Revive your reluctant Christmas cactus. An easy guide to DIY fertilizer for holiday blooms
The Christmas cactus, an amazing plant that typically blossoms around the holiday season, is relatively low-maintenance. By December, it should be bursting with beautiful, pink flowers.
5:57 PM EST, December 12, 2023
However, you may find instances when the Christmas cactus is reticent to bloom. Wondering why or how you can accelerate the plant's growth? The process is much simpler than it seems. In fact, you only need two common household ingredients.
Caring for a Christmas cactus
Both the Star of Bethlehem and the Christmas cactus are popular festive plants for many. In this guide, we will concentrate on the Christmas cactus. This plant, naturally found in tropical forest areas, is a winter bloomer, typically around the holidays.
Unlike most plants, the Christmas cactus does not produce leaves. It is adorned with thick stems that flatten in some sections, from where distinctive bell-shaped flowers burgeon. These flowers come in a variety of colors, including white, purple, and pink.
The Christmas cactus is a modest plant that novice gardeners can quickly grow. Are you wondering how to care for a Christmas cactus? Start by transplanting the plant to a suitable soil. It should be light, absorbent, and slightly acidic.
Remember to place your Christmas cactus in a pot with good drainage to prevent overwatering, which can prove fatal. It doesn't handle relocations well, especially during its blooming period. A sudden change in location may result in the plant dropping all its buds. The ideal location for the plant is a spot bathed in ample light, like a windowsill, so it has consistent access to sunlight.
Fertilize the Christmas cactus for an abundant bloom this holiday season
To ensure your Christmas cactus blooms in time for the holidays, prepare a homemade fertilizer from onion peels. With its high concentrations of elements like manganese, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus, this fertilizer will quicken the bloom and make it more profuse.
How to make homemade fertilizer? Fill a jar with onion peels, then pour a liter (about one quart) of warm (but not hot) water over them. Let this sit for 24 hours in a dark, cool place. Strain the liquid through a sieve the next day. The prepared fertilizer is immediately ready for use. Apply it once a week, and within two weeks, you will start seeing the first shoots on your Christmas cactus.
