Orchid cactus care

Christmas is coming and one of the most popular christmas plants, the Epiphyllum or better known as orchid cactus or Pluma de Santa Teresa, begins to bloom in a spectacular way. Originally from Mexico and Argentina, it is a cactus that lives by clinging to trees, as if it were a climbing plant. There are very few cacti that behave like this; fact that makes the orchid cactus even more extraordinary and interesting.

The flowers are brightly colored, cheerful, very appropriate to give life to the winter that is approaching, right?

The care of this beautiful cactus are the following:

• We must place it in a location where it has direct sun preferably, although it can also live in semi-shade as long as there is plenty of light.
• If we get it after the summer, we will not transplant it until spring arrives, in order to ensure that the plant blooms properly.
• Like all cacti, it requires a substrate that facilitates water drainage. We will put a specific one for cacti, or we will make the following mixture: 60% vermiculite or river sand and 40% black peat. The percentages will vary depending on the climate in which we live and, above all, on the rainfall. The more rainy it is, the more vermiculite we will add, and the drier the more black peat.
• We will always water letting the substrate dry between irrigation and irrigation.
• During the entire growth period, that is, from spring to autumn, we can pay with an organic or slow-release compost. We can also use a liquid fertilizer following the manufacturer's recommendations.

The Epiphyllum can be easily reproduced by means of cuttings in summer. We will cut the leaves that measure at least 20cm in length and we will plant them in a pot with the previously mentioned substrate mixture. In a few weeks they will have rooted and we will have obtained new specimens.

This plant is available to everyoneWell, it is inexpensive and very easy to care for, don't you think?