Drop a single leaf in the soil and it takes root and grows into a whole pot of flowers - this plant is incredibly easy to grow

If you grow a plant, grow this one: drop a single leaf in the soil and it roots and grows into a whole pot of flowers - so easy to grow!

A flower friend left a message in our little flower group saying she had wanted to check whether her Christmas cactus had produced flower buds, but ended up knocking off a leaf with a snap. She didn't bother with it, and to her surprise it rooted on its own - it's just too easy to grow!

The flower friend is absolutely right - Christmas cactus really is very easy to grow, and the survival rate from cuttings is almost 100%.

But a single leaf alone is too few and doesn't look good as a potted plant, so you can cut the topmost leaf of a complete Christmas cactus, which is full of vigor and roots easily.

Place the cut stem on a paper plate or paper towel and let it sit until the cut wound dries and heals. The resting time ranges from 1 day to 2 weeks, depending on the size of the cut surface. Once the Christmas cactus has dried, apply rooting powder to the cut area, mainly to speed up rooting.

Prepare the soil. For growing Christmas cactus, we can simply mix pine needle soil and river sand at 1:1, which helps retain moisture and promotes rooting.

Insert the prepared stem into the soil, about 2-3 cm deep. Water appropriately so the soil around the stem settles and holds the plant firm.

Then place it in a cool, ventilated spot and water a little about every 4 days to keep the soil moist. It takes roughly 8 to 9 days before we can see the Christmas cactus's thick roots.

After rooting, it can be potted up,

When potting up, lay 1-2 cm of broken tile pieces at the bottom of the pot as a drainage layer, then sprinkle a 1-2 cm layer of decomposed organic fertilizer, and cover with another layer of soil. After the soil is in place, put the plant into the pot, taking care to keep the roots separate from the fertilizer so they don't get burned. Water immediately after potting and keep the plant in a cool spot for a week.

To grow Christmas cactus well, let's take a look at how to care for it!

1. Pot material requirements: you can use clay pots, plastic pots, porcelain pots or ceramic pots, but clay pots are best. To coordinate with home decor, you can grow it in plastic pots in a range of colors.

2. Christmas cactus is a short-day plant. With 8-10 hours of light per day, it can bloom in 2-3 months. At home you can adjust the flowering period by controlling the length of light exposure.

3. Christmas cactus likes moist soil but hates soggy conditions. In spring, after the leaf buds emerge, gradually increase watering until the soil stays moist, and water with an alternating wet-dry pattern. Spring and autumn are the peak growing seasons for Christmas cactus; besides watering, you should also regularly spray water around the plant to raise air humidity.

4. Since household tap water is purified, using it long-term to water flowers can have a bad effect on their growth. Therefore, it's recommended to buy a small amount of ferrous sulfate and mix it at roughly water:ferrous sulfate = 300:3, then water the plants once it is fully dissolved. Do this once every 6 months.