Find When and How to Water Christmas Cactus for Best Blooms in the festive season for colorful vibe in your home.
Holiday cacti are beautiful winter-flowering plants that are easy to care for, but getting the watering right is important for their health and blooms. New plant owners often ask how often to water a Christmas cactus. The answer depends on factors like the plant’s size, location, humidity, and soil type. Unlike desert cacti, these plants need specific watering to stay healthy and flower well.
Watering your Christmas cactus regularly is important for its care. Like other holiday cacti, it needs the right amount of water to bloom. If you’re not sure whether you have a Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter cactus, don’t worry—they all have similar watering needs.
Christmas cacti grow as epiphytes in their natural home in Brazil’s tropical rainforests, living on tree branches or in rocky cracks. They get moisture from the humid air, rain, and morning dew that drips from the trees above. This makes them very different from desert cacti, which can handle long dry periods and need much less water.
How Often to Water Christmas Cactus
People often ask how often to water a Christmas cactus. These plants like high humidity and soil that stays moist but not too wet. The best soil mix for a Christmas cactus should include peat and vermiculite or perlite to help it hold moisture.
In winter, water your Christmas cactus every three to four weeks. When it’s blooming, it needs more water, and the soil should stay moist to keep it flowering longer. In spring and summer, during its growing season, water it about every two weeks.
This watering schedule can change based on the soil, where the plant is located, and other conditions. For instance, if the plant is in garden soil, it will dry out faster and need more water. If it’s near a heating vent that dries the air, it will also need to be watered more often.
Guidelines for watering a Christmas cactus are helpful, but the best way to know is to check the soil with your finger. Water when the soil feels dry about 2 inches (5 cm) below the surface.
How to Water a Christmas Cactus
Christmas cacti like soil that is slightly moist but not too wet. When watering, place the pot in a sink or tub, remove the saucer, and let the extra water drain out through the holes. Soaking the soil occasionally helps wash away salts that build up from fertilizers.
You can also place your Christmas cactus in the shower once a month and water it until plenty of water drains out.
Tap water often contains chemicals and minerals, like chlorine and lime, that can harm the plant. It’s best to use rainwater, distilled water, or filtered water. If you use tap water, let it sit out overnight so the chlorine can evaporate.
From late winter to late summer, feed your Christmas cactus once a month when you water it. The best fertilizer is a houseplant feed designed for blooming plants or a diluted water-soluble fertilizer, like 20-20-20 or 20-10-20.
How Much Water Does a Christmas Cactus Need?
How often you need to water depends on the size of the plant and its pot. Larger plants need more water than smaller ones. If the plant is in a big pot, it will need more water than one in a small nursery pot. The best way to check is by touching the soil to see if it’s dry and needs watering.
Water the plant until water starts coming out of the drainage holes, then let it drain completely. This helps prevent soggy soil and removes any built-up salts from the soil.
When to Stop Watering Christmas Cactus
This plant prefers to stay evenly moist and should never dry out completely. In winter, after blooming, it needs less water but should still be watered every three to four weeks. During the growing season, it will need more water.
If you move your plant outdoors for the summer, the wind and sun will dry out the soil much faster. Outdoor plants will need to be watered at least twice as often as those kept indoors.
How to Check and Avoid Over or Underwatering
If a Christmas cactus isn’t watered enough, the soil will feel dry, even at the drainage holes. You might notice wilting, shriveled leaves and wrinkled stems. In severe cases, parts of the plant may fall off. To fix this, water more often and check the soil with your finger every day to make sure it doesn’t dry out too much.
If your Christmas cactus is drying out too fast, try repotting it into a larger container. While Christmas cacti prefer to be a little root-bound, they should be repotted every two to three years.
Overwatering a Christmas cactus can lead to diseases. Look for soft stems, yellow leaves, and leaves falling off. In severe cases, the plant may rot at the soil line, and the roots could get a fungal infection. Root rot can kill the plant quickly, so if you notice any smelly, discolored, or damaged roots, trim them off with clean scissors.
If your Christmas cactus is overwatered, you may need to repot it. Before doing so, clean the pot with a mixture of 1 part bleach and 9 parts water. It’s best to use pasteurized soil to prevent harmful germs from growing in the damp soil.
Should I Mist My Christmas Cactus?
Christmas cactus is a tropical plant that grows best in a humid environment, ideally 50-60%. Misting the plant occasionally won’t hurt, but it won’t increase the humidity much. Instead, try using a humidifier for houseplants or place a tray of pebbles with water under the pot.
Christmas cacti prefer warm temperatures. The best nighttime temperature is between 60-65°F (15-18°C), with a cooler period of around 50°F (10°C) in October to help them bloom for the holidays. Normal room temperatures during the day will help the plants grow well.