Putting a Christmas cactus in an east-facing window that gets plenty of sunlight during the day and 12 hours of darkness at night can help the plant bloom again.
How do you force a Christmas cactus to bloom?
We’ve all had those moments when we want our garden to look its best, with all of the feature plants blooming and everything looking lovely and healthy.
Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do to ensure that your Christmas Cactus blooms when you want it to. To get those blossoms out in the open, you only need to provide the correct habitat for the Christmas Cactus.
Step 1 Reduce/Limit Watering
The first step is to cut back on the amount of water you give your Christmas Cactus.
Before watering the succulent, wait until the top inch of soil around it is dry, and then only give it enough water to get the soil slightly damp.
Step 2 Reduce Light Received
We all know that plants enjoy light, right? Well, not in this case. To encourage the Christmas Cactus to bloom, keep it in the dark for 12-14 hours a day (overnight), and when I say dark, I mean dark as little indirect light as possible is ideal.
This is the most critical step in the process since it promotes bud development.
Step 3 Reduce Environment Temperature
The next step is to keep the Christmas Cactus cool; the temperature should be about 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day.
As a result, ensure sure the area where your plant is kept is within this temperature range.
Why is my Christmas cactus not flowering?
Drought stress or too much light, as it is a short-day plant, are the causes of Christmas cactus not blooming. The Christmas cactus has evolved to thrive in humid, rainy environments. If it’s too dry or there are too many hours of sunshine during bloom creation, it won’t flower.
There are a number of other reasons that can hinder the Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) from blossoming, which I’ve included below:
Continue reading to learn why your Christmas cactus isn’t blossoming, as well as the best methods and strategies for getting it to bloom…
How do you rejuvenate a Christmas cactus?
Repot the Christmas cactus into fresh soil when it is extremely limp and the soil is moist. Remove the wilting Christmas cactus from its pot and gently scrape away as much soil as you can. Make your own repotting soil to avoid future Christmas cactus issues. Use two parts potting soil to one part sand or vermiculite in a top grade potting soil to ensure sharp drainage.
How do I stimulate my cactus to flower?
Succulents and cacti prefer a significant temperature change between night and day, as well as summer and winter months. Succulents prefer colder nighttime temperatures of 50-550F (10-130C) outside or at least 60-650F inside (15-180C). Succulents prefer a significant temperature differential between night and day temperatures, especially when kept in a controlled setting, to simulate their natural habitat, with the low night temperatures playing an important role in the plant’s growth cycle.
If you want to see your cacti and succulents bloom, you’ll need to overwinter them. Desert cactus, in particular, might benefit from keeping cold and dry during the winter months. During the winter, keep them cool by keeping the temperature between 35 and 440 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5-70C). If you must keep them indoors during the winter, keep them in a non-heated room or maintain the temperature low to provide them the chilly winter time they require. Holiday cacti like as Rhipsalis, Schlembergera, and Hatiora have different hydration and temperature requirements than desert cacti (see below for Holiday cactus blooming tips).
Ensure that the plants get enough sunlight all year and are kept in a bright position, even during the colder winter months. The majority of cacti and succulents require at least 4-6 hours of bright sunshine per day, if not more. Some plants cannot tolerate direct sunlight and require filtered but bright light to avoid sun damage. Plants that don’t get enough light eventually etiolate, become pale, and extend out in search of more light. Indoors, place plants in windows that face south or east to ensure ample lighting. Consider utilizing grow lights to offer enough light indoors if necessary. Succulent plants that don’t get enough sunshine don’t grow well and aren’t likely to flower as well.
While fertilization isn’t required, providing your plants with the nutrients they require will help them grow properly and bloom. Plants expend a lot of energy to develop flowers, thus supplementing their nutritional needs during flowering season will help. Fertilizing during the active growing season, or during the spring and summer months, is the most popular recommendation. Fertilizers should be administered every two weeks at a quarter or half strength. Fertilize less near the conclusion of the fall season and during the winter months. A balanced fertilizer blend diluted to half strength is appropriate and widely used. Fertilizer blends designed specifically for cactus and succulents can also be used.
