How do you control the flowering period of a Christmas cactus? Do these 2 things well and it will bloom evenly and abundantly
The Christmas cactus belongs to the cactus family, grows in a shrub-like form, with drooping stems that are bright green or tinged with purple. Its flowers are borne singly at the tips of the branches and are bilaterally symmetrical. Its flowering period is especially long. It can be grown on its own or grafted onto other plants, and either way it is very beautiful.
Many flower lovers carry out simple flowering-period control on the Christmas cactus. Today Hua'er will also introduce to everyone how to control the flowering period of the Christmas cactus. Do these 2 things well, and it can bloom evenly, with many flowers, and look extremely beautiful!
1. Light control
Light control for the Christmas cactus is very common, because it is a short-day plant. As long as the light is controlled at 8-10 hours per day and then it is given dark treatment, it will be able to continuously differentiate flower buds and promote the growth of flower buds.
When controlling light, the intensity of sunlight must also be taken into account, especially in summer. If the sunlight intensity is too strong, it will affect the plant, so the light intensity should be weakened. You can directly set up a shade net with a light transmittance of 50%, so that it can carry out photosynthesis better and speed up metabolism.
2. Increase activity
The Christmas cactus likes a semi-shady and cool environment. The most suitable growth temperature is 20°C-25°C. Above 25°C its activity continuously decreases, and when it exceeds 30°C it enters a semi-dormant state, which is not conducive to its absorption of nutrients and further affects flower bud differentiation and flower bud growth, so its activity must be artificially increased.
You can make your own "activator" using willow sap, because it contains large amounts of salicylic acid, willow acid, etc., which can stimulate the root system, increase activity, and promote rooting and sprouting of the Christmas cactus.
Specific method: collect a few current-year, robust and tender willow branches, crush them and put them in a container, add an appropriate amount of clean water and soak. After three hours, take the supernatant liquid for watering, once every 3 days, and water continuously for half a month.
Besides willow sap, you can also use aspirin or a special activator.
That is all for the flowering-period control and care of the Christmas cactus. If flower lovers have other additions, you can share them with everyone in the comment section below. If you want to learn more about flower growing, you can follow Huajianke!