How to care for Christmas cactus after the Start of Autumn? Master these care points
The hot summer is finally over, and the cool autumn has quietly arrived. After the Start of Autumn, many potted flowers and plants wake up from their dormant state during the high-temperature summer period and gradually return to normal growth. Those that should sprout begin to sprout, and those that should form buds begin to form buds.
Christmas cactus is a plant with very beautiful flowers, and many gardening friends like to grow it as a potted flowering plant. Moreover, after summer dormancy, once the Start of Autumn arrives, it also begins to resume rapid growth. After a autumn of growth and bud development, it will bloom in winter. And autumn care and management is very important, so what then?
After the Start of Autumn is exactly the important stage when Christmas cactus resumes rapid growth and forms flower buds. On the one hand, we need to prepare enough nutrients for it to bloom, and at the same time we also need to do a good job of cold protection and warmth keeping in autumn and winter. After all, to make Christmas cactus bloom abundantly requires consuming a large amount of nutrients, and it is also not cold-tolerant, so in order to avoid frost damage, cold protection and warmth keeping measures in autumn and winter are also very important.
After the Start of Autumn, we can put some peanut shells into the flower pot of the Christmas cactus. This can not only accelerate its growth, but also play a role in keeping the roots warm. But before using peanut shells, they must be decomposed in advance. You can put the collected peanut shells into a bottle, then add some rice washing water, seal it, and let it ferment for half a month.
After the peanut shells and rice washing water fully ferment and decompose in the bottle, they can break down a large amount of nutrients. We can crush the peanut shells and mix them evenly with the potting soil. In this way, the potting soil will also become more fertile, loose, and highly breathable. Moreover, peanut shells can also play a very good role in keeping warm and preventing freezing. For many non-cold-tolerant flowers and plants in winter, this is a good method that both keeps them warm and supplements nutrients, while also making the potting soil loose and breathable.
In addition, we can also evenly spread peanut shells on the surface of the pot. Only a thin layer is needed, and it can provide good warmth and cold protection for the roots of the Christmas cactus. But Christmas cactus is most suitable for growing in a temperature environment of around 20 degrees Celsius, especially to ensure it can bloom smoothly in winter, it is recommended to keep the ambient temperature above 15°c in winter as well.
Watering also needs to be considered as appropriate. Generally, watering once a week is more suitable, and water again after the potting soil becomes dry. After the Start of Autumn, as long as everyone carries out care and management according to the above aspects, Christmas cactus can not only maintain vigorous growth, but also avoid frost damage in winter and easily achieve abundant blooming.