If you are passionate about succulents and you want to decorate your home with one of the most popular, do it with a Christmas cactus. This plant is not only very easy to grow, but also produces beautiful flowers especially during winter, which is why it is so in demand during the Christmas holidays.
But What to do so that it is really well cared for? Well, if you want to know everything about it, next I am going to tell you some curiosities about the Christmas cactus so you can learn to keep it.
The Christmas Cactus, whose scientific name is Schlumbergera truncata, is an epiphytic cactus, that is, that grows on the branches of trees, native to the jungles of Brazil. Its leaves are completely flat, of a dark green color that turns to a deep purple tone if the sun hits them a little..
Due to the conditions of its natural habitat, and unlike cacti that live in the desert, they do not have to keep a rest period in winter. In fact, it is precisely this season when it is most active. For this reason, their care is slightly different from that required by their relatives who live further north.
So, if we talk about its location, we have to place it outside in semi-shade, or indoors in a very bright room. If we live in an area where frosts occur, even if they are very weak, it is much better that we have it at home, where by the way it can be all year long 🙂.
Irrigation has to be somewhat more frequent than a »normal cactus» would receive: during the summer, we will water it two or three times a week, and the rest of the year every 4-5 days. In the event that we have a plate underneath, we will remove the excess water ten minutes after watering.
During the spring it will be convenient to change it pot, using a substrate that has very good sewer systemas peat black mixed with perlite in equal parts for example. As it has a rather slow growth rate, we must transplant it every 2-3 years.
What we do have to do during all seasons is fertilize it with liquid fertilizers for cacti, following the indications specified on the package. In this way, you will be able to produce a greater number of flowers.
If we want to have new identical copies of our plant, what we have to do is cut stem segments, let them dry for 24 hours and nail them upright in a pot with substrate that drains well in mid-spring or summer.
Thus, we can enjoy our Christmas Cactus year after year 🙂.