How to Care for Christmas Cactus: Follow These Smart Advices!

Tripboba.com - The Christmas cactus is a very well-known houseplant and for good reason! When blooming, they produce colorful tubular flowers with a pink or purple hue. Their wonderful flowers, long bloom time, and simple care requirements make them a beautiful plant. Keep scrolling to know how to care for Christmas cactus.

How to Care for a Christmas Cactus

How to Care for Christmas Cactus - Photo by Marianq from Pixabay

Unlike the desert-loving cactus many of us are accustomed to, the Christmas cactus comes from tropical rainforests. Also, it needs water regularly to stay healthy. The flat leaves are actually stemmed segments that drape and hang from baskets and containers.

Flowers will shape at the ends of these stems. Therefore, the more stems your plant has, the more flowers it will have. The cactus blooms red. However, now you can find Christmas cactus in a variety of flower colors, including pink, red, purple, and orange.

To encourage more stems, plant your Christmas cactus as a hanging plant. Besides, you can place it somewhere that has room to hang it. You don’t need to worry about scrubbing it. The Christmas cactus plant does not have any thorns.

How to Care for a Christmas Cactus Plant: Lighting

How to Care for Christmas Cactus - Photo by Vikki Lambert Kimbrough from Pixabay

Now, we are going to learn how to care for Christmas cactus from the lighting aspect. Christmas cacti are more like partial shade or diffused light, even though they are very adaptable in adapting to growing conditions.

If you expose it to full sun, do so during the winter months—abundant sunshine in spring and summer can make your plants yellow and pale.

How to Care for Christmas Cactus Plant: Water

How to Care for Christmas Cactus - Photo by Jenő Szabó from Pixabay

Another important aspect of how to care for Christmas cactus is water. Even though the Christmas cactus is actually a cactus, its tropical origins mean it needs more water than most cacti.

Water the plant thoroughly, you need to allow excess water to drain through the drainage holes. Let the soil dry almost completely between watering. You will know if the soil is too dry when the leaves begin to wilt and shrivel.

How to Care for a Christmas Cactus Indoors: Soil

How to Care for Christmas Cactus - Photo by Bianca Berg from Pixabay

Now, we will learn how to care for Christmas cactus from the soil aspect. Soil isn't the driving factor for Christmas cactus - an all-purpose potting mix will do, but it is fairly adaptable to most soil conditions. It likes better a pH level between 5.5 and 6.2 to achieve optimal growth.

How to Care for Christmas Cactus Indoors: Fertilizer

How to Care for Christmas Cactus - Photo by Bianca Berg from Pixabay

Next, you need to know how to care for Christmas cactus from the feeding aspect. Feed your Christmas cactus every month with a water-soluble fertilizer diluted during the spring and summer. After you see the flower buds have formed, start by holding the fertilizer until they bloom (then you can continue with the monthly feeding).

How to Care for Christmas Cactus Plant: Temperature and Humidity

How to Care for Christmas Cactus - Photo by Susbany from Pixabay

One of the aspects of how to care for Christmas cactus you need to know is temperature and humidity. Christmas cactus requires adequate humidity, particularly when grown in dry conditions in a hot house (which often occurs in winter). Moisten the plant or place a pebble tray in the water under the plant to help increase its humidity levels.

In terms of temperature, the Christmas cactus is a bit picky. During its peak growing months (April to September), it likes better cool temperatures between 70- and 80-degrees Fahrenheit.

After the buds are in place, it takes low nighttime temperatures (between 55- and 65-degrees Fahrenheit) and at least 13 hours of darkness to actually flower. Keep your cactus away from frequently opened doors and drafty windows. You need to do so since the cactus does not like sudden winds. Also, they will drop their buds or flowers if caught in the wind.

How to Care for Your Christmas Cactus: Pruning

How to Care for Christmas Cactus - Photo by Lisa Drummond from Pixabay

To keep your cactus full and bushy, you need to prune it when it's done blooming. Don't worry. It's a very simple process. Just get rid of 2 or 3 stems per branch around half the plant by rotating the stems rapidly between segments. (You can prune another stem next year.) In case the branches begin to break because the plant is so big, prune a little more.

That’s all about Tripboba’s handy guide of how to care for Christmas cactus. Don’t forget to check out other articles by Tripboba to make your life easier!