Christmas cactuses are here at the garden center! This holiday staple blooms for several weeks in winter.
More like a succulent than a cactus that we normally think of, Christmas cactuses love bright, indirect light indoors and love humidity. They thrive in bathrooms or kitchens where there is typically more humidity. When selecting a pot for your Christmas cactus, choose one that has drainage holes. Plan to water once every two or three weeks. Christmas cactuses do not like consistently wet roots, so (similar to succulents) water deeply and then allow the soil to dry out. If the soil is dry approximately two inches down, it's time to water. Also, plant your new houseplant in succulent soil. This light-weight soil will give your Christmas cactus the soil it needs and it drains water well.
Sometimes, getting your Christmas cactus to bloom can be a little tricky. From spring to early fall, your Christmas cactus should be fertilized once every two weeks with a balanced houseplant fertilizer. Starting in mid-fall thru winter, fertilize the cactus monthly to encourage blooming. Be sure to continue to water well or your buds may drop. The Christmas cactus is also encouraged to bloom once we have longer and cooler evenings. If your Christmas cactus isn't blooming, it may be receiving too much light at this time of the year or be in too warm of an environment. To give it a big kickstart (besides what's shared above), many homeowners keep theirs in a dark closet or dark garage/ basement for several days to encourage it to start budding. Nights need to be at least 14 hours long, so if you're keeping your Christmas cactus in a room that has a lamp on until late in the evening, it may cause your cactus not to bloom that year. In any case, if yours doesn't bloom one year, following these tips the next year should encourage it to bloom again!
Christmas cactuses are available now! We're offering red, pink, and white varieties.