How to care for a Christmas cactus

This is a short guide, by way of summary, on how to care for and grow a Christmas cactus :

• Lighting : should you put the Christmas cactus indoors or outdoors? They need to be in a place where they are partially shaded, so a window is the best option. Thanks to this, it can be indoors throughout the year, and if you put it outside in summer it has to be avoiding the sun directly.
• Temperature : it needs temperatures that oscillate between 15 and 22 ºC.
• Humidity : the environmental humidity has to be at least 50%, something that you can achieve by steaming the leaves every 2-3 days when the environment is dry.
• Substrate for the Christmas cactus : the best to develop correctly is the one that is rich in nutrients and very well drained. Put a mixture of peat moss with mulch or with heather soil.
• Watering : in summer it should be abundant, and you should let the substrate dry completely every two waterings, while in winter it should be more distributed, allowing it to dry in all waterings. Do not water the flowers directly and use soft water that does not have lime, such as rainwater or bottled water.
• Compost : apply in spring and summer, adding liquid fertilizer to the Christmas cactus watering once a month.
• Pests : the plague of mealybugs is the one that can affect the most, so you have to watch for if it appears.
• Transplant : you should do it in spring and every two years, always using a larger pot so that in those two more years it can grow without problems.
• Multiplication : it must be through stem cuttings or through seeds, always in a substrate that is sandy. Here we explain how to reproduce a Christmas cactus .

Here we explain some of these aspects of Christmas cactus care in more detail.

The Christmas cactus is a plant native to tropical areas, the ideal temperature for it is 15 to 22 degrees . However, it is a type of plant that withstands cold and low temperatures quite well. Despite this, and to prevent it from suffering some kind of damage to its development, it is not advisable to leave it exposed to too low temperatures.

This is another of the most important Christmas cactus care . This one needs outside light to live, so it is ideal to have it in a well-lit place . However, despite being a type of cactus, too much sun can cause serious damage when it comes to growth and flowering.

Therefore, if you have a Christmas cactus indoors, put it near a window but not very close to it, but if you have it outdoors, place it in a semi-shady place.

When it comes to watering the Christmas cactus, many people mistakenly think that it can survive on too little water. The watering must be done in a moderate way and it should not be exceeded in it. During the summer it is advisable to water the plant every 2 or 3 days a week, while in the spring and autumn months the watering should be done approximately every two weeks .

If you decide to transplant the Christmas cactus, it is advisable to do so during the spring months and every two years. To make the corresponding cutting, it is important to use a larger and wider pot so that the cactus can grow without great problems.

Regarding what soil the Christmas cactus needs , we can say that the most suitable is one that drains very well, since it needs water but it is not good for it to flood, because having fleshy leaves it rots easily if it retains too much water. Therefore, opt for a substrate for cacti and succulents .

As we said before, the Christmas cactus needs good drainage in order to grow perfectly. In addition, it needs a lot of organic matter to achieve a really spectacular flowering during the winter months. When it comes to getting ideal fertilizer for this plant, you can go to a specialized store that allows the cactus to develop and grow perfectly. Another option is to make homemade organic compost , in this other post we will tell you how to make homemade organic compost for plants .

Here are other tips for caring for Christmas cactus, Christmas cactus, or Santa Teresa feathers successfully:

• When applying nutrients to the soil , avoid overdoing them as they can cause the expected flowering to be delayed.
• Another tip to take into account is to avoid drafts , since they are quite harmful to the plant and can have a negative impact on its development.
• Regarding the issue of pests and diseases , the cactus can be occasionally damaged by aphids and mealybugs, which you can eliminate with a mixture made of soap and water.
• One of the great points in favor of the Christmas cactus is that it does not require very demanding care, so anyone who does not have notions of gardening can enjoy this typical plant at Christmas time.
• Remember that despite its name, it is a type of plant that you can have in perfect condition during all months of the year.

If you take into account all these easy and simple cares, you can have a winter or Christmas cactus in perfect condition and enjoy some really wonderful and unique flowers that will give life to your whole house. Thus, in case you are thinking of acquiring a plant for these winter months, the Christmas cactus is an excellent choice.

Now that you have learned about the care of the Christmas cactus, we encourage you to watch this video on this topic and, also, to deepen your knowledge about this beautiful plant and learn about Why my Christmas cactus has wrinkled leaves and what I do with this other article, because this is one of the most common Christmas cactus problems .

If you want to read more articles similar to How to care for a Christmas cactus , we recommend that you enter our category of Growing and caring for plants .