My Christmas Cactus plant grew from a cutting off of my Great-Grandma's plant, and having that kind of history behind a plant is special to me. When we moved from our house in town a few years ago, my big beautiful Christmas cactus plant started going downhill. I couldn't figure it out! Then, I talked to a friend and she asked if we have soft water, and said that the salts build up. The Christmas Cactus plant is especially sensitive the soft water, she said. So, by the time I got the plant on a well-water-only regimen, many of the leaves had dropped off. My clever husband suggested I take some cuttings on what is left of the plant, and I thought that was a great idea!
So here are the cuttings I picked off the mother plant.
This is the origional plant, looking sad.
I used potting soil and rooting hormone.
Dipping the ends of the cuttings in the rooting hormone (this end is where I want the plant to root).
Make sure to press down the soil around the cutting well - you want good stem/soil contact.
A tray of cuttings! Hopefully some of them will take. I am leaving them outside in a well light spot that doesn't get direct sunlight. As they grow, you want to make sure to pinch off all of the flower buds that grow - we want all of the energy to go into making a healthy plant. I will let you know how they do!
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