Christmas Cactus not blooming well? Master these few tricks to easily get a pot bursting with blooms

Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera), with many branches and drooping tips, shaped like crab claws, with many flowers and many colors. There are purplish red, white, orange-yellow, bright red, pink, etc. The flower colors are gorgeous, and after the petals open they curl back, very spectacular and beautiful. If you can grow a Christmas Cactus into a pot bursting with blooms, it also gives you a small sense of achievement. However, many flower lovers do not grow Christmas Cactus well, probably because they have not yet fully mastered these care techniques.

For Christmas Cactus cultivation, the potting soil can use fine crushed stone and rich humus pond mud, or a general-purpose flower growing medium mixed with an equal amount of sandy soil, which is not prone to compaction and has good drainage. Because the branches are numerous and drooping, if you want it to grow into a large plant, you need to set up a support.

In midsummer, direct sunlight will scorch the plant, causing the stems and leaves to turn yellow and wilt, and even die, so in summer it must be shaded, and attention must be paid to ventilation. In spring and autumn, water once every 2-3 days with a watering can that pours evenly; in winter it should not be watered much, just keep it moist, generally watering once every 4-5 days; in summer water once every 2 days, and frequently spray water on the leaves.

During the vigorous growth period of Christmas Cactus, flower lovers must timely supplement nutrients. You can apply a fully decomposed liquid fertilizer once every 7-10 days or so, not too concentrated, diluted with water 500 times for watering; in spring mainly use nitrogen fertilizer, in autumn more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer should be applied, and in summer fertilizer should not be applied, as it easily causes rot. Fertilizing should be done when the potting soil is slightly dry.

Note that when caring for Christmas Cactus in winter, the suitable temperature is 10-15°C, and it needs to be placed indoors in a sunny spot. Christmas Cactus is a short-day plant. If you need it to bloom early, short-day treatment can be used. For example, if you want it to bloom on National Day, you can start shading it in early August, using black cloth to shade it from 4 p.m. every day until 8 a.m. the next day, or place it in a dark room, and by late September small flower buds will appear.