Stop Fertilizing Altogether
Up until this point, we’ve been feeding a plant through its natural growing cycle and giving it fertilizer that provides the nutrients necessary for blooms.
Now we stop fertilizing for the year.
Your plant has everything it needs stored up, ready to go for the big show coming in the months ahead. In late winter, after blooming and a brief rest, your plant will start the entire process over again. It will come out of dormancy and begin its natural growth cycle, at which point you can resume fertilizing.
I know it’s tempting, but don’t fertilize your Christmas cactus from the end of August until late winter. You’ll do more harm than good.
One Thing You Should Never Do in August
When you bring your Christmas cactus indoors after being outside all summer, you might be tempted to repot your plant. This is probably the worst thing you could do right now. You’ll stress the plant and completely disrupt the process that has begun to create blooms in the months ahead.
Repotting is also counterintuitive now because Christmas cactuses need to be slightly root-bound to bloom well. These plants need to be repotted far less often than your average houseplant. Usually, once every 3-4 years is plenty. If you feel that your Christmas cactus is overdue for a new pot, wait until after the holidays before repotting it. You can read here about how and when to repot your Christmas cactus, plus how big a pot you should move up to.
And that’s all there is to it.
Consider your Christmas cactus to be like that one diehard friend who starts prepping for the holidays now. (We’ve all got one.) If you get on board with what your plant is already doing, there’s less of a rush, and the payoff is a magnificent Christmas cactus absolutely dripping in pink blooms through the holiday season.
