How to Propagate Christmas Cactus

Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera or Zygocactus), also known as Holiday Cactus, is one of the easiest plants to propagate. All you need is a healthy mature mother plant and a container to grow the new plants. In no time, you will have a spray of beautiful tender blooms to grace your winter holidays. Here is how.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mature mother plant
• Containers
• Potting soil

1. Propagate during the growth season in spring and summer.

2. Snip off leaf segments from the mother plant. Segments should preferably be two or three leaves, but even one leaf can root and grow into a new plant.

3. Prepare a container with the same soil composition as the soil in the mother plant's pot. Christmas cactus plants prefer light, well-drained potting soil.

4. Sink the leaf segments into the soil, up to about half of the bottom leaf.

5. Moisten the soil just so that the leaves come in direct contact with the soil.

6. Cover the newly planted cuttings with a plastic bag or sheet to retain moisture and prevent drying out while the new roots grow. Remove the plastic after 2 to 3 weeks.

7. Keep the container in a shaded area; direct sunlight will kill the leaf cuttings.

8. Care for the new plants as you would the mother plant when new leaves have started to grow.

Tips & Warnings

• Not all the leaf cuttings will take root. Propagate more than you plan to grow in the new pot. A group of leaf cuttings will grow into a nice and lush flowering pot.
• Monitor the watering. Because Christmas cactus plants are not exactly cacti, they require adequate watering. They are, however, resilient against too little watering. It's best to water only when the soil feels dry.

Resources

• NDSU Extension Service: Questions on Christmas Cactus

[breber1]

on 9/30/2009 Great information, I did not know about the watering for Christmas Cactus.