Christmas Cactus

When my Mother moved to the Yukon, she gave me all her plants, that was super exciting. Well not that my Mom moved away that actually sucked!! The addition of so many plants to my collection was awesome though. One of the plants she gave me was this Christmas Cactus. There were two actually, but the other one is in fine condition and doing quite well. The little one is a slip of this plant that fell off when my kids were playing near my Christmas Cactus, grr. I quickly put it in a pot of regular potting dirt; however, it's not the right dirt so he is getting replanted too. This big one has out grown his pot, I know becuase he started to wilt on me. Typically, I would add water and he would bounce back to life as if nothing was wrong. He started to wilt more and watering him wouldn't help! I found out that frequent wilting is a sign that the plant needs a new pot. Well as you can see in this next picture I was way too late in repotting this plant. Some of the shoots were no longer attached!!!

This one broke off as I was trying to get it out of the pot. There were also a few that had broken off earlier (those kids) just sitting in the pot. I separated all the broken pieces and concentrated on the whole plant still in the pot. As you read this article you may notice the white powder like substance of the plant, this is diatomaceous earth an all natural substance that I used to deal with spider mites and gnats. I will talk about the diatomaceous earth later in a different article. Once all the broken pieces were out of the pot I started removing the plant. The plant gave me a bit of difficulty trying to get it out of the pot, I didn't think the root system was going to be as big as it was. I thought that it would have a very small root system and be quite easy to take out and repot. Well I guess everyone can be naive sometimes.

You can see the roots go all the way to the very edge of the pot. Actually, the roots are very fine and delicate but they do fill up the pot quite nicely much to my dismay. I tried to be as careful as possible while I separated both plants. The ground was really hard and the roots were very delicate, not a very good mixture!

Regardless, I managed to get the plants separated and ready to be repotted. I tried to get as much of the dirt off as much as I could. I was not sure if my Mother had used Cactus soil or if she had even replanted them. You can see in this next picture just how delicate and plentiful the roots are. I was really surprised by this. The cactus itself grows roots directly from it's leaves (it doesn't have stems or anything it's all just modified leaves). I didn't think it would grow so many roots!!!

Make sure you have everything ready before you start. The longer your plant's roots are exposed to air the bigger the chance that it won't make it. I like it put rocks in the bottom of my pots like this. The rocks help the soil drain. A properly drained soil is ALWAYS important! This is escpecially true of plants like this

one that require very little water. Excess water can cause root rot, and the water will not allow the plant's roots to breathe. Both can cause the plant to die. I have killed many a plant with over watering. Sometimes it can be a fine line between too much and too little, I have killed lots of plants with too little water too. After you place the rocks in your pot, fill the pot approximently halfway with soil. I used a special Cactus mix but you can mix your own if you feel so inclined.

Place the plant into the soil like shown. Make sure you use a big enough pot so that the roots have room to grow. Fill the pot with soil so that all the roots are covered (leaving enough room for watering at the top about an inch). When the roots are covered gently pat the soil down so that the plants is not moving around inside the dirt. Be careful not to press too firmly as you could tear the roots under the soil. After you have finished, be sure to give your plant a good drink! It is important not to over water the Christmas Cactus as it needs very little. Too much water could be damaging to your plant. The large Christmas Cactus is now two Christmas Cactuses!! You can see the repotted plants in the following pictures. They are still very limp but given a bit of time they will soon be stronger than ever.

Next is all the little pieces that feel off either before because my kids horsing around, grrr, or because I accidently broke them off while attempting to repot the plant. Here is a picture of how many I had separed from the original plant! Plus, there is still the little one that needs the right soil.

All of these little guys are going to get their own pot. Thankfully, I have enought soil left over.

I used really small pots for these litte guys and a little something extra special. A while back my girlfriend was telling me about this root stimulator stuff. I read about it in some articles and finally I started asking questions about it. Well I have now started trying it. My first attempt was with these Christmas Cactus cuttings. The container said to dip the cuttings into the solution about 15cm deep so I did.

I am hoping that this solution will help my plants grow roots. Of course, only time will tell. From what I have seen; however, these little plants are quite resilent. The one slip that fell off previously that I put into a pot of soil that wasn't the right soil for it was doing great! I took it out of the pot so I could replant it and it already had roots!!! What!! I couldn't believe it! I was so excited. You know you love plants when newly formed roots get you excited lol. You can see them in the next picture. I was worried that the plant wouldn't take in the wrong soil but it was doing so well. I can't wait to see what it is like when it starts growing in the proper soil!!

You can just barely make out the small hair like roots forming at the bottom. So exciting!! I repotted all of the reamaining plants and this is what I was left with.

I started with one overgrown plant and a cutting. Wow now I have EIGHT of the little buggers! Awesome! I hope they all do well and start perking up soon! I will let you know. For now though, I am excited just from this. Can't wait til my next post!! Who knows what will grow out of it!

#houseplant #gardening #repot #containergardening #ChristmasCactus #Floweringplants #plants #soil #rootstimulator