The Most Popular Types of Cactus Flower Plant | Growing Tips

 

Do you know about the Easter flowering plant? Do you know they are also called the holiday cactus? They are tropical, originated in Brazil, and are well recognized for their blooming flowers in the spring season. This is way easier to grow than other plants. The Easter cactus flower plant is appropriate as a houseplant. It grows appropriately in filter light, well-draining soil, and dappled.

Common Name	Easter cactus, holiday cactus
Botanical Name	Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri
Family	Cactaceae
Plant Type	Cactus
Mature Size	6-12 in. tall, 1-2 ft. wide
Sun Exposure	Partial
Soil Type	Well-drained
Soil pH	Acidic
Bloom Time	Spring
Flower Color	Red, pink, orange, purple, white
Hardiness Zones	10-12 (USDA)
Native Area	South America

 

Easter Cactus Care

Easter flowering cactus is comparatively easy to keep as houseplants. Here are going to elaborate on the main requirements for its growth: Place your Easter cactus in a spot with appropriate bright, indirect light.

• Arrange well-draining soil and choose a pot with a drainage hole; remember that this cactus would never sit in wet soil in the wild.
• Let the soil dry out fully in between watering, and then water thoroughly, allowing the extra water to drain out.
• Moreover, keep the humidity around your Easter cactus high, as it prefers rainforest conditions.
• Fertilize regularly during the growing season.
  

Light

As a natural forest understory plant, the Easter cactus is accustomed to growing in locations partly sheltered from the sun. Partial or indirect sun exposure is best to help this plant thrive.

Soil

Easter cactus flower plants perform appropriately in porous soil mixes that provide good airflow to their roots. Purchasing flowering cactus and succulent mix from the store, it would work well, especially when combined with orchid bark. The moderate pH level for Easter flowering plants ranges from 6.0 to 6.5.

Water

While watering Easter flowering plants, let the soil dry during the process, do not overdo it. You can also have a sign that water it until it drains from the bottom of the pot. Moreover, the Easter flowering cactus is unable to bear the over-watering of letting its roots submerged in the water. You should also make sure that the pot has an appropriate size of the hole in the bottom to drain the water appropriately. Please avoid letting water sit in the saucer after watering. For better blooming in cactus flower plants, you have to cut off watering in the late fall and winter seasons.

How Temperature and Humidity Impact?

Apart from other types of plants in the Cactaceae family, the flowering cactus better survive under cooler temperatures. They require cold temperatures to bloom. The time of the blooming in the Easter cactus flower plant is at nighttime, the range of temperature should be 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Interestingly Easter flowering cacti enjoy humid environments, they also have the quality to tolerate the household humidity. In this way, if your home is especially dry, provide extra humidity with a humidifier or pebble tray.

Types of Easter Flowering Cactus

The origin of this cactus flower plant is directly linked to the Brazilian rainforests. In this way, they are typically classified as Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri. Therefore, the Easter flowering cactus has sometimes been classified as Hatiora gaertneri or Schlumbergera gaertneri.

• Hatiora rosea: A similar species with pink flowers commonly called “rose Easter cactus.”
• Easter cactus “Sirius” has flowers that look like stars and are all white.
• The “Colombia” Easter cactus has bright orange flowers.
•  Easter cactus ‘Scorpius’: Produces bright red blooms.

Pruning

Pruning an Easter flowering cactus is optional, but it will help with reblooming for the upcoming year. Must note one rule is to prune right after the plant flowers in the spring and while it’s still in its active growth phase. Moreover, Don’t wait to prune an Easter cactus in the fall or winter.

While pruning, you have to focus on breaking off the top leaf pad from the stem at the joint. Use your fingers or sterilized garden scissors. If you create an irregular break, make sure to trim that off. Pruning enhances the growth of new stems for a bushier plant with more blooms.

Propagating Easter Flowering Cactus

You can grow this cactus flower plant from seeds or cuttings. Easter cactus is easier to grow from roots, which is why it’s more popular. It is best to spread plants two to three months after they bloom. To make more plants from cuttings, do these easy things.

You have to twist a leaf off at the leaf terminal calmly; don’t break the foundation. Please take notice that if it is once separated, stick the bottom of the leaves back into a small cup or pot of soil, ensuring at least half of the leaf is in the dirt.

•         Lightly mist the leaves.
•         Plastic bags are the better option to place over the cuttings to keep in the moisture.
•         Do not go for watering it, Wait until roots sprout in a few weeks, then repot.

How to Grow Easter Flowering Cactus From Seed

 

There is also a challenge to grow an Easter flowering cactus from the seed. Here, you have to pollinate the plant, harvest seeds, and keep your patience while waiting to see if the seeds thrive.

You can also opt for the way of germinating seeds on a moistened paper towel. Laying the towel over a tray of moistened, enriched soil is the better option. Moreover, Cover it with plastic wrap. Provide air to it daily for an hour.

• Arrange the tray in a warm spot with partial light exposure.
• Interestingly, if ideal conditions were given, the seeds would germinate within three weeks.
• In addition, you have to transplant the seedlings once they show signs of sprouting.

Potting and Repotting Easter Cactus

Easter cacti enjoy being snug and pot-bound and only need to be repotted every two years to refresh the soil. If there is still room in the current pot, don’t increase the pot size; plant it back in the same container. If you need to make a pot bigger, though, pick one that is 2 to 3 inches wider than the old one. When it comes to aeration and drainage so clay pots are considered competitive. Repotting is best done in the spring after the blooming period.

FAQs

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