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Growing Christmas Cactus Plants: Watering, Light, Propagation, and More!
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My cactus looks pretty healthy but it has lots of little "hairs", maybe roots, coming out of some of the leaves... like between sections. I hope I'm explaining myself... Should I just cut those leaves off and put them in water to sprout new plants?
My Christmas cactus is suddenly dropping the tip leaves off each branch. I fertilized it about two weeks ago. Give it some water every week. Any suggestions?
My Christmas cactus leaves are shriveling why?
Shriveled Christmas cactus leaves commonly means overwatering. If the soil is wet, you might consider this as a possible cause. Overwatering causes the roots to rot, so that the plant can not take in enough water. To prevent, avoid excessive watering and make sure that your pot has drainage holes. Do not let the plant sit in water, such as a saucer filled with the water overflow. If you suspect that your plant has been overwatered, allow the soil to dry out before resuming normal watering.
Underwatering, of which dry soil is an indication, can also bring on these symptoms. Be sure to follow the watering guidelines in the article above to make sure that the plant is getting the proper amount of water.
Sometimes if one waters too lightly, the surface of the soil will harden, making it hard for water to penetrate. To remedy, soak the pot in a pan of water for about 30 or so minutes, then drain, to loosen up that layer. Then resume normal watering. If things still don’t improve, repotting with fresh soil might be necessary.
Salt accumulation in the soil, from fertilizer or hard or soft water, can also cause shriveling leaves due to root damage. Check for salt crusts on the surface and edges of the soil surface. To remedy, water the plant thoroughly so that it drains through the drainage holes. Let it sit for about an hour and then repeat. This will help to flush out the salts.
Sometimes a plant that is rootbound might also result in wilting leaves. In this case, repot into a slightly larger pot.
Hope this helps!
Hi, the leaves on my Christmas Cactus are turning red, do you know why this is and can it be rectified?
Thank you x
Hi Mary,
There are a few reasons why your Christmas cactus leaves have turned red. Excessive light, typically when it receives too much direct sunlight, can turn the leaves of a Christmas cactus a reddish color. It does best when placed in a location that receives bright, indirect light.
Other reasons for red leaves are a lack of water, magnesium deficiency, or your plant is too root bound. Christmas cactus like to be root bound, but should be repotted every 3 or 4 years. A sign that it needs to be repotted is if roots grow out of the drainage holes at the bottom of your container.
I have had Christmas Cacti for the better part of 33 years (one of the plants was thought to have “died” and was given to me when I said I’d like to take it - I was able to “coax” it back to life and have had it ever since, so who knows how old it actually is?) Regardless, I have always seemed to have had luck with these plants, watering about once every 3 weeks as well as rotating the pots a quarter of a turn. Just recently, a friend saw me do this and she said they should NEVER be rotated. I wonder now, what is the “proper” way? Even though I’ve managed to keep my plants alive for quite some time, have I been doing it all wrong?
Thank you for this great article. I may finally have some success with the new plant that I recently purchased. My plant already has a few blooms that have given all the beauty they can and I think they need to be removed. When and how is the best way to do this? Subject: Dead-heading Christmas Cactus blooms?
Deadheading all the spent blooms by pinching off the flowers. This also encourages the plant to continue blooming.
I gave my neighbor a clipping off my Christmas cactus and it us blooming beautiful with little white spikes coming from each flower mine never has so wondering what is causing it as it is beautiful