What fertilizer to apply to newly rooted Christmas cactus seedlings

Christmas cactus is an evergreen succulent plant, and it belongs to the multi-succulent type of flowering plants. It is usually propagated by cutting stems and leaves from the mother plant for cuttings to produce small potted seedlings, and the survival rate is very high. Usually, after the leaf cuttings successfully take root and sprout, you can choose the right time to transplant and divide them into pots.

Transplanting Christmas cactus cuttings is relatively simple; generally, you can just transplant them with the soil into pots. Then place the pot in a cool, ventilated place to let the plant recover. After about a week, the plant will settle in and survive.

In general, newly transplanted and rooted Christmas cactus seedlings do not need topdressing. This is because when potting them, we usually apply enough base fertilizer in the pot. The base fertilizer is generally mainly decomposed organic fertilizer, and you can also apply some decomposed bone meal and similar materials.

Therefore, the soil used for potting Christmas cactus seedlings is already quite rich in nutrients, so newly rooted Christmas cactus seedlings do not need topdressing in the short term. Moreover, the root system of the seedlings themselves is underdeveloped, and applying fertilizer too early can easily damage their roots.

If it is truly necessary to fertilize newly rooted small Christmas cactus, it is usually done when sufficient base fertilizer was not applied in the pot and nutrients are relatively low. It is also done when the plant grows slowly and weakly after rooting, or even when leaves turn yellowish due to a lack of elements.

Also, Christmas cactus is not tolerant of fertilizer, so even when topdressing, the concentration and amount must be strictly controlled, and especially the application of organic fertilizer that has not been fermented and decomposed must be prohibited. Usually, we can appropriately apply a little dilute complete-element compound fertilizer.

But for safety, it is generally still recommended to apply decomposed dilute organic fertilizer liquid, such as cake fertilizer water, soybean water, and so on. The frequency of topdressing must also be strictly controlled; generally, applying a dilute liquid fertilizer once every 2-3 weeks is enough.