Christmas Cactus Wilting – Causes & Treatment

The festive season is all about aesthetics.

Nothing lends more to the ambiance of the festivities than a Christmas Cactus. Owing to their popularity, the Christmas Cactus is admired and sought out as a house plant.

With its bright, tubular flowers that sport bright pink and lilac hues, it is no surprise then that wilting is a common nuisance to plant owners.

Unfortunately, curing it can prove challenging in the effort to save your beloved plant.

Caring For Your Cactus, And How It Often Comes To Wilt

Planting

That’s the first lesson you should keep in mind as far as your plant is concerned.

Did you know that the pot in which you place your plant contributes significantly to whether it lives or dies?

Make sure you pick one that has a drainage hole in its bottom. This prevents the plant from waterlogging by releasing any excess water. Make sure the soil you choose is one that is formulated for succulents.

Avoid natural soil to prevent your plant’s leaves from wilting due to bacterial activity. In most cases, an excess of water leads to rot roots, which causes leaves to wilt and turn brown.

Ensure you always use sterile soil for your plant alongside a pot with adequate drainage to release any water built and resurrect your plant from the fate of wilting.

Too Much Of A Good Is Bad

One of the biggest reasons Christmas cactuses tend to wilt is exposure to direct sunlight. To maintain a healthy plant, it’s best to expose them to similar climates to their native habitats in the rainforests of Brazil.

This means keeping them in bright areas with a lot of indirect sunlight, such as a bathroom window or in your kitchen.

Ensure that wherever you keep them, the ambient temperature of the environment is a cool 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 66 degrees Fahrenheit come dawn.

If they do wilt due to too much sunlight, simply place them in a shaded area, as mentioned above. And introduce some fertilizer to the soil. Your plants should regain their health and color a couple of weeks after you do this.

Environment

The environment under which you keep your plant can also act as a cause for witling.

Fortunately, this problem is easily rectified. It does well to remember that with the seasonal changes of winter and summer.

You must adjust your plant’s environment to keep it healthy in line with the tropical climates the Christmas cactus stems from. You should always keep them in a humid area.

Kitchen counters with access to sunlight through the windows or anywhere with sunlight filtered by a window in the house are ideal environments for the cacti in winter.

In the summertime, it’s best to relegate your plant to a shady area free of direct sunlight until temperatures reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bugs And Diseases

Alongside the common temperature concerns that may contribute to writhing, bugs may also present themselves as a cause for concern.

Mealybugs may be attracted to your cacti if the soil becomes too dry. Overwatering your soil may cause root rot in your plants.

Simply cut off the infected areas and repot them in healthy soil if this is the case.

How To Cure Wilting In Your Christmas Cactus Limp

Moisture

Whenever a cactus is subject to wilt, it is often the case that the soil is the culprit. The soil may be overly dry, wet, or enmeshed with roots.

Yellow leaves and possible limping are signs of an overwatered Christmas cactus. Another indication that the roots aren’t absorbing any water is if the soil remains consistently moist.

Use the process of elimination to identify the issue after digging your finger into the soil for about an inch. If the soil is only slightly damp, allow it to dry before watering once more.

Always ensure that the soil is at an optimum moisture level, as too much moisture can suffocate your plant’s roots. It is also crucial that you never add natural soil into your plant’s soil mix.

This can introduce foreign contaminants that can prove harmful to your plant’s health. It may also be the case that whenever water is introduced to the plant, it exits the bottom as soon as it goes in.

If this is the case, your plant’s roots may be stunted. Then, you should move your plant and repot it in a bigger pot to alleviate any wilting.

Fertilizer

Since the nutrients you feed your plant can determine its outward appearance and internal health, it helps to pay great attention to your fertilizer.

It’s absolutely essential to confirm that nutrient deficiency is the issue before making any attempts to fix it because these plants are not particularly fertilizer-dependent.

Fertilize your plant every month with a soluble fertilizer at a quarter of its recommended dosage.

This can also help to reverse decay in your plant if not getting enough fertilizer is the cause of your plant wilting.

If your plant has wilted leaves in general, the problem is almost always a fertilizer. This prevents the plant’s soil from becoming compactified and decaying due to it – something that can easily lead to wilting of the plant.

Feed a Christmas cactus with a 20-20-20 or 10-10-10 plant food diluted with water to 50% strength. In addition, fertilize the plant with a monthly application of a magnesium sulfate solution at a ratio of 1 teaspoon to 1 gallon of water, but don’t apply the same week you add the plant food.

Soil

Your Christmas cactus needs to be replanted right away in fresh, barely damp soil. It helps to remember that in its natural habitat, the Cactus doesn’t grow in soil.

This is why wilting in the cactus is often the cause of soil problems. Never plant a cactus too deeply in the soil and give its roots room to breathe as they would in the jungle.

To ensure precise drainage, mix two parts of high-quality potting soil with one part of sand or vermiculite. A limp Christmas cactus may benefit from repotting, even if the soil is not wet.

Trim any black or mushy roots before re-potting, and spray the root system with hydrogen peroxide. Before putting it into new soil, this will eliminate any bacteria.

After aerating the soil a bit, you should begin to notice your plant’s leaves return to health.

Conclusion

Your common Christmas Cactus plant can be the pride and joy of your holiday setup at home, but wilting can leave your plant looking like an unsightly menace that goes against the spirit of the holidays itself.

This can be a significant cause for concern, but wilting in your plant doesn’t signify death, and you can revive it with the proper steps to reverse the process of decay in your baby.

By first identifying and then correcting the cause of wilt in your Christmas Cactus, you can turn wilted, brown leaves back into luscious green ones!