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Christmas cactus ( Schlumbergera bridgesii ) is a natural choice fordecorating your household during the festal time of year . Despite the Noel nomenclature , however , you might stop up with a Thanksgiving cactus ( genus Schlumbergera truncate ) during the holidays . One tell difference is the spirit of the edge on the flattened stems , known as phylloclades . On a Christmas cactus , the edges are scalloped or less pronounced , while those on the Thanksgiving type are more jagged or claw - like .
get word how to grow and manage for your Christmas cactus and revel in its ravisher and interesting silhouettes all year long .
Getting Started
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While you may grow Christmas cacti from seeds , starting with a flora from a garden heart and soul is much easier . opt one already in breathable pots — such asterracottaor clay — with drain maw .
Even though Christmas cacti are native to the Amazon rain forest , they are epiphytes , mean they do n’t of course grow on soil but on other plant . They grow high-pitched in trees where their roots can dry out each day . Root rot is a common causal agent of expiry for these houseplants , so unspoiled drainage is essential .
If you buy your plant life in gloaming or winter in a plastic pot , wait until later winter or other spring — after blooming has terminate — to repot it into a terracotta or cadaver great deal .
Thebest potting soilfor a Christmas cactus moderate a lot of organic affair , such as compost and peat . Premade potting mixes for succulent are also great option . A pH between 5.5 and 6.2 produce vigorous growth and plenty of bloom .
Seasonal Care for Your Cactus
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One of the biggest reasons to mature a Christmas cactus is to bask thoseseasonal bloomsin colors such as pinkish , lilac , red , orangish , gold , cream , or white . However , a deficiency of flowers during the holiday is a common charge about these plants .
The plant needs little days ( or prospicient nighttime ) and cooler nighttime temperatures to promote blossoming . Once you bring your Christmas cactus home , keep it in a coolheaded , sorry surface area , such as a basement , for 12 to 14 60 minutes daily for at least six weeks .
go away the flora alfresco until just before the first rime can also spur blooming .
Watering
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Ensuring that your Christmas cactus does not become waterlogged is a top priority . The general rule is to permit the plant to dry out out between lachrymation . However , once bud develop , the grease should be kept a bit moist to prevent bud cutting off or detachment .
To chink if theplant needs lacrimation , get your digit into the filth about 1 to 2 inch deep . Newbies growing Christmas cactus plants might find that a territory wet meter provide levelheaded counsel and repose of mind .
Pro Tip : Water the plant over a sink , reserve the excess water to drain from the pot .
Lighting Your Christmas Cactus
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When not confiscate in a dark , informal space for 12 to 14 hours to further bloom , a Christmas cactus still postulate bright light during winter .
Relocate it near a window or glass door — without any draft — that gets filter sunlight for a few hours each mean solar day . The temperature in your pick out location should be between 65 and 70 level Fahrenheit during the daytime and 55 to 65 degrees in the eve .
If the Christmas cactus leaves turn pallid green , it is getting too much sunshine . A reddish color can also intend too much sunlight , although it can also be a sign of a deficiency of phosphorus . Once bud appear , keep the flora in that sunny spot with idealistic temperatures .
Fertilizing
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Give your Christmas cactus a monthly alimentation when new growth start in wintertime . It need a half measure of water - soluble 20 - 10 - 20 or 20 - 20 - 20 fertilizer that hold back shadow elements , include magnesium , which these plants starve .
Fertilizing can make salts to establish up in the filth of your potted Christmas cactus , leading to problems such as root harm , pests , and disease . Carefully come up off progress - up common salt on the top of the grime .
Every four months , leach the grime . Over a sinkhole , tardily pour an amount of water about twice the bulk of the hatful through the soil . Once the pot is full of water , wait until it drains out and restate the process . or else , you’re able to change the dirt in the pot .
Pruning
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Once your Christmas cactus has flowered , lop the plant life to promote more branching . Typically , there will be one to two new cladophylls — or branch sections — at the site where you rationalize .
To snip the industrial plant , use a sterilise sharp tongue or pruner to tailor where some cladophylls join . you could apply these cuttings to disperse your Christmas cactus or add them to your compost .
Keeping a Christmas Cactus Healthy
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Christmas cactus houseplants can be vulnerable to aphids , fungus gnat , mealybugs , scarlet wanderer mites , and scurf . Houseplant insecticides can aid eradicate thesepests . you may also pass over the plant with alcohol to down them .
Some disease , such as Drechslera cladophyll rot and Fusarium phylloclade decompose , cause even more significant threats to your Christmas cactus . Watch for symptoms such as sections of the works rotting or death , blacken , orbitual recessed wound , chocolate-brown spots , and pitch-black , slimy lesion .
Avoiding overwatering — include watering from the bottom — helps to prevent these disease . If plants do become infected , destruct them . Repot your Christmas cactus every three or four year .
Year-Round Care for Christmas Cactus
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This succulent can extend to flourish in its pot outdoors in summer . Place it in an area with fond to full shade . loosely , it demand water two to three times weekly and monthly fertilizing . In August , reduce both water and plant food to train it for budding .
In September , prepare to contribute the plant indoors . Check it for any preindication of pests or diseases first . Use a spray bottle with water system or an insect powder to eliminate any blighter .
Christmas Cactus Is A Gift Worth Giving
A Christmas cactus can be a bit finicky to maturate and care for at first . But with these tips , you may help thissuper succulentendure for up to 100 year , make them heavy household heirlooms .
