Caring For Your Christmas Cactus

For Beautiful Blooms Every Time

From Your Friends At Schriemer's

Light

While the Christmas cactus can adapt to low light, more abundant 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 can burn the leaves. When it’s time to bring the plants back inside in the fall, slowly adjust the plants to life indoors by gradually increasing the number of hours they spend indoors each day. If you want to grow it indoors in a south or west window, you should shade the plant with glass curtains. No diffusion of light is needed on the east or the north side. Christmas cactus needs shading from the sun between May and September. During the fall months, the Christmas cactus should be placed in a spot where it receives indoor, indirect bright light during the daylight hours but total darkness at night.

Soil

Well-drained soil is a must. Use a commercially packaged potting mix for succulent plants or mix your own. The ideal soil for Christmas cactus is composed of equal parts of garden loam, leaf mould and clean course sand.

Water

The Christmas cactus 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. During the summer months, water the plant 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 don’t let the stems get flabby from over-watering. Christmas cactus require about 50 to 60% humidity. If the atmosphere is dry, place the pot on a tray of pebbles, keeping the 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 soil fairly moist.

Temperature

They prefer warm temperatures, although evening temperatures of 50 – 60 degrees F. can be used to initiate flower bud formation. From October on, keep the plant where it is cool at night (60 – 65 degrees F.) where the light is low but not absent during the day. Avoid draughts, heat from radiators, fireplaces or other heat sources.

Getting Your Christmas Cactus To Flower

A medium light intensity and a soil high in organic matter are recommended. 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. The plants bloom when given night temperatures near 55 degrees F. (12 – 13 degrees C.) and day temperatures below 65 degrees F (15 degrees C.). 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. This can be done by placing them in a completely dark room, or covering them for the recommended time, or longer, each night with a dark piece of cloth or a black garbage bag. Or just keep the plants in total darkness like a closet till 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 shrivelled. Once buds do 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.

• 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 – Plant prepares to flower. Reduce length daylight hours. Keep on the dry side and cool (55 to 60 degrees F) until flower buds form. Then increase water and temperature.
• November to December – Flowering. Water normally. Temp. no less than 55 degrees F.