How to prune Christmas cactus

When to prune Christmas cactus

Generally speaking, it is suitable to prune Christmas cactus in the late spring flowering period, after the flowers wither in late spring, the early autumn growing period, and the autumn and winter bud period to ensure that the flowers bloom normally, large and bright.

If you want to use the pruned branches of Christmas cactus for cuttings, you need to dry the branches first. After the wounds heal, apply rooting powder or other substances that are conducive to rooting on the wounds of the Christmas cactus. Insert the prepared Christmas cactus into the prepared cutting soil and place it in a cool place for cultivation.

Pruning branches and leaves of Christmas cactus

In the late spring flowering period, you need to cut off the withered flowers of Christmas cactus, along with the 2-3 stem nodes under the withered flowers. In addition, you also need to cut off the nodes with poor growth. After the flowers fade in late spring, you need to trim off the dense, aging, diseased, and insect-infested nodes, and cut off the withered flowers and the 2-3 stem nodes under the withered flowers.

If several nodes grow on one node during the early autumn growing season, 2-3 nodes with poorer growth should be cut off, and small, thin and irregular leaves should also be cut off. During the bud period in autumn and winter, thin buds and buds that grow too densely need to be cut off in time to promote better flowering.

Christmas cactus pruning tips

In spring, after the Christmas cactus plant has faded, trim the withered flowers; during the growing season, only keep 1 to 2 new branches when there are more than 4 to 5 new branches on the nodes; Christmas cacti that are 3 to 5 years old need to be supported and the nodes trimmed to facilitate photosynthesis; overly large Christmas cacti need to have dense and aging branches cut off.

Christmas cactus grows fast by pruning

In order to speed up the growth of Christmas cactus, the nodes that grow too densely should be thinned out in time, and diseases and insect pests should be removed in time to prevent other nodes from being infected. Some aging, dry and weak nodes can be cut off as appropriate.

Pruning and flowering of Christmas cactus

If you want the Christmas cactus to bloom, you need to prune it before it forms buds, mainly the smaller leaves and irregular leaves. The thin leaves should also be cut off. This way the plant can bloom vigorously and the flowering period can be extended.

Things to note when pruning Christmas cactus

After pruning Christmas cactus, be careful not to let the cut end come into contact with water and also increase ventilation. If the environment is too hot and stuffy after pruning, the cut end will easily become infected and rotten.