The colorful flowers and unequaled embodiment of Christmas cacti have earned them a topographic point in many house across the earth .
Then there ’s the fact that they ’re sturdy and uncompromising , barely needing any care to thrive and flower .
But just because they ’re rugged , that does n’t mean these succulents never have problem . One of the most obvious signs of problem is folio fall .
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vacation cacti will send packing their cladodes – the leaflike structures – naturally as they senesce . It ’s usually just one or two here and there , and the plant will look dead respectable otherwise .
Speaking of , ensure out our guide to growing Christmas cactusto learn what it takes to keep your specimen in good anatomy .
But if vernal folio are falling or more than a few are dropping at a time , you want to read this guide and calculate out what ’s go on .
Here ’s the list of takings we ’ll go over :
Reasons Why Christmas Cacti Drop Leaves
The first matter we ’ll discuss is credibly one of the least unwashed unless you are a chronic overwaterer .
1.Disease
If the cladodes are falling and you notice slight tan lesion or black piss - douse spots on the foliation , you ’re probably dealing with Fusarium wilt disease , triggered by the fungusFusarium oxysporum .
This pathogen want a lot of wet to thrive and spread , so overwatering or sustain your plant in poorly draining soil or containers can ask over it .
You might be able to save the specimen if you catch it early enough , but if not , your best wager is to take a cutting to propagate a new plant life and toss the septic one .
To determine if you’re able to preserve your Christmas cactus , remove it from the container and wash the dirt from the roots . If most of the roots are black and ugly , it ’s too late .
But if at least one-half of the roots are healthy and firm , trim off the drained bit , spray the root with copper fungicide , andrepot the plant .
Bonide Copper Fungicide
Bonide wee an excellent copper fungicide that has help me repeatedly over the year . If you ’d care to catch some to keep in your gardening toolkit , call Arbico Organics .
They carry it in 32 - snow leopard ready - to - manipulation , or hose terminate ready - to - spray , or 16 - snow leopard hose end or concentrate .
2. Inappropriate Temperature
Anytime they are divulge to temperatures above 90 ° F orbelow 50 ° F , you flow the risk of flower bud or pass on dropping .
Do n’t take on that you ’re safe just because you keep your home at a restrained temperature .
If your Christmas cactus is situated next to a undivided - pane window or an exterior door , it could be exposed to utmost temperature often enough to cause problems .
Single pane windows do n’t provide much insulation , which intend they get hot during the estrus of summer and they rent in a lot of low temperature during the parky wintertime day .
If you know in an surface area that receive particularly frigid winters or swelter summers , keep your Christmas cactus away from windows and doors .
Anywhere toward the interior of the star sign with subsidiary ignition or fanlight , or near well - insulated , multi - pane windows is fine .
3. Not Enough Light
Yes , they ’re houseplant , and they can survive in the same light we have in our rest home .
But Christmas cacti boom in unmediated sunlight in the fall and wintertime , and verbatim visible radiation in the morning followed by shining , collateral light the rest of the day in spring and summer .
Anything less than that , and you run away the risk that the plants will drop their cladodes .
If insufficient Inner Light is the reason , the flora will also beetiolated , which stand for it will be pale than it should be if it was maintain in the correct picture .
The fix for this movement is easy : move it into a post with bright light !
4. Nutrient Deficiency
I would n’t call Christmas cacti particularly avid , but even if you ’ve been feeding regularly , if the soil is erstwhile and depleted , your Christmas cactus might not be able to get at the nutrients it need .
You should be fertilizing your plant regularly start in late winter or early spring . As soon as you see new growth developing , that ’s when you postulate to start eat .
Use a 10 - 10 - 10 or 20 - 20 - 20 NPK fertiliser once a calendar month until declivity .
Two weeks after you employ the fertilizer , add a teaspoon of Epsom salt dissolve in a gal of water to bring magnesium to the territory .
vacation cacti are covetous for Mg . furnish the typical amount of body of water you commonly use and determine aside any excess solution . It will last for several hebdomad .
Learn more about how to feed Christmas cacti here .
If you have n’t replenished the soil in the retiring five old age or so , remove the industrial plant from its pot and brush away all the dirt .
Repot with unfermented , raw potting soil . Not sure what pot soil to use?Check out our comprehensive guide .
5. Pests
Sap - suckle pests likeaphids , wanderer mites , andmealybugscan drain the plant enough that they might start out drop their leaves .
Before this take place , you ’ll remark other symptom likeyellowing leavesand a sticky core on the foliage known as honeydew .
Visit our guide to Christmas cactus peststo ascertain about identifying louse problem and how to get rid of them .
6. Too Little Water
It ’s harder to underwater these plants than it is to overwater them . The boat paddle - comparable , succulent leaves store water well .
But if they go long enough without water , the phylloclade will start out to shrivel up , turn yellow or dark-brown , and precipitate . The intact specimen will appear sagging , as well .
This probably wo n’t pass if you forget to water one prison term , but continuing underwatering will cause it .
The solution , of course , is to stay on top of your watering schedule while verify you are n’t overwatering , which we ’ll talk about next .
7. Too Much Water
It ’s astonishingly easy to overwater a Christmas cactus , and when you do , foliage drop is sure to stick with .
When you overwater , the root in the filth essentially drown . They ca n’t access oxygen , and they get down to rot away . Aboveground , that means the plant ca n’t support its cladodes , and they get exhaust .
Holiday cacti are truthful cacti , but they like a good amount of moisture , unlike their desert - dwelling cousins .
You should be allow the surface of the ground to dry out before you add more wet . When the plant is n’t flower , you could leave it until the top half - inch of grease dries out .
The comfortable way to avoid overwatering is to climb the plant life on Ellen Price Wood or telegram . As epiphytes , they grow well this way , and it ’s almost unacceptable to overwater mounted specimens .
If you ’ve never mounted a industrial plant before , it involves wrapping the roots in moss and fastening the plant to wood or telegram to recreate the instinctive environs that epiphytes flourish in .
For information about how to deliver an overwatered Christmas cactus , head on over to our guide .
Keep it Together
There are precious few plants that provide you with undimmed colour during the wintertime months . You do n’t want themto be dropping budsand leaves and looking all frightful .
Holiday cacti are rugged , so if you treat them right , you ’ll be able to prevent leaf drop . And now you know how !
If you ’re ready toexpand your noesis about holiday cacti , consider check out a few of our other usher next :
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Kristine Lofgren
