Christmas cactus: do not repot in September when the soil is compacted and the plant is budding; just loosen the soil and give it a soak

Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) is a plant many flower lovers especially adore: shrub-like, with drooping stems, and flowers borne singly at the tips of the branches, bright and beautiful. As September arrives, Christmas cactus begins to form buds one after another, but recently some flower lovers have reported that the potting soil is badly compacted, so the Christmas cactus cannot absorb nutrients, and they worry it will be unable to form buds and bloom, yet they fear repotting would come too late. Today Hua'er will introduce a method: soak it with "soil-loosening water", and the soil becomes airy and fertile, and the plant grows like crazy.

During the bud-forming stage of Christmas cactus, it is also not suitable to loosen the soil by hand, as this easily damages the plant's root system and is bad for growth. The "soil-loosening water" mentioned here is earthworm castings water. Earthworm castings are called the king of organic fertilizers, and they are granular, so they can penetrate into the soil, improve soil structure, reduce the degree of compaction, and can also be absorbed directly by the Christmas cactus.

Specific method: collect some earthworm castings, then put them under the sun and expose them for 3-5 days until they are completely dry. If you find this troublesome, you can order some online directly.

Prepare a container large enough to fit the entire pot of Christmas cactus inside. First put in the earthworm castings, then add clean water, keeping the ratio at about 1:20. Stir gently with a stick or something similar to let it dissolve completely.

After it has dissolved, put the whole flower pot of Christmas cactus in to soak, letting the earthworm castings water enter through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. Soak until the surface of the potting soil is moist, then take it out. Soak once a week; after 3-4 soaks, the compaction of the potting soil can be improved, and it can also provide sufficient nutrients, so that after the Christmas cactus absorbs them, it will keep forming buds and produce more flowers.

That is all for the care of Christmas cactus. If flower lovers have other additions, you can share them with everyone in the comments section below. If you want to learn more about flower growing, you can follow Huajianke!