can even give you more cacti to hang around your home base .
How often do you need to repot your Christmas cactus?
By now , you ’ve credibly figured out that Christmas cacti are n’t all that difficult to maintain . We ’ve bring even more good news : You do n’t need to repot them very often , either . Christmas cacti can actually stomach being a lilliputian rootbound , and they only need to be repot every three to five years down the line . Here ’s how to repot your flora when the time come :
Step 1 : Wait until your flower have all go far before you start repot . The respectable fourth dimension to repot is during the maturate season after your Christmas cactus has finished blossom . This will be around later wintertime or early spring .
Step 2 : Go for a planter that ’s bigger than your current one by two in , and check that that your planter has a drain hole .
Step 3 : Add a shallow level of cactus grease to your unexampled planter , then gently remove your plant life from its current plantation owner .
Step 4 : Fill in the spread with more cactus grime , then water your plant life into its new rest home .
Can you keep a Christmas cactus outside?
While Christmas cacti ca n’t be grown outside full clip unless you last in USDA zones 10 or 11 , they can spend shorter menstruum of time outdoors . During spring and summer , your Christmas cactus will enjoy a slightly shelter property out of doors just as much as it ’d enjoy being indoors . Keep an heart out for pesterer damage and move them indoors or to a more sheltered locating during violent storm or windy mean solar day .
Being outside when the temperature start to turn cooler can even be helpful for sign to your Christmas cactus that it ’s almost time to blossom . However , you should fetch it indoors before the first frosts of the year arrive . Otherwise , your Christmas cactus could end up with icing harm .
If you ’re looking for upbeat , loose - to - maintain foliage this holiday time of year , see bringing home a Christmas cactus . you’re able to enjoy exuberant blooms over the holiday and will have the luck to apportion cuttings down the line if you manage to keep a healthy plant going .
