A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Christmas cactus

Carol
Was wondering if your Christmas cactus is in bud? Mine are all over the place.
Hope yours happens.

dodge

No mine is not. It hasn't even grown since last year but it did bloom last year. I need to move it to the window where I put it last fall. Thanks for the remember dodge.

Very strange.

Mine blooms 2 times a year.

Even my Orchid cactus did.. I purchased a spring cactus, but it isn't in bloom right now.

Barb :
Nope mine are not in Bloom OR in Bud. They are green & healthy though..

Glad everyone else is having some luck.

You know, Dodge I am confused too.
The only thing I can come up with is possibly cactus need to be root bound in order to bloom. ??
Mine all have plenty of room yet in their pots. I do not put them out in summer as I lost 3 that I tried that with. BUT they are not "really" in bright or direct light either.

??

Let them dry out between watering?/
I really don't know

me either. I could try the dry out thing.

Do you ever fertilize yours ?

NOPE.NEVER FERTILIZE MINE.

I PLANT THEM IN MY GARDEN SOIL . nOT BOUGHT.. if THAT MAKES A difference

Yes I bet it does make a difference (the garden soil) My soil at the farm was wonderful...This stuff I have here does not even support trees very well. It used to be a field. I have no idea how the farmer ever got any decent crops from it.

I DID just have a thought. I bet it is the temperature change. The one year I put mine in the basement for a few months, I did get 2 blooms from one of them. I do not want to do that again b/c there are just 2 small windows in the basement, and so not enough light..

Mine have lots of buds.
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/christmas_cactus.html

Cool, Bill.

I don't fertilize mine either. It's healthy looking but I was hoping it would fill out a little. I had moved it to a room where it didn't get a lot of light. I've moved it back downstairs now. I hardly ever water it.

Thanks so much Bill, I will read that in depth very soon.

Yippee

Yay!

YAY !!! How did you DO that ?? I am SOOOO envious !!! Please do take pictures when it is in full bloom & share them, OK ???

I knew you could do it..

Ok Barb, I promise to be patient.
I will just keep them watered & such...
Thanks for the encouragement.

Carol

Allow the to get completely dry .. don't water often like other plants.. They do prefer dry to wet.

Ok I will do that. But I did notice that when I do that they tend to wilt. Does perhaps the soil need to be changed ?
About how often do you water your cactus ? I promise I will only use this as a guide. I know that there are a lot of variables to be considered.

I've never noticed that mine wilts. I water it when I think about it, no set schedule.

Thanks ladies. So, I guess that means no misting either ??
(I do not do that on a regular basis, I promise)

I never mist mine.

alrighty then, no more misting of the cacti. Thanks

No misting here..
Hey I love your graphics Carol..
You a real trip .

Thank you, Barb.. I enjoy putting them up, so I am glad that you like looking at them.

I will definitely stop misting them. thanks

My cactus got strangled by the vacuum cord and most of the blooms came off.

OH MY !! That is so sad...One more reason to hardly EVER use one of those things....

right on time for Christmas.

That is simply beautiful, Sheri. and yes it came right on time !!!

Very pretty!

I have two Christmas cacti that I want to consolidate into 1 pot. Is this the time to do it?

here ya go Sheri:

Repot in spring, after the plant finishes flowering, to give it time to re-establish a healthy root system over the summer.

Splitting the plant for propagation is better done in late spring or early summer.

Christmas cactus isn't usually divided at the roots, instead stems are removed and potted up to grow into new plants.

(I found a few extra things so I just put them here for you)

When you transplant them, do not use a pot that is more than 2 inches larger then the last pot, as they really like to be slightly root-bound--but then you are going to put 2 plants together, so just don't use a huge pot...

When to Repot Christmas cactus

Most plants are best repotted when they display new growth in spring, but Christmas cactus repotting should be done after blooming ends and the flowers have wilted in late winter or early spring. Never attempt to repot the plant while it is actively blooming.

Don"t rush to repot Christmas cactus because this hardy succulent is happiest when its roots are slightly crowded. Frequent repotting can damage the plant.


I agree with this . dodge.