12. Caring for the Christmas Flowering Cacti

In my greenhouse I have my tasks that I have to do, such as sweeping, planting, transplanting, pruning and watering but my favorite is planting seeds, bulbs and cuttings to expand the variety of plants that I am growing. With the Christmas season I have received a few Poinsettias, from my friends of course, but I am going out to find a few Christmas Cactuses that I can grow over the next year to learn to make them bloom.

I guess you could say this will be my little project as I start my vegetables for the next spring growing season. My plants are completely at my mercy because I control the environment in the greenhouse, the water, the light and the heat but I feel confident that I can grow just about anything.

Poinsettias will need a lot of work; I haven’t tried to tackle this type of flower too much yet as I don’t feel comfortable with the light and the dark and the time line yet. . Growing a Christmas cactus is a little easier. You can find Christmas cacti in pink, white or in red colors. The soil for growing this cactus is two parts peat, one part sand and one part soil for a loose yet moist mixture for the cactus.

A Christmas cactus can take the mixture of sun and shade; it will wither if left in the full sun. When you are trying to get your Christmas cacti to bloom you will want to keep the temperature between fifty and sixty degrees. Starting in November, regulating the temperature will force the bloom to come out.

You will need to regulate the amount of water that a Christmas cactus gets, by feeling the soil and watering, as the soil gets dry. This cactus does like water. You should be feeding the cactus potassium from February up until August not fertilizing during the months when the plant is blooming to make the flowers last longer.

I have been reading many stories and articles about Christmas cacti and often they will say that this flowering plant will outlive many owners when they get the little bit of attention that they need.

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