The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) is a tropical plant with gorgeous pink blossoms that graces the home throughout the holiday season (hence the name). The Christmas cactus, unlike the desert cactus, do not have spikes; instead, it produces gorgeous blooms in a variety of pinks and reds. This article is about how to revive a Christmas cactus, which is a common question.
At some time, we’ve all neglected to water our houseplants, succulents, and cacti, or vice versa; you may have overwatered! That doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to your favorite plant, though. We’ve compiled a list of our top suggestions for reviving a Christmas cactus.
How come my Christmas cactus isn’t blooming?
The Christmas cactus, like any other cactus, excels in storing water in its leaves, indicating that it is a succulent. The Christmas cactus, unlike typical cactus, isn’t completely drought resistant and requires extra watering, care, and attention – especially while forcing bloom. We often forget about our lovely plant when the holiday season is done, and it takes a backseat.
How To Resurrect a Dormant Christmas Cactus
If your Christmas cactus has been ignored on your windowsill for the whole year, you’re probably asking if it’s even feasible to resuscitate it, and if so, how can you revive a Christmas cactus. In a nutshell, yes, you can bring your plant back to life! It only needs a little additional Christmas cactus attention.
The first step is to recognize the most prevalent Christmas cactus issues. Are the leaves starting to wilt? Do you have any bugs? Is it decaying at the base? Are the leaves on your Christmas cactus dropping off?
It will be easier to address the problem after you have recognized it. If you’re not sure what’s wrong with your Christmas cactus and suspect it’s due to neglect, there are a few simple steps you can do to help it recover.
Water
The first and most important step in reviving a Christmas cactus is to water it! There’s water, water, and more water! Your houseplant will be thirsty if it has been ignored for a long period. To catch the water that goes through the pot, place your Christmas cactus in a bowl. Pour the water back into your planter once you’ve gathered it to ensure it’s been adequately hydrated.
The first step in recovering your Christmas cactus is to water it. You should water the plant anytime the top inch of soil is dry, on average. The Christmas cactus, unlike the desert cactus, cannot withstand totally dry soil. So, if you’ve ignored your houseplant, it’s probably in desperate need of water. After fully watering the plant, you may proceed to the following stage in the process of reviving a Christmas Cactus.
Examine Your Cactus
After you’ve hydrated your Christmas cactus, it’s time to check it. Examine each of the plant’s individual leaves. If it’s crunchy, toss it out. If it’s soft, don’t touch it. You should also take a close look at the dirt.
Remove the first inch of soil if it has hardened and become crunchy on top. If it’s softer beneath, that’s a good sign, and all you have to do now is replace the top layer of the earth with fresh soil. You’ll need to repot it if it’s still hard and crunchy.
Inspecting your cacti properly is an important part of learning how to revive a Christmas cactus and restore it to a healthy and attractive state in time for the holidays.
Top tip: we also have an article on why you should put coffee grounds on a Christmas cactus!
Select a suitable soil
When it comes to reviving a Christmas cactus, this is one of the most crucial things to do. It will be tough to bring your cactus plant back to life if you do not use suitable well-draining soil.
A mix of organic and inorganic materials will work best for a Christmas cactus’ soil. It will be quick-draining and quick-drying. Christmas cactus quickly absorb the moisture they require in their stems, which is why you’ll need light, airy soil that drains well.
When purchasing Christmas cactus soil, the pH level and the presence of perlite are the two most important factors to consider.
Repot
This step is only essential if you’ve examined your soil and discovered that it’s hard and crunchy all around. You’ll usually only need to repot once every few years when the roots start to grow out of the bottom. However, if you’ve neglected your Christmas cactus and need to thoroughly refresh the soil, you’ll need to repot it, albeit not necessarily to a larger container. It will be fine to use the same pot.
Carefully remove your Christmas cactus from the soil with a little spoon, leaving a fair quantity of earth around the roots, and set aside. Remove the existing dirt from your container and replace it with fresh potting soil. After that, you may return the Christmas cactus to its original location in the planter. And that’s it; you’ve successfully repotted your Christmas cactus with new soil. You’re well on your way to bringing your Christmas cactus back to life.
If you’re going to buy new soil, make sure it’s well-draining, or you’ll attract Christmas cactus pests.
Keep it near a window
You’ve almost completed all of the necessary stages for reviving a Christmas cactus. The next step, after you’ve refilled the soil, is to position your plant near a window for some much-needed sunlight. Indirect sunlight is preferable to direct sunlight since direct sunlight can burn the leaves, which we don’t want to happen. Your Christmas cactus leaves will turn purple if you expose them to too much direct sunlight.
Too much sunshine may hinder the growth of your freshly resurrected plant, so avoid placing it in a south-facing window. You should also avoid providing artificial light to your plant, and the easiest way to do it is to avoid placing it in a room where you will be in the evening.
The month will also influence how much sunlight your Christmas cactus receives. If it’s late September, you should start preparing the cactus for blooming, which requires at least 12 hours of darkness every day.
Pay close attention
Finally, pay attention! This is the most important advice for reviving a Christmas cactus. Check your plant for fresh signs of growth or withering on a daily basis. You shouldn’t discover any more crunchy leaves after following these procedures, but if you do, remove them.
Check to see whether you’re overwatering or underwatering your plant. Water your Christmas cactus when the top inch of soil is dry, as a general rule. It’s difficult to say how often this happens because it depends on where you live and the weather, but it’s generally once a week. Overwatering can lead to root rot, so make sure you examine the soil before watering.
Conclusion
That’s all we’ve got from us at Succulent Care Guide. We hope you’ve learned some useful ideas and tricks for reviving a Christmas cactus! Following these instructions will guarantee that your Christmas cactus is healthy, happy, and bouncing in time for the holidays.