Dealing with a Christmas Cactus
So now all of our Christmas Cacti have finished flowering, What next?
Well... If, like mine yours have finished flowering then now is the time to do several things.
First up, pruning and propagating.
Yes, this is something that you should consider thinking about at the same time.
If you feel that your plant is a little on the leggy side or you would simply like to see it a little bushier then what you can do to encourage it is to prune it a little.
Before you get to hacking the poor thing, remember that you shouldn't prune it back any more than one third of its total size. Any more than that and you risk damaging the plant and we don't want that!
Above is a little vid on removing leaves.
We will deal with those leaves we pruned later on.
Cleaning
Once you have the plant trimmed as you like, you are all but done. I would suggest that you give the leaves a gentle wipe down.
One of the bigger problems plants face is having their leaves clogged with dust and dirt.
You don't need anything special for this. Just use some clean water at room temperature and a clean cloth. Now get your cloth damp and gently wipe the leaves. It's as simple as that!
Propagating those leaves.
Ok... Now we have those leaves... What are we going to do with them?
In the end I only collected 5 leaves, although one of those is a chain of 3 leaves.
Each of them has some root structure that they will need to survive.
To pot them up you will need some kind of cacti or succulent compost. I use Levingtons Cacti and succulent mix, but any good, light sandy mix should do in a pinch.
You want to plant your leaves about a third of the way down the leaf. Make sure that the roots don't get damaged. Firm down the soil and gently water them in with a little water.
After that simply put them in to a bright area away from direct sunlight. for a couple of weeks. A north facing window ledge is perfect for this.
One thing to note...
Your new plants will likely look a little weaker and water starved. This is normal, do not worry! The plantlet is building new roots and if you get tempted to give it extra water you are likely to OVER water and kill it!
As a cacti it is used to being without water. The plant is a lot hardier than you think. Relax, it will be fine.
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Those of you that were paying attention to the above vid will notice that the soil was... Well.... Less than epic. B-)
In the next blog post I'll be changing the soil and repotting the plant.
#Plants #propagation #pruning #cacti #cactus #Schlumbergera #ChristmasCactus