Saving and Repotting My Christmas Cactus | Catch Plant Problems On Time

My Christmas cactus is showing signs of distress. I’m going to remove it from it’s pot and diagnose the situation 🧐🤔🤔
#cactus #christmascatus #succulents #plantproblems #repot #jenniemoonbloom #plants
#plantmom #plantlover

[@tinapomfrey5412]

Thank you for your vlog. You were smart to address your concern immediately, avoiding further issues later on. The shape of your plant's clades tell me that you have a Thanksgiving Cactus, not a Christmas Cactus. Holiday Cacti don't have large root systems, so keeping the pot smaller is a good idea, as you want your TC to dry out between watering (not bone dry, though) to prevent root rot from developing, Adding a wider drain hole was wise, for sure. For that reason, I prefer terra cotta clay pots, as clay wicks excess moisture from the soil, however, some don't like to use them because the cacti may require more frequent watering than if potted in glazed or plastic pots. Cactus/succulent soil mix, I find, is a little too dry for these epiphytic, rainforest cacti. I mix my own soil, and it has some regular potting mix in it to maintain moisture. And I use a moisture meter to insure they are ready for a drink (even though I have been a house plant enthusiast for many years) because sometimes I just want added insurance, like another opinion. The Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter Cacti can live a long, long time with the proper care, far longer than the 30 years! that you mentioned. One of my CC belonged to my mother-in-law and it was her mother's plant, so, I am thinking it is about 100 years old. I have multiple plants of all three varieties and several orchid cactus plants as well. All have similar care requirements, but different bloom times.

[@clarissaescotomcwilliamses2345]

What a great video! Can’t wait for your next one! ❤️

[@jenniemoonbloom8736]

Thank you! I’ll have and update soon!😊❤️

[@jackiedavenport1530]

Great info here. Thank you so much! I recently inherited my Mama’s 10-year old Thanksgiving Cactus, that looks like has been in a “Peat Soil”, rather than a ‘Chunky Succulent Soil’. (Breaks my heart, but I think she can rebound from this in a good succulent soil and with proper watering) Cactus has many shriveling leaves/stems, & has Lost so many Stems. (looks like about 50 Stems have already died & fallen off) I’m repotting the few good, firm stems, even some wrinkly/curling, thin stems in a succulent/chunky potting mixture. And, I’ll take your advice on the watering after repotting! Thanks again!! It’s early October & this cactus has several tiny little pink blooms/buds starting, but since stems/leaves are shriveling up, tiny flower buds have fallen off and looks like they are drying up. *** My one question… Since it is the blooming season (October), do you think there is any possibility that these tiny flower buds will have any chance of actually blooming into flowers this holiday season? (my guess is it won’t bloom after all it is going through in the transplanting today, so possibly next year she will bloom pretty for us) Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again sweetie!

[@mayarada2059]

Absolutely nice one

[@amaquesada99]

Hi Jennie what type of drill bite did you use to make the whole bigger? I have terracotta pots that need bigger holes!

[@jenniemoonbloom8736]

Hey Amalia!😊 Great question! The exact drill bit I use in this video is a 1 inch Diamond Plus Hole Saw by Milwaukee. But I’m sure any diamond drill bit will do! I picked mine up at Home Depot a couple years back and it’s still in great shape for as much a I use it! Thank you for watching!🌱💕

[@amaquesada99]

@@jenniemoonbloom8736 Thank you so much!

[@stormietws981]

My Christmas Cactus now has a future! I needed lots of guidance on the watering part and what a difference it makes to let it dry out before watering. My cactus is showing signs of life. Slow, thorough and infrequent watering - I got it!

[@jenniemoonbloom8736]

Woo!🙌🏽 I’m so happy to hear this and I’m glad I could be of some help!!☺️ The reason I started my channel to share my experiences and knowledge in hopes others can learn from my mistakes! lol! Success!🌱🌱🌱 Thank you for reaching out! It means a lot!💕

[@allicianpeters3595]

Wrong!!!! They should always be wet to the touch, and NEVER let them dry!!!!

[@andrewrichmond9764]

Before watering again, check if plant got lighter when dry than water,like twice a month

[@andrewrichmond9764]

@@allicianpeters3595 barely wet then water during your growing season, then going on the dry side is the best time

[@Justin-od8mf]

Great video! Keep it up!

[@jenniemoonbloom8736]

Thank you so much❤️

[@wayfarercotons]

I can not rely on your video when you aren't aware of the type of cactus you are modeling 😄

[@LearnWithLilibeth]

It's smart to rely on different resources! We're all human here and make mistakes =) 5:23 11:18

[@cbow831]

I'm pretty certain that's the wrong type of pot. That pot may be to big and that a Thanksgiving cactus and not a Christmas cactus.

[@wayfarercotons]

Thank you for mentioning this.

[@milliewoolson6326]

Why are my cactus leaves shriveling

[@andrewrichmond9764]

Poor drainage,mine was, I went with better soil mix

[@allicianpeters3595]

Sorry but you got it ALL WRONG!!!! CHRISTMAS CACTUS don't like cement pots at all... they don't breath near enough!! The soil after 2 years should be changed and it should always be wet to the touch, NEVER letting them dry out!!! I water mine ast least once a week, sometimes more in summer, and at least 2 times a week in winter and I live in California!! Also I noticed it hasn't grown AT ALL either!! It shouldn't just be blooming, it should be growing several leaf segments when it's not in bloom as well!! The fact that it hasn't done either means you're doing pretty much EVERYTHING WRONG!!!!! Just fyi!!!!

[@jackiedavenport1530]

Good info… I am putting my mom’s 10-year-old dying Christmas cactus in a clay pot. 8”wide, 5” deep. I also have cement and plastic pots. Is terra-cotta, and your opinion… Is a clay/terra-cotta pot OK for a thanksgiving cactus?

[@andrewrichmond9764]

I would use plastic pot ,watch for leaf problems like any rot,for sure soil needs to be changed out,make sure pot not too big.ifbsoil broken down,some time leafs tends to go 😞 bad

[@jojojo6708]

Help! I have a 30 year old that's been really happy but recently the steam got so heavy it started collapsing. It's huge. During the transplant all the roots broke off and I was just left with the plant and it's bark. I stuck it in water right away but I'm not sure that's the right way to go. I look at it every day. I miss it already! Any ideas? And I'm not talking about the lady that's doing this video because you don't have enough experience!

[@andrewrichmond9764]

Plastic pots best way to go

[@andrewrichmond9764]

I wouldn't recommend to grow this plant with this poor drainage of one hole, could get block or soil could get too hard with crowded roots make it worse,her pot work until the soil decompose and gets too hard for the roots that gets crowded then show signs of poor health.

[@JoyfulPattison]

You got it all wrong on everything. You need to watch better videos on this. You don't know anything on this.