Propagating a Christmas Cactus - Water vs Soil (0-14 week updates) It grew a flower?!

So you all loved my previous propagating a christmas cactus video... so here is a new one!
Watch part 2 here - • Update: Christmas Cact...
Thanks for watching!
Follow me on instagram - Frannn.life

[@brendamaun5455]

TY for the hint about keeping the cutting above the bottom of the glass to allow the roots room to grow. I need to do that with mine.

[@frannnlife]

Hope it works for you :)

[@Peleski]

I find the autumn Zygos (thanksgiving) seem to be bred for faster rooting, and water propagation is great for them. The genuine winter Zygos (Christmas) are a little slower to root in water. Those have rounded scallop leaves, and I've only seen them with hot pink flowers, but they will flower consistently all winter. Thanks for your demo.

[@frannnlife]

Thank you for watching!

[@99thmonkeyresonance66]

Quick tip for in between water changes! For those of you who often propagate plants, whether for business or just to have more plants- even for beginners- this tip is going to BLOW. YOUR. MIND. It did mine! When propagating, do all steps as usual. When you go to put them into the water, btwn 24-48hrs after putting them in, give THIS a shot... ...set your spray nozzle to "STREAM". (Like ow a hose would stream out & not 'mist') and 'stream' spray INTO the water. This creates *aeration* and provides the bottom of the plant stem, in this case the leaf, more oxygen to the base where the roots will come out. At her 9 wk update, with similar growth, when " Stream" Spraying, be careful NOT to 'stream-cut' any of the roots when spraying the water. Th power behind some streams IS strong enough to cut some roots off- VERY easily! So stream with care. I came across this idea when using the kratky method with setting up a Succession of greens for my bearded dragon. My son accidently tried 'watering' my plants that were already in water. Within 72hrs of him doing this, my endive had TRIPPLED it's growth! I was SHOCKED ⊙▂⊙ to say the least. When I scared my son with the, "boo, you're not supposed to water them, they're in water, not dirt. See?" He thought he'd done something wrong. To BOTH our surprise, it actually HELPED A TON! I hope this finds someone who's just beginning with propagation as I myself had a difficult time when it came to cacti & succulents. Since stumbling across this, I haven't lost a plant YET- in soil, you can add a little later of perlite JUST around the stem and stream the perlite which will better aerate the root system and the plants THRIVE when this is done. More than had you not done so. Happy planting & growing Ladies & Gents.

[@gcheeseman4749]

Q1 qq

[@RaechelleBennett782]

Great idea!! And wondering too, I'm going to try adding air bubbles each day with a straw. Should give the same or a similar effect. I'll go gently when blowing in the bubbles. 🌺

[@frannnlife]

Great tips!

[@99thmonkeyresonance66]

@@RaechelleBennett782 it could but it's going to take more blowing than if you used a spray bottle. Using any type of a syringe type thingy, like to give pets medication, will also work, fill it up and just push really hard real fast if it has a large hole/tip on it. (These usually have a decent sized hole) You could also take a small cut up piece of another straw, like a long skinny piece, cut it small enough to fit into the end of the straw and then bend it in half. Take a sewing needle & put it thru the straw you're going to blow bubbles with, and make sure the top of your 'V' of your small piece of straw, is lined up, inside the end of your straw that will go into the plants water. Stick your needle thru the side & line up the 'V' to have the open part pointing down. This will divert your stream into 2 streams & make the water into different little sections, leaving you blowing a lot less and not getting light headed. I hope this helps!

[@JuliRossano]

Great propagation! It looks more like a Thanksgiving cactus.

[@frannnlife]

It was a gift so it could be😊

[@sparkfishes]

The cacti can be made flower at almost a year time by placing it in the dark for six _ 8 weeks before you want it to flower . I have an easter cactus ,which did flower in March ( white flowers ) . I repotted it in later June and took some cuttings , most of which died . One cutting did take and then in late August the mother plant AND the cutting in a small pot flowered (white flowers) My understanding is that Christmas Cacti have serrated leaves and Easter Cacti have smooth edged leaves . I have bought some rooted cuttings from a grower and they are marked up and his labeling confirms what I have read before about Christmas Cacti having shark tooth eged leaves. They are labelled red; purple; orange and white so I hope they flower in those colours

[@una8567]

You definitely have the touch to grow Christmas cactus!

[@bwenluck9812]

But that isn't a Christmas cactus. Christmas cactuses have rounded, scalloped leaves.

[@laurasrn5067]

Thank you! I just took some sections off of my Christmas cactus to try my hand at growing more 💖

[@oliviai7550]

thanks for making this video! im going to propogate in water and then pot them after root growth :)

[@RichardsonProjects]

I think the one in water isn't doing well because once it had a good root structure, it should have been potted up! Probably around week 9.

[@chv9178]

Your right

[@frannnlife]

Louise Richardson yes that would be a good time to pot it up, however I’m just doing this as an experiment. The previous experiment I did, the one in water had new growth before the one in soil and it did significantly better even after months of being in water :)

[@onomybeau2646]

Great Christmas cactus videos. Just what I needed to learn. Thank you!

[@frannnlife]

Glad it was helpful!

[@paultsworld]

Excellent video - really interesting with all the updates.

[@frannnlife]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching Paul!

[@pauls912]

Great video, really excited to see how to plants look now! Will you be sharing that in your new video?

