Christmas cactus is an easy-care perennial that naturally produces beautiful colorful blooms once every year. However, to ensure you get a bloom from from this succulent it is essential you pot it in the correct soil.
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Don’t use succulent soil on your christmas cactus
Christmas cactus, like many succulents, is very easy to care for as long as you get its basic requirements right from the outset.
With low watering needs, and even lower fertilization needs, a christmas cactus can grow very happily indoors without much effort or attention from you.
In the US it is regularly cultivated for a December bloom, hence the name, though it can be made to bloom at different times throughout the year and can even be cultivated to bloom more than once (see our christmas cactus bloom guide).
However, to ensure your plant has the best chance for healthy growth and yearly blooms you must ensure it is planted in the correct type of soil.
Christmas cactus needs special soil. You must use a special type of cacti soil that has just enough nutritional content to promote healthy growth but not so much that it over-feeds the plant.
It is absolutely essential you use a soil that drains away excess water quickly and effectively.
When christmas cactus is grown in the correct soil, and tended to in the right way, it can live longer than most humans; approximately 100 years or more.
So it is important to get the plant’s basic needs correct if you want a long-living houseplant. This obviously starts with the soil.
These succulents grow naturally in shady areas on rocks or on trees where they are protected from strong direct sunlight but where they do get lots of strong indirect light (see our christmas cactus light requirements guide).
As a tropical plant Christmas cactus is not suitable for outdoor cultivation in most US states – see our christmas cactus growing guide.
Due to the natural habitat of the christmas cactus is best to grow your houseplants in a cactus soil that, although not the same as the natural environment of this succulent, will be best for you to mimic the plant’s natural growing medium.
When cultivated in the correct soil with appropriate light needs met christmas cactus will produce lush green leaves and yearly colorful blooms in a range of colors such as purple, red, pink, orange, white and even gold.
Christmas cactus soil requirements
Before I outline the best soil for christmas cactus I should note here that there is a desert christmas cactus, (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis) that, although also a succulent, is not the same as the common christmas cactus found in homes. Don’t get the two confused when it comes to their care requirements.
It is highly unlikely anyone reading this article will be cultivating this type of christmas cactus in their homes and only US residents living in the south-western USA will see these plants outdoors.
As already stated above, the indoor christmas cactus plant belongs to the botanical family Schlumbergera, while desert christmas cactus belongs to Cylindropuntia leptocaulis.
I should also tell you that many people actually grow different varieties of Schlumbergera, namely Thanksgiving Cactus and Easter Cactus, falsely believing them to be Christmas Cactus. A
s these plants are so similar in nature and care requirements (as they all belong to the Schlumbergera family) many indoor houseplant cultivators and owners simply refer to the three plants as Holiday Cactus.
Luckily all three have the same soil requirements so don’t worry if you are unsure if you have a christmas cactus or one of the other holiday cacti as the information below will be applicable whatever holiday cactus you have.
The soil that you intend to use for a christmas cactus should be one that is suitable for succulents. This means the soil should not be too nutrient-rich and it absolutely must be fast-draining, meaning it should not hold onto to water like normal soil does.
Potting mix or normal houseplant soil on its own is not suitable for christmas cactus.
If you use a potting mix, compost or regular houseplant soil then it should be mixed with equal parts of sand and perlite or vermiculite. Potting mix and normal soil will have a very high nutrient count and will also not drain away water quickly enough for this type of succulent.
How to mix your own christmas cactus soil
To reiterate – if using potting mix, compost or soil you must mix it with other ingredients in the following way:
- One third potting mix, compost or houseplant soil.
- One third coarse sand.
- One third perlite or vermiculite.
If christmas cactus is potted in a nutrient-rich soil without the addition of sand and perlite/vermiculite the plant will likely develop root-rot (an all too common problem with succulents) and die.
By ensuring you pot your christmas cactus is a cacti soil (or by mixing your own soil using the formula given above) you eliminate the risk of drowning the plant’s roots and/or leaving them to rot in soaked soil.
The perlite or vermiculite in the soil helps with drainage while the sand will dilute the nutritional value of the soil and also give additional drainage support.
If you intend to mix your soil be sure to avoid using a fine grain sand (like the sand found on most beaches) as this will actually hold water rather than draining it. It is best to use a coarse sand that will help, along with the perlite or vermiculite, to drain away excess water quickly.
Be sure to only water your christmas cactus when the soil dries as the cacti soil can only do so much to drain away excess water. Watering the plant more often than it needs to be watered will not give even cacti soil enough time to drain away the excess moisture and the plant will suffer.
For more information about watering this succulent see my christmas cactus watering guide.
The kind of pots you should use for your christmas cactus
Though ensuring you are using the correct soil with a christmas cactus is essential for healthy growth you should also carefully consider which type of pot you use. All pots are not created equal when it comes to tropical succulents!
Christmas cactus like pots that are well-draining and that help to increase humidity around the plant. I find that well draining terracotta pots work best because terracotta sweats away moisture from the soil to the outside of the pot.
The water droplets that then form on the outside of the pot are naturally evaporated helping to create higher localized humidity levels.
As well as special soil christmas cactus also requires special humidity levels.
Humidity levels that are higher than those normally found in the average household are required for growing a healthy christmas cactus. You may think this will not cause you a problem as it is not unusual to have a houseplant that requires higher humidity than is comfortable for a human being.
You may already have such a plant in your home and are therefore already familiar with the common solutions to this problem.
Many indoor houseplants owners, perhaps yourself included, will use a variety of techniques to help increase the humidity directly around a houseplant that requires it.
One very common way of increasing humidity around a plant is by using a tray underneath the pot and filling it with pebbles and water.
The water in the tray evaporates slowly and thus creates continual higher humidity levels around the plant.
However, this is not a viable option for christmas cactus as this succulent does not like to sit in water. If left sitting in water the roots of the plant will rot and the plant will die.
Another common means for increasing humidity around a plant is by using a water mister. By misting the plant once per day you can easily increase the localized humidity levels.
But, although you can mist many houseplants to help create higher localized humidity levels this is not a good idea when it comes to christmas cactus for two reasons:
- Christmas cactus grows naturally in shady areas where the plant is protected from direct rainfall. The plant has thus evolved in such a way that the leaves do not like to get wet – the main reason this plant is usually watered from the bottom.
- Christmas cactus should be watered very sparingly and daily misting will result in giving the plant too much moisture.
As you can see both tray watering and misting are not good options for increasing humidity around a christmas cactus plant.
So because you can’t spray or mist the plant, and presumably you don’t want to create an uncomfortable humid environment throughout your entire home, this creates a slight problem because christmas cactus requires humidity to thrive.
Well then how do you create higher humidity levels around your christmas cactus without tenting the plant?
It’s easy … use a terracotta pot!
A terracotta pot not only looks great with succulents but it has a really neat natural ability to increase the localized humidity levels around any plant that is potted in it.
A terracotta pot naturally sweats moisture from the soil that is contained within it.
The moisture in the soil that is not drained from the holes at the bottom of the pot seeps through the terracotta material to the outside of the pot where it is naturally evaporated into the air. This increase in air moisture thus increases the humidity level directly around the plant – problem solved!
After using many different types of pots for succulents I have found that terracotta planting pots are by far the best option, they are especially beneficial for succulents like christmas cactus (and the other holiday cacti) that require an environment with high humidity levels and they look great.