Crab Claw Orchid / Christmas Cactus: How to Grow It and What to Watch Out for When Watering During the Budding Stage

The Crab Claw Orchid gets its name because the joints of its stem segments connect in a shape resembling a crab's secondary claw; hence the name: Crab Claw Orchid. In Western Christian countries it is also called the “Christmas Cactus” because it blooms right around “Christmas”. So how do you grow a Crab Claw Orchid? How do you care for and water it during the budding stage?

How to Grow the Crab Claw Orchid

1. Choosing a pot: For the Crab Claw Orchid you can use a clay pot, plastic pot, porcelain pot or ceramic pot, but a clay pot is best. To coordinate with your home decor, you can grow it in a plastic pot in a varied color. It is best to choose a pot about 2/3 the diameter of the plant's crown.

2. Soil mix: The Crab Claw Orchid likes fertile, loose soil. At home you can use 3 parts garden soil, 4 parts leaf mold and 3 parts sand, or 4 parts peat soil, 2 parts leaf mold, 2 parts sand and 2 parts perlite (or volcanic rock). After mixing the soil, it is best to sterilize it at high temperature before use; you can also sun it to disinfect it.

3. Watering properly: The Crab Claw Orchid is an epiphytic cactus. In its natural environment it often grows on trees or in moist valleys, so the growing environment should be semi-shaded and humid, but the potting soil must not be too wet. Follow the principle of “water thoroughly when dry.” In hot seasons, water once every 2 to 3 days, and avoid watering at noon. In winter, when temperatures are lower, water once a week, and avoid watering in the evening.

4. Fertilizing at the right time: The Crab Claw Orchid likes fertilizer. When fertilizer is sufficient, it has more branches and more flowers. Start topdressing after the leaf buds emerge. During the growing season, apply once every 15 to 20 days a mix of well-rotted liquid fertilizer diluted 10 times with an equal amount of 1000-times monopotassium phosphate solution, or 1000-times “Huaduoduo” general-purpose fertilizer. In late autumn, reduce the frequency of fertilizing, and stop fertilizing when the temperature falls below 10°C. Do not fertilize when summer temperatures are high or winter temperatures are low.

5. Light control: The Crab Claw Orchid fears hot, high temperatures, and dislikes exposure to intense sun and rain, so in summer it should be placed in a ventilated indoor spot or on a shaded balcony. After the Start of Autumn, the Crab Claw Orchid gradually regains its vigor and should be placed where it gets 50% light, such as under a shade shed or by a sunny window, to receive light and promote flower bud differentiation. As the weather turns cooler, gradually increase the light, and from late autumn to winter give it plenty of light.

6. Flowering regulation: The Crab Claw Orchid is a short-day plant, so you can control its flowering period by regulating the length of light exposure. To force it to bloom, begin short-day treatment 60 to 70 days before the desired flowering time, giving 8 hours of natural light per day and shading it the rest of the time. The shading must be continuous and must not be interrupted; flower buds generally appear after about 20 days.

Precautions for Growing the Crab Claw Orchid

1. After the weather turns cool in autumn, place the Crab Claw Orchid in a sunny spot indoors. If it does not get enough sunlight in autumn and winter, the flower buds that form will drop, and it will bloom less or not at all.

2. When the Crab Claw Orchid plant grows large, it easily becomes top-heavy and needs a trellis and ties; you can use wire and similar materials to build a support. After the flowers fade, cut off the spent flowers together with the flowering stem segments at the ends, and be careful to control watering. Once new buds grow, you can water to keep the potting soil moist.

3. For a grafted Crab Claw Orchid seedling, the potting soil can be 3 parts leaf mold, 4 parts garden soil and 3 parts river sand, plus a small amount of organic fertilizer or bone meal as a base fertilizer. Generally, repot once every 1 to 2 years. Repotting is best done in spring after the flowers have faded.

4. After the flowers fade in early spring, the Crab Claw Orchid has a dormant period of about 40 days. At this time, control watering, but be sure to loosen the soil and keep the potting soil on the dry side. When new buds begin to sprout at the tips, start watering again, just enough to keep the potting soil moist, but never let water accumulate in the pot, as this can cause root rot.

5. When the Crab Claw Orchid enters the hot summer season, it will be dormant or semi-dormant. Water it less, keep the potting soil half-moist, and protect it from rain.

4. After the Start of Autumn, as the weather turns cooler, the Crab Claw Orchid gradually regains its vigor and resumes normal watering to keep the potting soil moist. During the bud stage, mist it frequently to keep the modified stems and flower buds moist; water just enough to keep the soil moist. After flowering, control watering to extend the flowering period.

