I bought a Christmas cactus with lots of buds. A day or two later, it began losing three to four buds per day. By Christmas, everything will be gone at this pace! What should I do?
A: It appears like your new Christmas cactus is responding to an alteration in its surroundings. Overwatering, significant temperature changes, or a lack of light can all cause buds to fall off plants. Your plant received extra care to blossom around Christmas and was given the ideal growing environment at this time. It met less than optimal circumstances somewhere during travel, possibly within your house. The plant’s response to the challenging conditions is the bud drop that follows.
You can aid its recovery by giving it the necessities. A tropical plant known as the Christmas cactus needs a soil mixture that is highly organic, plenty of moisture, bright light, and normal indoor temperatures.
Take your Christmas cactus outside in the summer the following year, and fertilize it every month with diluted houseplant food. At the end of September, bring it back inside and keep it completely dark for 16 hours every day so the plant can develop blossom buds. The simplest way to do this is to leave it in a well-lit area for eight hours, cover it with a box, or store it in a closet for sixteen hours. It requires complete darkness; even a little period of daylight will prevent buds from forming. Keep the temperature between 60 and 70 degrees F throughout this forcing period, and avoid fertilizing the plant. Your Christmas cactus can be placed in regular light in early December and will bloom in a few weeks.
How can I avoid the buds on my Christmas cactus from falling off?
I sometimes think like everything is working against me and my plants. They can become unwell, fail to bloom, or fail to bear fruit for a variety of reasons. Christmas cactus bud drop can have a variety of causes, including improper cultural care, poor lighting, the plant’s erratic behavior, and environmental factors. These plants require more water than real cacti, and they need at least 14 hours of darkness each day for the buds to form. Incorrect hydration, drafty circumstances, hot or cold temperatures, and an abundance of buds are additional problems that could cause a Christmas cactus to drop its bloom buds.
The most frequent issue with Christmas cacti, aside from root rot, is bud drop. Being sensitive plants that were raised in tightly regulated conditions, it is frequently brought on by a change in the environment. Bud drop can be caused by just moving your plant to a different spot in the house, but fresh plants are going to experience a full host of shocks that could also cause buds to fall.
The plant will become confused by changes in temperature, humidity, lighting, and maintenance, and will cease producing all those gorgeous blossoms. Try to mimic greenhouse maintenance as nearly as you can.
- Water the soil evenly, but avoid letting it become wet.
- In the late summer, stop fertilizing.
- Maintain a range of 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (15-26 C.). Christmas cactus buds may fall off in temperatures over 90 F (32 C).
Brazil’s densely forested tropical jungles are home to Christmas cacti. These epiphytic plants grow in the warm, shady womb that the dense tree canopy and other vegetation create. To force bud formation, they need a time without much light. Give the Christmas cactus 14 hours of darkness from September through the end of November, but bright light the rest of the year to guarantee that there are no buds falling off and that production is dense.
The plant naturally experiences these “long nights” in its home country. The plant should be kept in bright light for the final 10 hours of the day, but keep it away from direct sunlight coming from southern windows. The fake lighting routine can be stopped once the buds have settled and started to open.
How can I make my Christmas cactus produce more buds?
For at least six to eight weeks, or until buds start to form, the Christmas cactus plants should continue to be treated with dark, chilly conditions. It often takes up to 12 weeks (or less) for flowers to appear after buds have grown. At this point, the plant should also be moved.
The Christmas cactus should be moved to a bright, draft-free place. However, keep it out of direct sunlight to prevent the plant from looking drooping. Additionally, drafty regions might cause the buds to fall off before they have bloomed. More indirect, brilliant sunlight will result in more blossoming on the plant. As plants in pots, Christmas cacti also bloom more effectively.
While the amount of watering may be increased during blooming, this will depend on the light, temperature, and humidity levels that the plant is now experiencing.
The plant will not only blossom if you push a Christmas cactus to bloom by providing it with the necessary care, the perfect location, and the ideal light and temperature conditions, but it can also pleasantly surprise you by continuing to produce blooms throughout the year.
It would be easier for you to appreciate the gorgeous blossoms on this well-known plant if you know how to make a Christmas cactus bloom.
When my Christmas cactus blooms, should I water it?
Maintain a comfortable temperature of 65 degrees. Watering: Mist your plant frequently when it is in bloom to keep the soil equally moist.
Why is my Christmas cactus losing pieces?
The Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera) is one of my favorite plants for a variety of reasons, including their beauty, the fact that they bloom over the holidays when most other plants aren’t at their best, and the fact that they continue to bloom for decades. Therefore, it makes sense that the sight of a Christmas Cactus shedding leaves would be alarming.
