6 Christmas Cactus Fertilizer Secrets of Commercial Growers

Feeding your Christmas Cactus correctly is the key to ensuring its vibrant blooms appear for a long time, year after year.

Commercial plant growers have a specific fertilizing regimen for Christmas cacti (Schlumbergera bridgesii) or any other Holiday cacti. 

Most commercial growers generally start feeding Christmas cacti as soon as roots develop on newly propagated cuttings. This is an important milestone in plant propagation because feeding at this stage helps promote vegetative growth and root development.

You can start feeding your plant since early spring, usually around March or April (earlier if you live in a warmer climate) till fall. This timing aligns with the period when the cacti start to grow actively.

Christmas cactus doesn’t need heavy fertilization, but to grow well, it needs constant and frequent fertilization. Professional growers usually apply a balanced fertilizer with micronutrients once a month, with an aim to provide 150 ppm of nitrogen in each dose.

Additionally, they use calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate to provide 180 ppm of nitrogen, 390 ppm of potassium, and 53 ppm of calcium every time they water.

While doing all that, they also flush the growing medium with plain water to prevent the accumulation of soluble salts occasionally. If you decide to follow a similar regimen, it will be an important step to prevent salt buildup.

If you want to copy that, there will be a whole lot of conversion. You can also follow the suggestions below or follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.

The fertilization schedule varies throughout the year and according to the growing conditions you are providing. Generally, Christmas cacti are fertilized more frequently during their active growing season, which is typically