The festive season brings the tradition of adorning homes with Christmas cactuses, a plant that not only adds beauty but can thrive for years, even decades, with proper care. Tracey Besemer, a gardening expert from Rural Sprout, has revealed her secret to maintaining a healthy Christmas cactus and ensuring it blooms spectacularly: the right fertiliser.
She shared her accidental discovery, she said: “After years of trying different fertilisers formulated for houseplants, mostly choosing what happened to be in stock at the garden centre each time I ran out, I stumbled across a great fertilising solution for my Christmas cactus quite by accident.”
The ideal choice, according to Tracey, is Schultz African Violet liquid plant food, which, although designed for African Violets, also works wonders on other plants. To fertilise your Christmas cactus, simply mix a few drops of this plant feed with a litre of water and water the plant with this mixture.
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Tracey’s experience led to an impressive result, she said: “I had the most prolific blooms on my cactus that I’ve ever had; that’s what happened. From that point on, it became my go-to fertiliser for blooming houseplants.”
For best results, she advises fertilising every second watering to avoid salt accumulation in the soil, which translates to feeding the plant every two to four weeks during its growth period, reports the Express.
Why is this a good fertiliser for Christmas cactuses?
When caring for houseplants, it’s generally a good idea to opt for a fertiliser that contains equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – these are the three primary nutrients plants need to thrive. However, this particular fertiliser stands out because it has a higher phosphorus content, which is crucial for flower production and maintaining plant strength.
Tracey explained: “It’s such an important nutrient for so many different processes: cell division and growth (which increase during the blooming phase), sturdy root growth, energy storage and transfer, and even respiration – all of these plant processes require phosphorus.”
When is the best time to fertilise Christmas cactuses?
It’s vitally important to only fertilise plants at certain times of the year to avoid overfeeding their newly formed buds and causing damage. You should only fertilise Christmas cactuses during their active growing season, typically around February or March.
Avoid fertilising when the plant is about to enter its dormant period and rest for six to eight weeks, usually just before budding begins. If you adhere to these fertiliser guidelines, you should be able to enjoy larger and more abundant Christmas cactus blooms every festive season for years to come.