Overwatering or other situations that result in damp soil are the most frequent causes of Christmas cactus leaf drop. In addition to harming the rest of the plant, this results in root rot. Leaf drop can also be a result of ill-draining soil, temperature stress, excessive fertilization, poor lighting, or pests.
How often should my Christmas cactus be watered?
Christmas cacti are highly common indoor plants, and for good reason too! They produce vibrant, tubular flowers that are pink or purple in hue when they bloom. They are a superb plant because of their lovely blossoms, lengthy bloom period, and simple maintenance needs. Someone in your family most likely owns a Christmas cactus!
About Christmas Cacti
The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) and its cousins don’t exist in hot, arid conditions like deserts or plains, in contrast to other cacti. These epiphytic succulents, which grow on tree branches and take in the high humidity, dappled sunlight, and moderate temperatures, are actually endemic to the tropical rainforests of southern Brazil.
Bottom line: Don’t handle a Christmas cactus like a typical succulent or cactus. They are unable to withstand the same kind of hot, dry weather that other cactus can. These cacti require more frequent watering than most succulents, but you also need to be careful not to overwater them. (See the care guidelines in more detail below.)
Thanksgiving, Easter, or Christmas Cactus?
The Easter cactus (S. gaertneri), Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata), and Christmas cactus are the three main varieties of “holiday cacti” that are available (S. x buckleyi). The holiday that each cactus is named after often sees the most blooming. Thanksgiving cacti, which often bloom from November to February and hence go unrecognized as Christmas cacti, make up the majority of “Christmas cacti” sold nowadays. See our post on the several Christmas cacti species and how to distinguish them for more information.
Note: Because it’s the most widely used term and it applies to all three of these species, we’ll refer to all three of them on this page as “Christmas cactus” for simplicity’s sake.
Potting Christmas Cacti
- Choose a pot with a drainage hole on the bottom if you’re choosing one for a Christmas cactus. This prevents the soil from getting overly saturated.
- Most succulent-specific potting mixtures work well for Christmas cacti growth. It’s crucial that your potting soil drains properly.
Where to Put a Christmas Cactus
- Plants should be kept in indirect light that is bright. The best location has an east-facing window or a well-lit bathroom. The delicate leaves might be bleached by too much direct sunshine.
- It is preferable to have a daytime temperature of 70F (21C) and an evening temperature of 60–65F (15–18C).
- Christmas cacti do well in a more humid climate, so keeping them in a well-lit bathroom or kitchen is a smart idea.
- Christmas cacti can be kept in a shady area of the garden or on an unheated porch during the summer until the temperature drops below 50F. (10C). Keep them away from the sun’s rays outside.
How to Care for Christmas Cacti
- Water your plants every two to three weeks, but only when the top third of the soil feels dry to the touch. If the plant is in 6 inches of soil, for instance, water when the top 2 inches of soil feel dry. (Check with your finger!)
- When the soil is completely dry, wet it until water seeps through the drainage holes in the pot. To collect the water, put a tray underneath the pot. To prevent the pot from sitting in water, remove any extra water on the tray after 10 to 15 minutes.
- While the plant is in bloom, it’s very crucial to water thoroughly.
- Feed your indoor plants with a balanced houseplant fertilizer every two weeks from spring through early fall. Feed the cactus once a month in the fall and winter to promote fruitful blooming.
- To promote branching and more flowers, prune plants in the late spring. Simply cut a portion of each stem off; the plant will grow new branches from the incision.
- If desired, plant the cut pieces in potting soil that is only gently damp; they will easily root after a few weeks and make wonderful Christmas gifts!
How to Get Your Christmas Cactus to Bloom
The longer evenings and chilly weather of fall are what cause Christmas cacti and its relatives to bloom. The three major varieties of holiday cacti typically bloom on the following schedule:
- Thanksgiving cactus typically produce flowers from late October through mid-winter, making them the earliest and longest bloomers.
- Christmas cacti often bloom in the early to midwinter months.
- Easter cacti flower around the middle of spring through late winter.
If your cactus isn’t flowering, it can be getting too much light or being exposed to too much heat. Here are some suggestions to help you get blooms from yours!
- For a minimum of six weeks, the nights must be at least 14 hours long and the days between 8 and 10 hours. You might need to cover your cactus or relocate it to an area that is exposed to the natural light cycle if you have powerful interior lighting that is on at night.
- When the plant is kept at temps between 50 and 60F, flower buds form best (10 and 15C).
- By subjecting the plant to temps around 45F (7C) for a number of nights in a succession, you can jumpstart the budding process.
- While the plant is in bloom, be sure to water it consistently. The plant may lose its buds if it dries out too much.
- Don’t worry if the cactus loses its buds one winter; the following year it should bloom.
