How to Make a Christmas Cactus Bloom
Christmas cactus look beautiful in your home but these plants can be really problematic to re-bloom. Even if you have some gardening skills before, you will still need to take certain steps for making Christmas cactus bloom flowers. They require more patience and a bit of effort than other plants to bloom. You need to get knowledge of these plants and try to discover what they actually require. Once you have discovered the needs of these plants, you can have blooms for the Christmas holidays. It can be a fun filled activity if you have gardening as a hobby.
Instructions
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1
Cactus plants don’t prefer too much sunlight and you have to ensure that your plants are getting enough darkness. For blooming, cactus plants need at least 13 hours of continuous darkness and even artificial light can be discouraging. Hence, you need to keep the cacti in rooms which rarely have any sunlight, like your garage.
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2
These plants prefer cooler temperature and your house’s basement might be ideal place for keeping cacti. Regular cool temperature results in proper growth and thriving of cactus plants. A temperature between 50 to 55 degrees F is best for your plants and they won’t bloom if the degree of hotness rises above this.
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3
Cacti are accustomed to long dry spells of the climate and don’t need a lot of water for growth. They require rare watering in the month of August. However, when you witness the plants bearing flower buds, you should start watering them regularly.
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4
If the cactus plants grow larger for the pot to hold, you have to re-pot it into a larger one. Remember that re-potting doesn’t ensure blooming for the cacti but it certainly helps in keeping the plant healthier and fuller.
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5
When flowers begin to bloom, it is time to expose the cactus plants to direct sunlight. You have to make sure that the cacti pots are fully dried between the watering you provide it. Remember that the needs of the cactus plants entirely change once the flowers start blooming. If you do not fulfill the requirements of the cacti, the blooming flower buds might fall off and your entire hard work will go down the drain.