Despite the fact that cacti and succulents can store water, they nevertheless need to be watered on a regular basis during the active growing season. Watering them on a regular basis ensures that they don’t run out of the water they need to grow. Watering them on a daily basis also enables them to better withstand the hotter summer months. Water plants thoroughly during the active growing season until water leaks out of the holes in the pot. Wait until the earth is completely dry before watering again. Before watering, feel the top inch of the soil for wetness. Watering frequency should be increased during the hot summer months and decreased during the cold winter months. Succulents and cactus suffer from overwatering, so make sure to let the soil dry out between waterings.
Succulents and cacti require a well-draining soil in addition to suitable watering practices. Succulents and cactus dislike being submerged in water. If their roots are left moist for too long, they will decay. The capacity to drain well is the most crucial feature of a succulent potting mix. You can use a commercial potting mix or make your own succulent potting mix. They have a better chance of surviving and blossoming if you give them the correct medium. Maintaining a nice environment for your plants will encourage them to flourish.
Are coffee grounds good for Christmas cactus?
Your Christmas cactus will appreciate a cup of coffee just as much as you! Coffee grounds are high in potassium and nitrogen, which the cactus requires to stay healthy. You should not use the grounds right away since damp grounds can mold, so spread them out to dry first.
When should you put a Christmas cactus in the dark?
Place the mature plant in a dark room or keep it covered (under a box or bag works good) for at least 12 hours a day in late September or early October.
Is Epsom salt good for Christmas cactus?
The winter solstice occurs on December 21, when the Northern Hemisphere experiences the shortest day and longest night of the year.
Christmas cacti, poinsettias, kalanchoes, and chrysanthemums are some of the most popular plants given as holiday gifts because their blossoming is ideally matched to the shorter days encountered this time of year.
The commencement of flower buds in many plants is influenced by the quantity of light they get. “Photoperiodism” refers to a plant’s response to day length. Some plants bloom as the days become shorter, while others bloom as the days get longer. Some plants are agnostic, meaning that the duration of the day has no effect on flowering.
Christmas cactus are popular houseplants from Brazil that come in a variety of colors such as red, rose, purple, lavender, peach, orange, cream, and white. In shaded rain forests, these species grow as epiphytes among tree branches, and their cascading stems make them ideal for hanging baskets. If the plants are managed at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, flowering can last seven to eight weeks.
During this time of year, clients frequently contact the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office, dismayed that their Christmas cacti or other short-day houseplants have failed to blossom. They are frequently startled to hear that if these plants are kept indoors all year, their natural cycle of daylight exposure can be disrupted by artificial light. As a result, the problem becomes simulating regular daylight exposure on shorter days.
Place these plants in a room with solely natural light exposure near a window, ensuring that artificial lighting is turned off at night. Another alternative is to let these plants outside as long as possible in the fall and then bring them inside right before the first frost. In the Atlanta area, this usually means keeping most tropical houseplants outside until the end of October. Short-day plants have been set to begin flowering during the upcoming holidays around this time.
Every year, my grandfather would keep a Christmas cactus in a hanging basket on his porch throughout the summer and bring it inside just before the first freeze. It was a large shrub with hundreds of flowers that bloomed from Thanksgiving until Christmas. I recall him keeping this plant alive for almost a decade, and it offered him a lot of Christmas delight over the years.
One of the best things about a Christmas cactus is that, unlike poinsettias and other houseplants, it does not shed leaves. Because Christmas cactus lack genuine leaves, photosynthesis takes place within the green stem segments known as phylloclades. Early in June, pinch back the stems to encourage branching terminals for more flowers, and use three to five segmented stem portions to root new plants.
Temperature adjustment and photoperiod (day and night) control are the keys to good flower bud generation on Christmas cacti in the fall. Flower bud set requires fourteen hours or more of continuous darkness each night to occur.
