After your Christmas cactus has bloomed, re-pot it into a pot slightly larger than its current container. Christmas cactus roots can easily rot if the soil is too wet, so the pot must have a drain hole and be planted in a lightweight, well-drained potting mix.   You can use potting mixes for cactus & succulents, which are readily available at garden centers, or you can make your own.

Commercially made potting soils can be used for Christmas cactus soil, if they are amended. Choose a balanced pH soil mix without added fertilizers. The soil’s pH should be neutral, between 6.0 and 7.0, not too acid nor too alkaline.

Below are four suggested Christmas cactus soil recipes:

• 1/2 potting soil, 1/4 horticultural perlite, 1/4 orchid bark.
• 1/3 Coconut Coir, 1/3 horticultural perlite, 1/3 fine fir bark.
• 1/3 soil-less potting soil, 1/3 horticultural perlite, 1/3 pine bark nuggets.
• 2/3 potting balanced PH soil with perlite, 1/3 sand

Submitted by; Carlotta Lucas