New Christmas cactus can be easily propagated from a cutting. This method also works at home and has a decisive advantage. The young specimen will already flower in its first Christmas season.
In a nutshell
- cut the cuttings in spring
- use terminal segments for cuttings
- Mix potting soil and cactus soil for the cultivation
- about four weeks to root
Table of contents
- Wait for the ideal time
- Cut leaf cuttings
- Prepare seed pots
- plant cuttings
- care measures
- frequently asked Questions
Wait for the ideal time
You may Christmas blooms of the future mother plant until the last blossom. Because the cold winter, even if it is cozy and warm in the room, is not suitable for multiplying new Christmas cacti with cuttings. Even cuttings hastily cut in the fall will not take root and flower until Christmas. The best time to take cuttings from the Schlumbergera, as the Christmas cactus is scientifically called, is spring and early summer.
Cut leaf cuttings
The Christmas cactus does not have typical, leafy shoots like most indoor plants. The transformed shoot axes are each composed of several green segments and are called platyclades or cladodes. Each shoot axis thereby gains in length by driving out a new segment at its tip. The terminal segments are suitable as cuttings.
- Select segments that are as large and mature as possible
- easily recognizable by the dark green colour
- Cut off 1-3 connected segments
- or twist between the links with your fingers
Tip: Before planting the cuttings, you should let them air dry for a few hours. Are the cutting or Separation points moist, they can rot in the ground.
Prepare seed pots
Prepare a small pot for each cutting, each of which must have drainage holes. The ideal substrate, which promotes rooting, is a mixture of potting soil and cactus soil. But you can also mix conventional potting soil with sand. Moisten the substrate before planting.
plant cuttings
Stick the bottom of each cutting deep into the prepared soil. The cutting should be able to stand upright and stable under its own steam.
Tip: You may also consider planting two cuttings per pot, back-to-back. This will give you a bushier Christmas cactus faster.
care measures
Place the pots with the cuttings in a light spot that provides the ideal heat of 22°C for rooting. However, you should not expect them to be in the blazing sun. The main care consists of watering:
- Keep soil constantly moist
- wait until the top layer of soil dries before watering again
- do a finger test to be sure
- absolutely lime-poor water use
- Always pour off excess water as soon as possible
- there must be no waterlogging
After about four weeks, the rooting should have worked successfully. From there it won't be long before you can look forward to new segments at the top of the cutting. A few more weeks later, the stem of all of them will branch out. Then it might be time to dem Giving Christmas cactus a larger pot of cactus soil.
frequently asked Questions
You can also use cleaned yoghurt pots for the first step of propagation and later transplant the young Christmas cacti into larger pots. However, don't forget to poke a few holes in the bottom so that excess irrigation water can drain away.
The Christmas cactus can also be wonderfully propagated from seed, but not so much at home. In order to be able to obtain germinable seeds from your Schlumbergera, you need a second pollinator plant and you have to carry out the pollination in a targeted manner. It might still be possible, there are seeds available for purchase. But compared to cuttings, it takes much longer for the new plants to reach a respectable size.
It is possible not to simply stick the cut cuttings into the ground, but to graft them onto a suitable base. The upright cactus genus Selenicereus is ideal for this. In summer, separate two segments of the Christmas cactus and carefully peel off the bottom section. Insert the cutting into the base that has just been cut and split open. Secure the spot with a band. Both grow together within a few days if the pot is bright, without direct sun and at around 19 °C.