When does the Crab Claw Orchid bloom?

The Crab Claw Orchid is divided into early-blooming, mid-blooming and late-blooming types according to how early or late it flowers. The flowering period runs from September to April of the following year. The flowers are borne singly at the tips of the branches and are rose red. The flowering period also varies depending on the region, but because of how it is grown, some Crab Claw Orchids are regulated to bloom in October. In countries such as Japan, Germany and the United States, the Crab Claw Orchid is already produced on a large scale and has become one of the main indoor potted flowers in winter.

How do you regulate the flowering period of the Crab Claw Orchid?

To make the Crab Claw Orchid bloom earlier, it must receive 8 to 10 hours of sunlight per day, be kept in complete darkness the rest of the time, and be given appropriate water control. After taking these measures, it will generally bloom in 60 to 70 days. If you want it to bloom for National Day, you can start in mid-to-late July using an opaque black cloth cover or black plastic cover to shade the Crab Claw Orchid, giving it only 8 hours of light per day and covering it with the black cloth the rest of the time. In this way it will bloom by late September. During the shading treatment, water once a day to keep the potting soil slightly moist, and pay attention to ventilation. To extend the flowering period of the Crab Claw Orchid, place it in an environment of around 15°C after it blooms. If you want to delay flowering, you can keep the potted plant at a low temperature of 5 to 8°C, or extend the light to more than 14 hours per day.

Caring for the Crab Claw Orchid During Flowering

1. Secrets of the flowering period

During the Crab Claw Orchid's flowering period, keep the temperature at around 20 degrees and control watering appropriately. Of course, it needs about 3 hours of scattered light each day; if the temperature drops, the buds are likely to drop.

In October, when it is forming flower buds, you can place the Crab Claw Orchid in a cool room at around 10 to 12 degrees, which is more favorable for bud formation. (Once there are buds in November, return it to 20 degrees.)

2. Keep it in a dark place at night

In autumn, give the Crab Claw Orchid 3 to 5 hours of scattered light during the day. At night, a 12-hour dark environment is best, so do not keep the lights on all night where it is grown.

Keep this up for 6 to 8 weeks and you will see flower buds. Do not be too surprised; this is just a little trick. At this point, reduce watering, and only water after the soil has dried out completely. Do not water until it runs through either, to avoid dropping leaves and buds from too much water.

3. After buds form, increase light and humidity

When your plant has spent 6 to 8 weeks in “dark nights” and has flower buds, you should appropriately increase humidity, light and temperature. To increase humidity, put pebbles and water in a tray and set the Crab Claw Orchid on top.

If you do not want the buds to form too early, you can also lower the temperature to stop flowering; raising the temperature will let it form buds. Lowering the temperature means dropping to 12 degrees, while raising it naturally means a suitable 20 degrees.

Post-Bloom Care and Propagation

1. Prune one month after the flowers fade

You can prune one month after the flowers fade. The Crab Claw Orchid sometimes grows very messily, and only by pruning can it grow more attractively and produce more flowers.

Some people wait 3 months after flowering to prune, which is also fine. One month after flowering, hold back on watering slightly; once pruning brings new shoots, you can resume watering.

2. Propagate from cut stems

Cut stems can be used to propagate new plants; each segment about 7 cm long is enough. Of course, the cut stems should be robust. After cutting, let them dry for 1 day in a ventilated, shaded place, then insert them into slightly moist sandy soil, and water once the soil has dried out.

3. Repot once every 2 to 3 years

Unless the Crab Claw Orchid's roots have rotted or it is diseased, repot it once every 2 to 3 years, which can be combined with pruning, generally after the weather warms up in spring.

At this time it needs fresh soil, and the pot can be cleaned and disinfected before use. The best time to repot is from March to May; temperatures differ from place to place, so repotting times vary a little earlier or later (around 15 degrees). Do it once every 3 years, and do not use too large a pot, as it easily accumulates water and causes root rot.

Special Precautions

Sudden changes in temperature, light and watering during the flowering period easily cause buds and leaves to drop, so do not move the Crab Claw Orchid around casually.

Many gardening enthusiasts report that their Crab Claw Orchid sometimes only grows leaves without blooming, and sometimes develops root rot. Indeed, this happens with many Crab Claw Orchids people grow. The cause of these problems is watering.

If you want the Crab Claw Orchid to grow vigorously, you need to master these key periods for watering it.