- Repot the Christmas cactus annually
- This is how it is repotted
- Repot the Christmas cactus immediately after purchase?
- The right pot and suitable substrate
- Do not fertilize after repotting!
With good care, the Christmas cactus can be quite fast-growing. In order for the roots to have enough space, you have to repot it occasionally. Experienced gardeners even repot it every year and thus dispense with fertilization altogether.
The Christmas cactus can be repotted every year
Repot the Christmas cactus annually
At the latest when the old pot for the Christmas cactus has become too small, you should repot it into a larger planter. You can tell by the fact that the first roots are sticking out of the drainage hole.
Experts even recommend repotting Christmas cacti every year and giving them fresh substrate. A larger pot is of course not necessary every year, as the root ball remains comparatively small.
The right time to repot a Christmas cactus is right after flowering. Just before flowering and during flowering, you should never subject it to the stress of repotting.
This is how it is repotted
- Pot the Christmas cactus
- carefully rinse off old substrate
- fill a larger pot with fresh soil
- Insert Christmas cactus
- Moisten the root ball well once
Repot the Christmas cactus immediately after purchase?
The substrate of freshly bought Christmas cacti is often too moist, too compacted or too rich in nutrients. You can tell if the soil is too wet because the leaves of the Christmas cactus are hanging limp.
In this case, it makes sense to immediately repot it in fresh, suitable substrate. However, this is only possible if no flower buds have formed yet.
If you can already see the beginnings of blossoms, do not water the Christmas cactus at all at first and only sparingly later so that the root ball can dry off.
The right pot and suitable substrate
The pot must have an adequate drainage hole so that irrigation water or rainwater can drain away. Drainage in the bottom of the pot is good to avoid waterlogging.
Cactus soil or garden soil that has been loosened up with sand and gravel is suitable as a substrate.
Do not fertilize after repotting!
After repotting, you must not fertilize a Christmas cactus for a year. Otherwise, you will over-fertilize the cactus, causing it to die at worst.
tips
The Christmas cactus not only cuts a fine figure in the flower pot. It also looks very decorative in hanging baskets thanks to its hanging leaves.