How To Prune Christmas Cactus

It has tiny buds on it again this is the first week of march and it has been blooming since november.

How to prune christmas cactus. I must have read 20 sites on how to prune. If you are pruning a christmas cactus to reduce its size you can remove up to one third of the plant per year. To grow another plant from your cutting take y shaped cuttings from the mother plant 2 x research source make sure the cuttings are around 3 4 segments. They re attractive long lasting succulent houseplants.

This winter i decided to prune it. When to prune christmas cactus. When potting on choose only a slightly larger container as they like to be snug in a small pot. Use a standard cactus compost or a loam based compost such as john innes no 2 with added leafmould or peat substitute and grit to help improve the drainage.

Step 1 take 1 2 segments from the plant if you want it to grow more fully. From the outer edges work your way inward cutting just enough to either remove all dead or diseased portions or get the look you are wanting. So as not to lose blooms the best time to prune your christmas cactus is right after it is done blooming. Prune just enough to achieve your goal.

I ve always liked the big bushy plants and while it has been growing it s not quite how i want it. They all said to prune after it blooms to promote growth. This varies by plant. Here s what you need to know about repotting christmas cactus including when how to do it along with the best soil mix to use.

For a big job like cutting back a columnar specimen use a saw and remove the main trunk at the point at which you would like to see branching or at the height you require the plant. Try to remove the stem at a growth point. Christmas cactus thanksgiving holiday are long lasting attractive succulents. Methodically cut a pad setting it to the side safely and continue.

For this type of cactus you want to make cuts at the joints near the base of the pads. Pads or leaves may just snap off or you can use pruners to remove them. If this seems a bit harsh on your plant you can also use a sharp knife or scissors to remove the segments. In fact you can remove up to of your christmas cactus if you want to reduce its size 1 x research sourcestep 2 take longer cuttings if you want to propagate.

Christmas cactus although lovely when blooming are not only for the holidays. All you need to do to prune a christmas cactus is give the stems a quick twist between one of the segments. If you are pruning your plant to allow further growth you don t need to take much off the ends. Pruning a christmas cactus since then it s grown well but in sort of a spindly fashion.

Christmas cactus need at least 12 to 14 hours of total darkness after mid september in order to bloom for the holidays.