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5 Simple Tips to Follow if You Want to Take Good Care of Your Easter Cacti

Once the spring arrives, some of the window sill plants begin to bloom. One of them is Easter cactus. And that means the festival is coming really soon!

Easter and its cactus

Mother nature must have realized that it can’t be just Christmas that has its plant. Perhaps that is why Easter has got its Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri. Easter and Christmas cactuses are in fact related and that is why they even look similar. The difference is the time of blooming, the shape of the shoots and the flowers.

A guest from an exotic location

Easter cactus originally comes from the Brazilian rainforest. It grows in crowns of the trees there. In home conditions its shoots can be 30 cm long. They are flattened, juicy and have slightly wavy edges. The funnel-shaped flowers have got sharp-edges petals. The plant blooms form March to May.

How to take care of Easter cactus

Location

As the plant’s natural habitat is warm Brazil, that is why it prefers bright places, yet without direct sun exposure. The best ambient temperature is 18 – 22 0 C. However, from November till January (this is when the plant is dormant) you’d better take the pots somewhere cooler.

Watering

Make sure that the soil never gets too completely dry. It should be slightly damp at all times. The plant does not tolerate being overwatered, either. It might cause it to rot very quickly. That is why you need to be moderate in watering.

Fertilization

The plant must fertilized during its vegetation period (February to October). The cactus fertilizer has to be applied every two weeks.

How to make your cactus bloom in the spring?

 

The plant needs some time to rest, approximately 6 to 8 weeks, from November to January. This is when the plant has to be kept in a cool yet bright place. The best temperature range for that period is 10 – 15 0 C. The plant must not be fertilized then and it should be watered only when it is absolutely necessary. When the first buds form, watering has to be intensified and the plant can be taken somewhere warmer.

How many Easter cacti have you got in your collection?

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