HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR CHRISTMAS CACTUS
One of the quintessential holiday houseplants is the iconic Christmas cactus. Everyone's grandma had one when they were growing up, and many of us have at least one in our homes now too. While our grandma's plants always seemed to bloom profusely at just the right time for Christmas in Indianapolis, some of us struggle to get our Christmas cactuses to bloom indoors at all.
If your Christmas cactus is as green as a Grinch, here are a few tips to try before you throw in the towel. The Christmas cactus is a bit particular, but if you get yours set up in an environment that mimics its natural habitat, they'll be happily thriving in no time. Follow these tips to force yours to bloom in time for Christmas!
GROWING CHRISTMAS CACTUS INDOORS
The segmented succulent leaves of a Christmas cactus can grow up to 3 feet long, and they sport uniquely shaped dramatic blossoms when they bloom. Their bloom time usually lasts for several weeks. Christmas cactuses are available in a variety of colors, including red, white, yellow, pink, and purple. Christmas cactus is native to coastal regions of Brazil.
TYPES OF HOLIDAY CACTUS
There are three different varieties of holiday cacti. Most of us don't differentiate and refer to all of them as Christmas cactuses, but there are also Thanksgiving cacti as well as Easter cacti. The best way to figure out what variety you have is to check the leaf shape.
Thanksgiving cactus has sharp claw-shaped points on rectangular leaves.
Christmas cactus has more rounded bumps or points on rectangular leaves.
Easter cactus has oval leaves with even more rounded bumps. The blooms of the Easter cactus also look distinctly different than the others; the blossoms are more daisy-like.
BEST POT FOR CHRISTMAS CACTUS
Christmas cactus needs good drainage. In their native environment, they grow as an epiphyte, clinging to trees rather than growing in soil. They'll be ok in most any pot as long as it has drainage holes. If you have a favorite pot without drainage holes, keep your Christmas cacti inside a nursery container and set that inside the decorative pot.
POTTING SOIL FOR CHRISTMAS CACTUS
Since they're naturally epiphytes, Christmas cacti don't like heavy soil. They're fairly resilient and will grow in almost anything, but they'll do best in a high-quality soil designed for efficient drainage. You can add sand or fish tank gravel to regular potting soil to improve drainage, or you could use a soil mix designed for cacti.
LOCATION FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS CACTUS
Christmas cactuses need bright indirect light and consistent temperatures. Choose a location where the plant won't have direct sun exposure, and where they won't have a risk of cold drafts. Christmas cactuses are very sensitive to stress, like significant temperature changes or changes in location, and they'll drop all their blossoms and buds if stressed. So, once you see buds on your Christmas cactus, don't even think about moving it until it's finished blooming!
LIGHTING FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS CACTUS
The secret to forcing your Christmas cactus to bloom at the right time of year is making sure it gets enough darkness each day. That might sound counterintuitive since we're usually worried if our houseplants are getting enough light during the winter. However, Christmas cactus depends on the long dark winter nights to trigger blooming. They need a minimum of 14 hours of darkness with 8-10 hours of daylight consistently for 6-8 weeks before blooming.
If you have bright street lights outside your windows, or if there are lights on overnight in the same room, you'll want to build some sort of cover to keep your Christmas cactus in complete darkness. If you have to create artificial darkness, make sure you start a minimum of 6 weeks before you want your Christmas cactus to bloom.
WHEN TO WATER YOUR CHRISTMAS CACTUS
Christmas cactuses are susceptible to root rot if overwatered. Make sure to check the soil before you water your Christmas cactus. The top 1-2 inches of soil or growing medium should be dry before watering. Water needs are highly dependent on your environment and humidity. Watering less frequently in the fall can also help force your Christmas cactus to start blooming. If you watered your plant every week in the spring and summer, you might be able to cut back to every ten days, or even every two weeks in fall and winter. Just make sure you check the soil every week. Since Christmas cactuses like humidity, they can't tolerate being completely dried out. To raise the humidity, you can mist your Christmas cactus once a day or run a humidifier nearby.
If your grinchy Christmas cactus hasn't started blooming yet this year, give it another chance. Once those dazzling blooms start appearing, your heart is sure to grow three sizes!