The Christmas cactus is not very demanding in terms of nutrients. As a child of the rainforest, it gets along well with nutrient-poor substrates. If you want to fertilize it, you should be careful and not overdo it. How to fertilize Christmas cacti.

The Christmas cactus does not necessarily have to be fertilized

When should you fertilize a Christmas cactus?

Christmas cacti are at home in humid rainforests. There they thrive with few nutrients. This fact should be considered when fertilizing Christmas cacti. Less is often more here.

Typically, you don't need to fertilize a Christmas cactus at all, as you should repot it annually.

If you still want to fertilize, make sure that you avoid over-fertilizing. It is fertilized throughout the year. You only have to do without fertilizing completely during the short rest period after flowering.

  • Fertilize every fourteen days at most
  • Reduce amount of fertilizer
  • do not fertilize after repotting
  • Rest after flowering

Do not fertilize after purchase or repotting

Immediately after buying or repotting a Christmas cactus, you should refrain from fertilizing completely. The substrate is so rich in nutrients that additional fertilizer would simply be too much. In the worst case, the Christmas cactus dies.

You only need to fertilize when the cactus has grown in the same substrate for a year. If you then have to repot it anyway, you can do without fertilizing altogether.

It can make sense to repot a Christmas cactus immediately after purchase. Often the soil is very compacted, very nutrient-rich or completely waterlogged. In this case you should pot the cactus, rinse off the old substrate and place it in fresh soil.

The right fertilizer for Christmas cacti

You can use regular cactus fertilizer to fertilize a Christmas cactus. A liquid fertilizer with a high potash content is also sufficient.

Reduce the quantities indicated on the package by a third to a half. This is how you avoid over-fertilizing the Christmas cactus.

tips

If the Christmas cactus loses its flowers, it is not due to a lack of nutrients. The reason for this is a too frequent change of location. The flowers always turn towards the light, so you should move the plant as little as possible.

Category:

Vegetable garden