Home»Cactus - Succulents»Christmas Cactus
There are two major reasons people corrupt aChristmas cactus plant : Its appearance and its vacation salad days time .
The latter is often a topic of some worry since cultivator will often sell Thanksgiving cacti or even Easter Cactus as Christmas cacti .
Photo Credit: Instagram @lynne.h.larose
The in force news is , all three of these succulents are closely related , so their needs tend to be very similar .
To be safe , it ’s best to know the difference :
These departure may seem minor , but they are important in get the care details decent and know if there ’s an existent job with blossom ( as contradict to just having the amiss cactus ) .
In the case of Christmas cacti , fertilizing is one of the more confusing parts of care because you do n’t in reality feed it when it blooms , unlike most plants .
While balanced formulas study , some variations to this rule are worth considering .
That said , here ’s everything you necessitate to hump about feed your Christmas cactus ( once you ’re trusted that ’s what you have ) .
Best Fertilizer for Christmas Cactus
As mention , you do n’t really feed a Christmas cactus when it ’s blossom .
We ’ll get more into detail on that , but first , it ’s important to have the right-hand fertilizer picked out .
Schlumbergas are epiphytic plant , meaning they ’re non - epenthetic flora that grow on other plant but get their nutrients and wet from the breeze .
As a houseplant , they are generally planted in soil and water in a manner standardised to other potted plants . Still , it ’s also a hatful easier to accidentally overfertilize the plant .
One of the first matter you ’ll postulate to know before beak a well fertilizer is the NPK ratio .
This represents the percentage content of the three most important nutrients : nitrogen ( N ) , phosphorus ( P ) , and atomic number 19 ( K ) .
In the case of Christmas cacti , a 20 - 20 - 20 mix works best .
you may technically get away with a 20 - 10 - 20 mix and have a dead healthy plant , but the issue wo n’t be as telling as a balanced blend .
Liquid houseplant fertiliser are broadly the good choice , as these are easily immerse and less potential to cause burns if in good order applied .
Some folks swan by granular ( time - going ) fertilizers , but these are n’t actually as effective because there ’s no direction to keep in line the proportion of nutrient being resign at any given time .
Miracle - Gro makes an fantabulous liquid fertilizer that ’s both trusted and cost - efficient .
Just be sure to adulterate , even if using the froth recipe .
besides , Espoma puts out a very good product called Plant Food Indoor ! That comes in a small bottle but dilutes into 8 gallons of completely constitutive fertilizer .
Beyond the canonic plant food , you will also need to invest in some Epsom salts , as these are a fantastic way to boost atomic number 12 for your flora ( and get rid of some ache and nisus in the process ! ) without spending a flock of money .
When or How to Fertilize Christmas Cactus
Christmas cacti blooming during their hibernating phase , which can really throw hoi polloi off .
They should in reality be fed monthly from April through October , diluting and employ the fertiliser based on any instructions on the publicity ( different brand may need to be diluted or applied differently ) .
void fecundate in November through March – when the industrial plant actually blooms .
Never get plant food directly on the plant , as this can cause sunburn no matter how much you dilute it .
alternatively , always make certain to apply the fertilizer to the soil slowly so there ’s no splashing , and make your room around the container , lift the stems as need .
As for the Epsom salt we mentioned , you will want to coalesce 1 tablespoon per gallon of water .
Give this to your plant once per calendar month . OPPOSITE the eating agenda .
For model , if you fertilize on workweek 1 , you will want to give the Epsom salts on workweek 3 .
Final Tips
fecundate your Christmas cactus is crucial , but you must think of a few significant linguistic rule .
The first normal is to flush the potting soil occasionally to preclude a harmful buildup of salts .
Using thesoak - and - dry method of wateringwill help flush out the soil automatically , but other watering methods may require manual flushing every few months .
Like all other potted plants , Christmas cacti will need overbold , well - enfeeble stain every few years , or the fertilizer wo n’t be enough to keep your plant healthy .
This repotting appendage also allow you to increase the pot size of it when the plant becomes rootbound .
right fertilizing can provide tidy blooms and a broadly speaking levelheaded plant and , when part of a proper care regime , can give up your Christmas cactus to live for decades .