The three primary varieties of “holiday cacti” are as follows:
- Often mistaken for Christmas cacti, Thanksgiving cacti (Schlumbergera truncata) bloom from late October to mid-winter.
- Christmas cacti (S. x buckleyi) flower in the early to midwinter months.
- Late winter to mid-spring is the blooming period for Easter cacti (S. gaertneri).
- Make sure to water your Christmas cactus frequently and keep it cool when the buds on the plant appear ready to open.
- The optimum time to propagate cuttings is late spring when most holiday cacti start to grow after their winter hibernation.
Blossom loss: Your Christmas cactus will probably lose its blossoms if it experiences any kind of stress. As mentioned in the plant care section above, this could be caused by the amount of light or a sudden shift in temperature. Make sure your soil doesn’t become overly dry while buds are developing.
The plant could be vulnerable to mealy bugs and root rot if overwatered. If you experience issues, remove the affected sections and repot the plant in fresh soil.
How can an overwatered Christmas cactus be identified?
Any cactus that has been left to sit in a saucer of water is probably less healthy. The Christmas cactus plant will manifest clear signs of suffering if it is overwatered. To avoid moisture gnats and preserve the roots from decaying, you should always dump the extra water from the saucer if it hasn’t dried in a day.
One of the first signs of overwatering on a Christmas cactus are limp leaves that begin to fall off, just in case you forgot to do this. The stems and branches will thereafter become mushy and spongy. In severe situations, the stem can entirely rot off and the symptoms will include a bad smell.
Prevention is easy to do. To avoid overwatering Christmas cactus, use a soil moisture meter.
How do I get my cactus to bloom?
Cacti and succulents prefer summer and winter seasons, as well as a clear variation between night and day temperatures. Succulents prefer colder outdoor nighttime temperatures of 50-550F (10-130C) or at least 60-650F indoor nighttime temperatures (15-180C). Succulents prefer a noticeable contrast between their night and day temperatures to imitate their natural habitat, with the low night temperatures playing a crucial role in the plant’s growth cycle, especially when kept in a controlled setting.
If you want to see your succulents and cacti bloom, overwintering is also crucial. For desert cacti in particular, this can be accomplished by keeping plants cool and largely dry over the winter. During the winter, keep them at a comfortable temperature of between 35 and 440 °F (1.5-70C). If maintained indoors during the winter, try to keep them in an unheated room or keep the temperature low to provide them the necessary cold winter season. This does not apply to holiday cacti, such as Rhipsalis, Schlembergera, and Hatiora, which have different moisture and temperature needs than desert cacti (see below for Holiday cactus blooming tips).
Make sure the plants are kept in a bright area and receive enough sunshine throughout the year, including during the darker winter months. Most succulents and cacti require at least 4-6 hours of bright sunshine every day, if not more. Some plants require filtered but bright light to avoid solar damage since they cannot withstand harsh, full sun. Lack of light causes plants to gradually etiolate, become paler, and spread out in search of more light. To provide adequate lighting, place indoor plants in windows with a south or east orientation. If more light is required indoors, think about using grow lights. Lack of sunshine stunts the growth of succulent plants, and they are unlikely to blossom as effectively.
Giving your plants the nutrition they require instead of fertilizing them will assist maintain healthy growth and promote blooms. Flowers require a lot of energy to grow, therefore giving plants more nutrients during flowering season will assist meet their nutritional requirements. The best time to fertilize is during the active growing season, which is in the spring and summer. Fertilizers work best when applied every two weeks at a quarter- or half-strength. Avoid fertilizing during the winter and towards the conclusion of the fall growing season. It is acceptable and typical to use a balanced fertilizer blend that has been diluted to half strength. Cacti and succulent-specific fertilizer mixtures are also appropriate.
Although cacti and succulents can store water, they still require frequent watering during the active growing season. Regular watering helps to guarantee that they don’t lose all the water they need to store for growth. Regular watering also improves their ability to resist the hotter summer sun. Water plants thoroughly during the active growing season until water begins to leak out of the pot’s openings. Don’t water again until the soil has dried out. Before watering, check the top inch of the soil for moisture. During the hot summer months, watering should be done more frequently; during the chilly winter months, less frequently. Succulents and cacti suffer from overwatering, so make sure to let the soil dry out in between waterings.
Succulents and cacti require a well-draining soil in addition to suitable watering methods. Cacti and succulents don’t like to sit in water. If left moist for too long, their roots are prone to rot. The capacity of a succulent potting mix to drain efficiently is its most crucial requirement. You have the option of using store-bought potting soil or making your own for succulents. Giving them the proper medium increases their chances of flourishing and blossoming. Keeping your plants content will boost blooming.