How to grow a bigger Christmas cactus? Usually, Christmas cactus grow small. However sometimes they may grow bigger.
So, to make them grow bigger and stronger you need to know what kind of care practices you need to practice.
Usually, a christmas cactus would grow up to two feet in a short span of lifetime. They will keep developing new growth during their entire lifetime.
Literally the mature these plants get the larger they become. Christmas cactus are a special set of plants as they never stop growing in their life.
They can keep blooming and keep growing stronger and vigorously. To be more precise, they do not have a definite maximum size. When considering that, there are some care tips which you may need to practice when making them grow bigger and stronger.
To briefly explain on the plants first, many people tend to grow them as houseplants due to the unique looks they have.
If you live in USDA hardiness 10-12, you may grow them as outdoor plants as well. They bloom with colorful blooms which will usually arise on thick scalloped stem sections of the plants.
They would blossom with flowers from late November to late January. In fact, this is quite famous as a gift item which many people tend to give.
How to grow a bigger Christmas cactus?
Repotting
If you wish to have a Christmas cactus which is grown bigger, ensure that you have not grown them in an excessively larger pot.
If you accidentally grow them in a bigger pot, it would slow the growth of the plants.
So, if you experience any slow growth of the plants, you need to consider repotting them into a smaller pot than the pot in which you have grown them before. Besides, that pot needs to have sufficient draining holes too.
Further I encourage you to have a better draining soil mix too. You can make one from blending equal parts of potting soil, leaf mold and from sand.
That will also provide new growing conditions for the plants. You need to repot the Christmas cactus every four years. You need to choose a pot which is at least two inches bigger than the initial pot when you repot them.
Watering
It is very important that you water these plants properly as it will have a great impact on making the christmas cactus grow bigger.
Literally you need to keep in mind that you should never over water the plants at any given point of time. If you do so, it will badly affect the growth of the plants and make them prone towards diseases such as root rot.
To be precise, you should water them only if their soil is dry. In addition to that when you water them, you need to water them to a depth of 1 inch.
Once a week watering would be adequate for them in general when they are actively growing.
It will be sufficient for them to thrive and to have healthy growth. Never water them when they are dormant as they would be in relaxing mode during winter.
Once you complete watering, you need to make sure that you allow their soil to dry between two watering sessions also.
More importantly check whether the excess water is moving out of the pot without retaining it in the pots as well.
If you stick to a consistent watering schedule, you can make the plants grow faster too. Further ensure you use soft water for this purpose too. Not only that but also, you should ascertain whether there is a proper air circulation in the pot too.
Fertilizer
You may also use Epsom salt to enhance the growth of the Christmas cactus. To do that you can take one teaspoon of the salt and blend it with one gallon of water once a month during the aforesaid periods.
Besides, you may also feed them with a water-soluble fertilizer. So, you can add ½ of a teaspoon of 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer into one gallon of water and then apply it.
You may feed them with this just once a year. However do not feed them with Epsom salt right after you apply the regular fertilizers in the same week. Suspend feeding them during their dormancy.
Air temperature
Best is to expose the plants into a room air temperature at 60-68 Fahrenheit when there is colder temperature available.
On the other hand, they would prefer to have a temperature around 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit during spring and summer.
Keep in mind that they should not get bright sunlight more than eight to ten hours per day during fall and winter. It will simulate the bud formation and the flowering of the plants.
Will my Christmas cactus get bigger?
As explained in the above, Christmas cactus are a set of plants which do not stop growing at a certain point of time during their life. Instead, they would keep growing throughout their lifetime.
They do not have any maximum size to reach as such. They would keep adding new growths to their foliage annually. They would develop new growths depending on the growing conditions they get. To reiterate, they can be about 2 feet within a very short period.
How large can a Christmas cactus get?
Christmas cactus can be about 2 feet in spread within about two years of time. Further they can stay alive for decades as well. They grow faster than many other cactus species.
Conclusion
To wind up, Christmas cactus are such a versatile fast-growing set of plants which would be quite interesting to grow. It would be truly fulfilling to watch them growing bigger and faster.
Read Next : When To Propagate Christmas Cactus?