For complete bud set, begin long nights in the middle of September and continue for at least six weeks. Flower bud set can be inhibited by as little as two hours of interrupted lighting. In most cases, buds will appear in four weeks. Once the buds are set, the photoperiod has little effect on flowering.
During the spring and summer, Christmas cacti may survive dry, slightly underwatered circumstances. Allowing the soil to grow saturated is a bad idea, especially during the long winter evenings. To prevent flower buds from dropping off during bud set in the fall, the soil must be kept equally moist. Allow no water to collect in the saucer beneath the pot.
Fertilize plants monthly using a half-strength liquid fertilizer, such as 20-20-20 with trace elements, starting when new growth begins in late winter or early spring and continuing throughout the summer. Christmas cacti have a greater magnesium need than many other plants. Apply Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) combined at 1 teaspoon per gallon of water once a month throughout the growing season, but not on the same week as regular fertilizer. Fertilize less in the late summer to encourage more flower bud formation in the fall.
How often should you water a Christmas cactus?
- Water every two to three weeks, but only until the top one-third of the soil feels dry to the touch. Water when the top 2 inches of soil feel dry, for example, if the plant is in 6 inches of soil. (Check with your finger!)
- Soak the soil until water runs through the drainage holes in the pot when it is suitably dry. To catch the water, place a tray underneath the pot. Remove any extra water from the tray after 10-15 minutes so that the pot does not sit in water.
- Feed every two weeks with a balanced houseplant fertilizer from spring through early fall. Feed the cactus once a month in the fall and winter to encourage blooming.
- Late in the spring, prune plants to encourage branching and more flowers. Simply cut a few portions off each stem, and the plant will branch out from the wound.
- Place the cut pieces in a gently wet potting soil if desired; they will root easily after a few weeks and make great Christmas gifts!
How to Get Your Christmas Cactus to Bloom
The lower temperatures and longer evenings of autumn bring out the blooms of Christmas cacti and its relatives. This is the general blooming schedule for the three main species of Christmas cacti:
- Thanksgiving cactus are the earliest and most persistent bloomers, blooming from late October to mid-winter.
It’s possible that your cactus isn’t flowering because it’s getting too much sunshine or being exposed to too hot temperatures. Here are some pointers to help you get yours to bloom!
- For at least six weeks, nights must be at least 14 hours long and days must be between 8 and 10 hours. If you have powerful interior lighting that is turned on at night, you may need to cover your cactus or transfer it to a location where it can be exposed to natural light.
- Flower buds form best when the plant is kept between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (10 and 15 degrees Celsius).
- By exposing the plant to temperatures of around 45°F (7°C) for several nights in a row, you can jumpstart the budding process.
- Ensure that you water the plant on a regular basis when it is in bloom. If the plant dries out too much, the buds may fall off.
- Don’t worry if the cactus loses its buds throughout the winter; it will bloom the next year!
How do I know if my Christmas cactus is dying?
A wilted, limp, drooping Christmas cactus with root rot will show wilted, limp, sagging growth, but an examination of the roots will reveal the truth.
Remove the plant from its pot with care. The roots of a rot-affected cactus will be dark at the tips. The decaying Christmas cactus roots will be sticky with black or brown decomposition, depending on the severity of the disease.
If you see that your Christmas cactus is rotting, you must act quickly. Rot is a fatal disease, and the only way to save the plant once it has progressed is to discard it and start over. You can generate a new plant using a leaf from a healthy area of the plant.
How do you deadhead a Christmas cactus?
While the Christmas cactus is in bloom, deadheading can be done at any time during the growing season. Deadheading, according to Fiskars, can be quite simple if done on a regular basis. When the flowers begin to fade, pluck only a couple at a time to make deadheading less tiresome and time-consuming. It will not only encourage a second bloom, but it will also encourage a healthier plant because the energy that would have been utilized for seed formation will instead be directed toward new growth.