What is the best fertilizer to use as a base fertilizer for Christmas cactus?

Christmas cactus is a flowering plant that quite likes fertilizer; after all, it stays evergreen year-round, and as long as the growing environment is suitable, it will keep growing, so it will keep consuming nutrients. But at the same time, it is also a succulent plant, so it has the characteristic of not tolerating fertilizer well.

For Christmas cactus grown as a potted plant, it generally needs repotting once every 1-2 years, and it is best to repot it regularly. This is mainly to solve the problems of insufficient nutrients in the pot and compacted potting soil that affect the penetration of water and fertilizer.

For flowering plants, there are many fertilizers that can be used as a base fertilizer, including both special fertilizers and homemade fertilizers. But different flowering plants do not have exactly the same requirements for base fertilizer. For an evergreen plant like Christmas cactus, since it likes fertilizer but does not tolerate it well, the fertilizer should be chosen in a targeted way, and the amount used also needs to be controlled well.

When potting up Christmas cactus, in addition to preparing loose and fertile potting soil for it, it is recommended to also apply enough base fertilizer in the pot, so that the nutrients in the pot are more sufficient. After the plant successfully passes the recovery period and establishes itself, it can absorb the nutrients needed for growth from the soil.

If applying a base fertilizer to Christmas cactus, organic fertilizer is generally best. Organic fertilizer not only has a mild effect, but its fertility is also long-lasting, and it can also improve the soil, making the potting soil looser and more breathable. But when applying organic fertilizer, it must be fully fermented and decomposed before use.

Using decomposed organic fertilizer as a base fertilizer is safer for a succulent plant like Christmas cactus. This is because decomposed organic fertilizer will not continue to ferment in the pot and release a large amount of heat, so it can prevent the plant's roots from being burned.

Of course, we can also apply bone meal or superphosphate, and we can also use a little complete-element compound fertilizer, mainly with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium elements, with other nutrient elements as a supplement. But when using this kind of fertilizer, the amount must be controlled well; generally, mixing in just over 10 granules into the soil is enough. Applying base fertilizer this way is often both effective and relatively safe.