How To Get Your Christmas Cactus Ready In November To Bloom Big!
November is a great time to get your Christmas cactus ready for big blooms all through the holidays!
As the days get shorter, and the nights get cooler, both changes can help the plant set flower buds. But if your cactus spends its evenings under a living room lamp or right next to a heating vent, it may be missing some of the conditions that help it bloom.
The first thing to do in November is look closely at the tips of the green stems. If you see tiny rounded buds, your plant is already on its way. Your job now is to keep those buds growing. If the tips are still all green, you can use the shorter days to your advantage by giving the plant bright light during the day and a long stretch of darkness each night!
How To Get Your Christmas Cactus Ready In November
If You Don’t See Buds, Give Your Cactus Longer Nights
A Christmas cactus can spend all day in a bright window and still have trouble setting buds if the room stays lit for hours after sunset. That’s easy to overlook in November. It may be dark outside by dinnertime, but to a plant beside a lamp, the day is still going.
Aim for about 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness each night. For example, if the room goes dark at 6 p.m., keep it dark until 8 the next morning. During the day, give the plant bright, indirect light.
A spare bedroom with a good window often works well because you can shut the door in the evening and leave the plant right where it is.
It can take several weeks to see the first buds and around six weeks for a fuller bud set. If you’re starting from scratch in November, the flowers may open around Christmas or later, depending on when you start and how quickly the plant responds. Check the stem tips once a week so you can catch those first small buds as they appear.
Use November’s Cooler Nights To Get Your Christmas cactus ready
A room that cools to around 60°F at night can help a Christmas cactus get ready to bloom. If you have a bright room that stays a little cooler than the rest of the house, that’s often a better spot in November than a warm kitchen or a shelf above a heat register.
There’s a difference between a room that cools gradually at night and a windowsill that gets a sharp blast of cold air. Keep the stems from touching cold glass, and avoid putting the plant next to a door that opens frequently. You want the plant to enjoy cooler nights without big swings in temperature.
If the cactus has spent the fall in a spot where it’s already setting buds, leave it there. The conditions it has right now are doing their job.
Adjust Your Watering As The House Cools Down
A pot that needed water every few days in summer may stay damp much longer in November. Check the potting mix with your finger before you water. When the surface starts to feel dry, water thoroughly and let the excess drain out.
If you’ve slipped the plant into a decorative pot for the holidays, check the bottom afterward and pour out any water that collected there.
Once buds start to form, check the soil a little more often. Letting the whole pot go bone-dry at this stage can cause buds to drop. If you’re unsure whether it’s time to water, lift the pot. After a few checks, you’ll get a feel for how much lighter it is as the mix dries.
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Once Buds Are Set, Keep The Plant Where It’s Happy
The first buds may look like little pink or reddish bumps at the ends of the stems. As they lengthen, you’ll start to see the color of the flowers. Once the buds are clearly set, you can ease up on the strict darkness routine. Bright, indirect light and steady temperatures are what you want while the flowers develop.
It’s tempting to move a budding cactus to the mantel or the dining room table where everyone can see it. If the new spot is much warmer or darker, wait until the flowers begin opening, then choose a place with conditions similar to where it grew.
A sudden change in temperature, light or watering can cost you some of the buds you’ve waited weeks to see. If a few buds do fall, look for a recent change before moving the plant again.
The furnace may have started running more often in November and that can spell more trouble when you are trying to get your Christmas cactus ready. Your pot may dry out faster than usual, or someone may have opened a window right beside it. Start with what changed and give the remaining buds a chance to open.
Save Repotting & Pruning Until After The Show
November is a good time to put away the pruners. Christmas cactus flowers grow at the ends of the stems, so trimming the plant now can remove the very tips that would have bloomed.
If your pot is draining well and the plant is healthy, you can wait until after flowering to decide whether it needs repotting. One more note - if your Christmas cactus is long and leggy, make a note to pinch back a few stems in late spring or early summer.
That can encourage branching and give the plant more tips to bloom from next year. For now, leave those stem ends in place. The tiny buds are easy to miss, especially on the side of the plant facing the window.
For more on Christmas cactus care - be sure to see our article: The 3 Biggest Mistakes That Ruin Christmas Cactus Blooms - And How To Avoid Them!
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