Christmas Cacti

Q. When should I trim Christmas Cacti?

A. These plants do not need any trimming. If you cut off the growing points you risk interfering with the next flowering.

If you are seeking to shape up the plant a bit as when one branch sticks out farther than all the others the best time to prune off this excess is right after flowering. Wait until all the flowers are complete. Check the plant carefully looking for tiny tip buds usually with red tones. These would be more flowers. When the plant is finished you may trim off unruly branches. Any later and you will be trimming off the new growth which starts popping out in the early spring.

You may take these extra branches and stick in the pot to fill in more or you may propagate them in separate pots to enlarge your collection.

By the way there are fairly new hybrids being released which feature very hot pink yellow and even orange flowers. Check you local nursery or mail order catalogs.

Q. My Christmas cactus was beautiful when I got it all full of blooms.. Now there are no more flowers and it looks droopy. What am I doing wrong?

A. Remember that Christmas cacti are a holiday plant which bloom during the short days of the year. They are called 'long night' plants same as the Poinsettia and Mums. After they finish blooming and the days lengthen they will not flower again until anywhere from Thanksgiving to Easter. There are various genera and species thus their blooming period varies.

Watering seems to be the source of most problems with the Christmas cactus. The plant is a tropical-type cactus but is not quite as drought tolerant as the name infers. However it is a succulent plant and can store a reasonable quantity of water in the leaves. Water thoroughly when the top half of the soil in the pot feels dry to the touch. Discard the excess water then do not water again until the top half becomes dry. The length of time between waterings varies with the air temperature amount of light rate of growth and relative humidity.

After the blossoms fade the plant remains green and new foliage appears. With a little extra care you can bring it back to full bloom the following year.

While the Christmas cactus can adapt to low light more abundant blooms are produced on plants that have been exposed to high light intensity. Inside keep your plants in a sunny location. Plants can be moved outdoors in summer but keep them in a shady or semi-shady location. Too much direct sunlight can burn the leaves. When it is time to bring the plants back inside in the fall slowly adjust the plants to life indoors by gradually increasing the number of hours they spend indoors each day.

Well-drained soil is a must for Christmas cactus. Use a commercially packaged potting mix for succulent plants or mix your own by combining two parts potting soil with one part clean salt-free sand or vermiculite with a bit of perlite added.

Pruning your Christmas cactus after blooming will encourage the plant to branch out. Remove a few sections of each stem by pinching them off with your fingers or cutting with a clean sharp knife. These stems can be rooted in moist vermiculite to propagate new plants.

Christmas cactus will bloom if given long uninterrupted dark periods. Begin the dark treatments in about mid-October to have plants in full bloom by the holidays. Keep the temperature 55 Fahrenheit at night.

Q. I have a small Christmas Cactus which has no blooms set and the Holiday is upon us! What did I do wrong? It is my first attempt.

A. Possibly nothing. The flowering houseplant Christmas cactus (Schlumbergia bridgesii) has two cousins the Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata) and the Easter cactus (S. gaertneri). Easy to care for holiday cacti differ only in their blooming cycle. They are natives of Brazil and were given names of the holidays near when they bloom. Through hybridizing many flower colors are now available.