What to do when a Christmas cactus drops its flower buds? Do this and it will bloom all over the pot
Right now is the perfect season for Christmas cacti to bloom. Many growers' Christmas cacti have already been unable to wait and have bloomed, producing lots of vivid flowers, but some growers' Christmas cacti have already grown flower buds yet not only have they not bloomed, but the newly grown buds keep dropping like rain. What is going on?
There are many reasons that cause bud drop. Improper watering, insufficient nutrients, and an unsuitable environment can all cause a Christmas cactus to drop its flower buds. If we want to solve the problem of bud drop, we can start from these aspects.
Environment: The Christmas cactus is not very cold-tolerant. In winter, when the temperature is below 10 degrees or changes too much, bud drop easily occurs. It is best to grow it in an environment around 15 degrees. The Christmas cactus is a short-day plant, so it is best to get more than 4 hours and less than 12 hours of sunlight every day. At night, you can cover it with a black plastic bag to block light. Another short-day plant in the same category as the Christmas cactus is the kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana), which also blooms in winter. In a 15-degree environment it will produce more flowers. If the temperature is too high or too low, flowering time will be delayed. Pay extra attention during care, keep it in a relatively stable environment, and do not move it back and forth.
Supplementing nutrients: Many times a Christmas cactus produces quite a lot of flowers, and at this time it needs a lot of nutrients. Insufficient nutrients will cause flower buds to drop. There are two ways to solve this. One is to keep one bud per branch tip and cut off the other buds, so that the nutrients consumed will not be too much. The other is to supplement nutrients. In this situation, supplementing some liquid fertilizer works relatively well. Liquid fertilizer can be poured directly into the soil, and the roots will absorb it as quickly as possible to provide nutrients to the buds. Besides some flowering plants needing nutrients, many green plants grown indoors in winter also greatly need nutrients. For example, the money tree (Pachira aquatica) needs relatively more nutrients. When it lacks nutrients, its leaves easily turn yellow, so nutrients must also be supplemented in time.
Watering is a big issue. In winter, these flowering plants need a relatively large amount of water, but you cannot water them frequently either. In winter, indoor ventilation is poor, so water evaporates more slowly. The watering interval can be appropriately extended, and you can also spray water around them, which both supplements water and increases humidity, killing two birds with one stone. Flower bud drop is a very serious problem that greatly affects the overall ornamental value of the Christmas cactus. During care, pay more attention to these points and solve them as soon as possible, so that the Christmas cactus will bloom all over the pot.