How to care for Christmas cactus after the Start of Autumn? A full breakdown of care essentials
The hot summer is finally over, and the cool autumn has quietly arrived. After the Start of Autumn, many potted flowering plants wake up from their dormant state during the summer heat and gradually return to normal growth; those that should sprout begin to sprout, and those that should form buds begin to form buds too.
The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) is a plant with very beautiful flowers, and many gardening friends like to grow it as a potted flowering plant. Moreover, after its summer dormancy, once the Start of Autumn arrives, it also begins to resume rapid growth. After a autumn of growth and bud development, it will bloom in winter. And autumn care and management is very important, so what then?
After the Start of Autumn is exactly the important stage when the Christmas cactus resumes rapid growth and develops flower buds. On the one hand, we need to prepare enough nutrients for it to bloom, and at the same time we also need to take good cold-protection and warmth measures for autumn and winter. After all, if you want the Christmas cactus to bloom in a full burst, it needs to consume a large amount of nutrients, and it is also not cold-tolerant, so in order to avoid frost damage, cold-protection and warmth measures in autumn and winter are also very important.
After the Start of Autumn, we can put some peanut shells into the Christmas cactus's pot. This can not only speed up its growth, but also play a role in keeping the roots warm. But before using peanut shells, be sure to let them decompose in advance. You can put the collected peanut shells into a bottle, then pour in some rice-washing water, seal it, and let it ferment for half a month.
After the peanut shells and rice-washing water fully ferment and decompose in the bottle, they can break down a large amount of nutrients. We can crush the peanut shells and mix them evenly with the potting soil. In this way, the potting soil will also become more fertile and loose, and its air permeability will be very strong. Moreover, peanut shells can also play a very good role in keeping warm and preventing freezing. For many flowering plants that are not cold-tolerant in winter, this is a good method that both keeps them warm and supplements nutrients, while also making the potting soil loose and breathable.
In addition, we can also evenly spread peanut shells on the surface of the pot, only a thin layer is needed, and it can play a very good role in keeping the Christmas cactus's roots warm and protecting against the cold. But the Christmas cactus is best grown in a temperature environment of around 20 degrees, and especially to ensure it can bloom smoothly in winter, it is recommended to keep the ambient temperature above 15°c in winter as well.
As for watering, it also needs to be considered as appropriate. Generally, watering once a week is more suitable, and wait until the potting soil dries before watering. After the Start of Autumn, as long as everyone carries out care and management according to the above aspects, the Christmas cactus will not only maintain vigorous growth, but also will not suffer cold damage in winter and can easily bloom in a full burst.