Add something to the potting soil of your Christmas cactus, and it will bloom with multiple layers of flowers year after year

The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) is an epiphytic succulent plant in the cactus family. It gets its name because the shape of its joined stem segments resembles a crab's claws, and because it blooms around Christmas it is also called the Christmas cactus. The Christmas cactus likes fertilizer, but since its root system is rather weak, it easily suffers from root burn if you are not careful, so it needs to be cared for prudently.

1. Pine needles

We can add some pine needles to the pot to solve this problem. We can go under a pine tree and dig up some pine needles, preferably those that are yellowish-brown, fairly dry and easy to crumble. Pine needles like these can provide the Christmas cactus with more nutrients, and since they are already fully decomposed, they will not harm the plant.

Do not use pine needles straight after digging them up; they need to be sun-dried to disinfect them, which also kills woodlice and insect eggs in the pine needles. At this point we can mix the pine needles into the potting soil and use it directly. Mixing in pine needles not only makes the potting soil looser and more breathable, it also helps the roots absorb nutrients, and because pine needle soil is rich in nutrients the flowers will grow more vigorously and bloom more.

2. Sand

Adding a little sand to the potting soil can increase its breathability, saving money and being convenient. Note that when using it you should use coarse sand, a soil with good drainage and breathability, which can effectively prevent root rot from occurring.

3. Chicken manure fertilizer

Mixing leaf mold, chicken manure fertilizer and coarse sand into a nutrient soil to grow Christmas cactus works very well. Leaf mold is high in organic matter and drains well, but its soil content is low, so over time it is easily used up. Adding chicken manure fertilizer can effectively improve this situation, and mixing the two is a very good choice.