How do Christmas cactus and amaryllis bloom three or four times a year?

Many gardeners' Christmas cacti and clivias bloom only once a year, and some have never bloomed since they were bought. Yet the experts' plants can bloom 3-4 times a year. How exactly are they grown? Come learn with Huahua!

Grow Christmas cactus this way and it can bloom 2 or 3 times a year!

Most gardeners believe that Christmas cactus only blooms in winter and spring. In fact, as long as you master the techniques for forcing blooms, Christmas cactus can bloom 2-3 times a year.

1. Create a short-day environment

Christmas cactus is a short-day plant. To make it bloom, you need to artificially create a short-day environment. Let it receive 8 hours of indirect light each day, while ensuring it stays in complete darkness for 14 hours daily.

2. Do not move it frequently

Christmas cactus is a phototropic plant. During bud development, do not move it around casually, otherwise the buds can easily drop and flowering will be affected.

3. Supplement fertilizer in time

It is now autumn, and Christmas cactus has basically passed its dormant period, so you can apply some compound fertilizer to the soil. By late autumn, start applying phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, such as Huaduoduo No. 2, as a root drench to promote bud formation.

Grow clivia this way and blooming 3 times in a row is no problem!

If you want clivia to bloom, first make sure it has reached 4 years of flowering age, or has already grown 11 leaves. If these conditions are met but it still does not bloom, then you can start with the following aspects.

1. Do not repot frequently

Unless necessary, do not repot frequently, and the pot for growing clivia should not be too large. A smaller pot forces the roots and promotes flowering. Before bud development, do not move the pot frequently either, as this easily causes bud drop.

2. Supplement fertilizer in time

If clivia is to bloom multiple times, fertilizer amounts must be increased. During the growing period, apply decomposed cake fertilizer water once every half month, and switch to a high-phosphorus, high-potassium fertilizer about 20 days before the flowering period.

3. Increase the temperature difference and use low temperatures to promote flowering

Clivia basically enters dormancy above 25°C, and flowering is impossible. To promote bud development in clivia, you need to artificially create a low-temperature environment while increasing the temperature difference. You can place it on a south-facing balcony during the day and in a cool north-facing balcony or outside the corridor at night.

4. Cut off the flower stem after flowering

After the flowers fade, cut off the flower stem in time. When cutting, the closer to the ground the better, to prevent clivia from forming seed pods and setting seeds.

Grow amaryllis this way and it will bloom nonstop all year round!

Most gardeners' amaryllis usually blooms at most twice a year, but as long as you learn Huahua's method, blooming three times a year is no problem!

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1. Cold refrigeration

After the flowers fade in June, dig out the bulb, cut off the spent flower stem and leaves, dry it in the sun for half a day, then put it in the refrigerator to chill.

2. Plant after chilling

After half a month of chilling, take it out and plant it, apply compound fertilizer once, then apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer once every 10 days. Generally, it can bloom again in about two months.

3. Water control treatment

If you want amaryllis to bloom again in winter and spring, start controlling water in early October, with a water control period of about 15 days.

4. Low-temperature environment

After water control, place the amaryllis in a low-temperature environment, such as a corridor or basement. Move it back indoors in December, and the flower scape will basically emerge by mid-month and it will bloom by the end of the month.

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