[@frannnlife]

Yes I have an update video coming soon😊

[@sparkfishes]

Thanks for the video and advice ......you have a sweet voice

[@frannnlife]

Thanks for watching :)

[@ellenhaben1217]

I propagate in water and also soil. Sometime s I just do the popping the segment in soil and wait . I've also used water propagation. Once the roots appear in water I take the segment and stick it in soil. Don't wait past roots drowning half an inch in water. plant will die eventually if left too long in water!💚

[@maehojanita]

My moms buddy cross bred a Thanksgiving, a Christmas and an Easter cactus. I stole a piece and I'm hoping she doesn't die. I'm going to do the water until I get a decent little root system and then I'll plant it in dirt. Pretty stoked to see how I do and how she looks and how often she blooms. Named her Kamala bc all my plants get powerful women names. 💚🤣💚

[@frannnlife]

Great name, how is Kamala doing now a month on?

[@maehojanita]

@@frannnlife she barely sprouted any roots so I threw her into a pot. 🤞🏼 I don't have to steal another baby from my mom and start over. 🤣

[@frannnlife]

@@maehojanita I’m sure she’ll be fine! They’re so resilient! Make sure you give her plenty of water to adjust her to the soil a little easier😊

[@maehojanita]

@@frannnlife thank you so so much!!!!!!!!!! 💚💚💚

[@JVCPhotography]

I’d like to see a video of grafting 2 different colors of these plants.

[@frannnlife]

That would be cool, not sure i have the skills for this though!

[@bethanystanyer2969]

This is so helpful thank you so much :)😍😇

[@frannnlife]

Glad it was helpful 😄

[@daniellegarner1933]

I believe that's a Thanksgiving cactus....Christmas and Easter are more scalloped.

[@frannnlife]

It could well be - I'm not too clued up on the different varieties!

[@sandiwhite3381]

Your absolutely right. It is a Thanksgiving cactus.

[@brendamaun5455]

My two Thanksgiving cactus are blooming now (early Feb indoors in PA.) One has blooms just on the side away from the window so I think it was getting too much light. The other sizable plant has only one single bloom on it. Not sure what's the deal with that one. But better to get a few gorgeous pink flowers than none.

[@cathloveslife]

How long sud I wait b4 potting my water propagating

[@jimsgardenproject3507]

Have you ever tried this on damp paper towel / cotton ball or sphagnum moss?

[@frannnlife]

I haven't, but i have seen others use sphagnum moss and it looks great!

[@brainwater176]

Might want to cut the flower off next time. They use a lot of energy to produce so instead of growing, it just makes the flower.

[@billiejarrell8882]

For the cactus in water, how often do you change the water? Do you change it daily or as needed? Do you have any problems with the piece in the water getting squishy or deteriorating?

[@frannnlife]

I change the water every 1-2 weeks. I have seen other people changing it more often.. but i never remember and don't really have time haha. No i haven't had a problem with the bit in water going squishy - it must adapt to being in the water :)

[@99thmonkeyresonance66]

If you check my comment on this video, above or below, I'm sure you'll find my tactics VERY helpful and easy to implement. I hope it helps!

[@DanceLaughDream]

If I didn’t let the plant dry for those 3ish days, can I take it out of the water and dry it? If it’s gone straight from the mother plant to the water for 2 days only?

[@frannnlife]

Sorry for the delayed reply - it is better to let it dry out before putting it in the water, but it isn’t essential. Putting it straight in the water may just decrease the success rate slightly 😊

[@andrewrichmond9764]

She shown a good root on segment,then plant

[@capt.angshugopalbasu8845]

I use vermicompose and coco peat mix for Christmas cactus, is it ok?

[@emilyhaase5544]

What kind of soil did you use? Was it just basic potting soil, or anything special? At which point do you think you will put the water-propagated one in soil?

[@frannnlife]

I used cacti and succulent soil as it is better for draining and doesn’t hold too much water. After a few weeks you could transfer the water propagated one to soil, but for the purpose of the video I have kept them separate. Give it a go and let me know how you get on :)

[@lynnjohnson9433]

What is the best watering method for these plants, misting or pouring into the soil?

[@frannnlife]

I usually just pour a little water in each week or 2. Making sure to check that it’s not left to sit in any water :)

[@lynnjohnson9433]

@@frannnlife Thank you.

[@lynnjohnson9433]

Can you save a thanksgiving cactus from root rot?

[@anthonylewis62]

I have always grown mine in water, i wait about 2 months before transfereing to soil, i never had luck with soil at all for proprogation, too easy to rot that way

[@CarlosFlores-nn3jc]

How often did you water the one in the soil?

[@MJISA5]

She said she watered it every week or so when she changed the water in the other.

[@frannnlife]

Yes i water it every 1-2 weeks :)

[@RaechelleBennett782]

Rule of thumb with these plants, from the cacti family, once the soil on top is dry, it's ready for water. They do not like too much water. The soil should have good drainage at the bottom to prevent root rot.

[@oliviai7550]

what kind of light did you keep these in?

[@frannnlife]

I just kept them in bright indirect light, which got a little bit of evening sun 😊

[@abdelkaderbekkouch5394]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@MariaGarcia-dt5ek]

1Cery hard to hear you and i have very good hearing

[@sumitabiswas6434]

I have subscribed your Chanel. Please tell me about the potting medium of Christmas cactus. I am from India, Calcutta. Thanks.

[@lindaholder2222]

Hi love your channel could you please talk a little louder I can barely hear you

[@nancycadiz8179]

Traducir a español

[@lisamanning586]

Audio too low

[@anthonylewis62]

tooo much water in your proprogation, only the tip should be in water, and i change the water every single day

[@donlussi2424]

I was looking up videos for Christmas cactus care and came across yours. Your plant is not a Christmas cactus, it is a Thanksgiving cactus. If you are to educate the people, please educate them with the correct facts. Thanks

[@don8919-t2n]

This young lady does not deserve that type of critical comment. Her presentation was excellent, especially for the hobbyist. I thank her for clearly stating what she has experienced and also acknowledging the things she was unsure of. Good job...

[@onomybeau2646]

If you are to correct the people please correct them with kindness. Thanks.