query : Do Christmas cactus like to be potbound ? Someone told me not to repot it because it ’s healthy right now . – Forrest D
ANSWER : Christmas cactus growswell with crowd together roots , so your friend is n’t totally haywire . Christmas cactus can do ok when it has become potbound , but you should still repot your vacation cacti every four years , increasing the size of the pot by two inches each meter you repot .
Repotting a Christmas cactus can be a intriguing surgical procedure , as you may easily hurt the industrial plant judge to hit it from its tidy sum when it has become potbound . The easy way to get it out without hurting the plant is to break the muckle . Clay pots are cheap , so it ’s not a big loss , and it stool it much promiscuous to rehome your cactus without damage it .
Signs that your cactus has become source bound include note the stain in your planter uprise more and more hard , take care the roots maturate out of the drain kettle of fish / holes of your pots , or if the stem of your Christmas cactus start to turn yellow or brown ( the latter symptom is also sometimes a augury of overwatering , not overcrowding ) . If you find these signs , it ’s okay to keep your plant in its overcrowded great deal for a few more weeks , even months , as it really does enjoy being crowd . But finally , you will need to repot to give it some more way , and to bring in your cactus some newer , more fertile stain in the process .
Use a potting grime that is especially word for cactus and succulents to increase water drain speed . Put enough new soil in the new , larger replacement planter , so that the top of the root ball will ride approximately one inch deep from the top of the pot . softly brush off the root ball and remove a good amount of the sure-enough soil from the root and source ball . You may want to moisten or rinse the roots off with water to get the legal age of the oil color soil off of the ancestor and root bollock .
Next , put your cactus into its new mass and carefully sate in the sphere around the root glob with the invigorated new potting soil that was formulate for desert plants . Remove any yellowing or dry up staunch that you acknowledge while repotting . Once the new soil is steadfastly in office , water your Christmas Cactus deeply and select a shady area to place it in for a few day while it gets adjusted to its fresh home , new grease , and extra infinite .
Keep your cacti in a shady spot on the porch or terrace during the spring and summertime , where they can get heap of brisk air and indirect sunlight . Take a few cuttings every class in the nightfall if you care , and give them off as gifts once they ripen . In the fall , play them at bottom and keep them in a dry , darker location away from direct sun . If you’re able to ply a slightly humid indoor environment , your Christmas cacti will do especially well .
When October rolls around , start dry the filth to encourage holiday blooming . In lue of tearing once per calendar week , cut back down to just providing a idle beverage once every three weeks . duskiness and waterlessness are both essential to encouraging holiday blooms . Some gardeners even render covers , keeping their cacti in the darkness for a few weeks to promote their Christmas cacti to flower .
