Christmas cactus wilting? Do these 3 steps right away, and in 1 week it will grow "steel-plate leaves" and burst into bloom in winter
The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) is a very popular household flower. It usually blooms in winter and then keeps blooming until the summer of the following year. So the Christmas cactus is a year-end flower with a fairly long blooming period. Many families choose to grow Christmas cactus at home, letting it bloom freely during the Spring Festival to make the home more festive and lively.
After the Christmas cactus finishes blooming in summer, due to high temperatures and the consumption of plant nutrients, it enters a brief dormant period. The plant's metabolic capacity declines, and the root system temporarily stops absorbing nutrients. If it is not cared for properly during dormancy, the Christmas cactus leaves will wilt and dry up. Then by autumn, the Christmas cactus is still in a sickly state with wilted leaves. If your Christmas cactus at home shows this condition, you must deal with it promptly so the plant can enter a healthy growth state. So today's topic is:
Christmas cactus wilting? Do 3 steps right away, and in 1 week it will grow "steel-plate leaves" and burst into bloom in winter!
1. Check the root system
Because the Christmas cactus has a brief dormant period during the high temperatures of summer, you cannot water a dormant plant heavily. If you still water the Christmas cactus heavily in summer, it will cause the plant to rot or develop disease. If in autumn you observe that the Christmas cactus leaves are dry and wilted, first check the condition of the plant's root system. If rot appears, prune and repot it promptly, and start growing it again.
2. Increase ventilation and boost light
If the Christmas cactus has not rotted, prune off the old leaves and yellow leaves, then place the plant in a well-ventilated spot with scattered light for care. If conditions allow, you can place the Christmas cactus outdoors for care, shading it appropriately at noon and avoiding rain soaking. This can speed up photosynthesis in the Christmas cactus leaves.
3. Supplement fertilizer
When growing Christmas cactus in autumn, supplementing fertilizer is very important. After doing the above two steps, you need to fertilize and feed the Christmas cactus. First, for the condition of wilted and dry Christmas cactus leaves, you can spray a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate aqueous solution on the leaf surface, so the plant absorbs it as a foliar fertilizer. Spray once every three days, and two times is enough. Let the leaves return to a emerald green state.
Because at this time it is not yet the Christmas cactus's blooming period, it is exactly the period when the plant's leaves grow rapidly, so you need to supplement nitrogen fertilizer. You can choose inorganic fertilizers, such as urea and quick-acting compound fertilizer, and sprinkle the fertilizer into the Christmas cactus flower pot, but be sure to apply thin fertilizer frequently. You can also choose organic fertilizers, such as soybean fertilizer after soybeans have been fermented, and fertilizer made from the oil residue in a range hood after fermentation. Both are very good organic nitrogen fertilizers. After diluting the fermented fertilizer with water, pour it into the Christmas cactus flower pot, fertilizing once every two weeks. The Christmas cactus will grow emerald green, hard steel-plate leaves.
By late autumn, it is the period when the Christmas cactus flower buds develop, so you need to supplement phosphorus and potassium fertilizer again for the plant. Use a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate aqueous solution and spray it on the Christmas cactus leaves, which can effectively promote the development of flower buds. Do this once a week until you see flower buds emerging, then stop fertilizing.
Regarding these little tips for growing Christmas cactus, if you find them useful, please like, follow, and share them with more friends below.
I share little gardening tips every day, so remember to follow me.