Save a glass of water for your Schlumbergera plant! Surprised? Don’t be—you can Propagate Christmas Cactus in Water!
If you want a plant that enjoys the holiday season as much as you do and lives over 100 years, then the Christmas cactus is your go-to!
If you don’t know how to grow it or just feel that there should be more ways to introduce this succulent houseplant to your home, multiply it in the water! This guide on propagating Christmas cactus in water will clear all your doubts about the process.
Can Christmas Cactus be Propagated in Water?
Yes! Christmas cacti can easily be propagated in water, just like snake plants and dieffenbachias; this allows you to analyze the plant’s root growth on a daily basis.
You can do this anytime in warm weather. The wrong time to take cuttings is after late summer, which extends till winter. This is when the plant reduces its active growth and starts to prepare for the blooming period.
It’s important to note that growing Christmas cactus in water won’t produce flowers and is not sustainable for the long term, unlike pothos, which can grow in water indefinitely! However, you can use this maintenance-free method to get more copies of your Christmas cactus.
Although soil propagation is always an option, water medium works really well, too. But the entire process is slow and requires patience, as the roots develop in about 6-8 weeks.
Propagating Christmas Cactus in Water
1. Cuttings
The Christmas cactus has long segmented stems. To take a viable cutting, choose a healthy stem and, using shears, scissors, or just your hands, simply cut or tug it off at a segmentation precisely without any damage.
Ensure that the cuttings are short, as long ones can start drooping or arching, acting as a hurdle in the propagation process. A cutting about 2-3 leaf segments long is perfect for the task.
Once you have the cuttings, allow the cut ends of the segments to callus over for 2 days in a shaded, warm, and dry spot before moving on to the next step.
2. Water Flask
You do not need to submerge a lot of the bottom part in the water. An inch of water is enough to cover the cut end. Take a clean, transparent container or flask where the cuttings can easily be positioned.
To keep the cuttings upright, you can place a few pieces of gravel or pebbles. Only the bottommost tip of the cutting should be submerged; anything more, the plant may succumb to rot or drown if entirely underwater.
Once the cuttings are dunked, move the container to a spot exposed to bright, indirect daylight. Every time the water begins to turn translucent, foggy, or cloudy, gently pour it out and replace it with fresh and normal drinking water.
Now, you can wait and enjoy the piece of greenery decorating your tabletop, shelves, and sills! Let time run its course, and once the new top and root growth is spotted (which can take 2-3 months), transplant the cuttings to the soil to allow them to mature fully in a solid medium.
3. Transplantation
Once the roots are about an inch long, they are strong enough to support the plant in soil. Gently transplant the cuttings into a pot filled with succulent or cacti-specialized potting mix. Make sure that the cuttings are stable and well-supported.
To ensure this, slither your finger a bit to make a tiny hole of about 1 inch for each cutting and adjust them. Now, move the pot to a warm spot in similar previous conditions and let the upcoming plants establish and acclimate.
After Care of a Transplanted Christmas Cactus
Once the Christmas cactus cutting is planted in a pot and you observe positive growth, it can be treated as a mature plant. Therefore, the same care and growing requirements must be provided.
Sunlight
Christmas cacti love bright indirect light, so placing them on an east-facing windowsill would bring the best results. This window position provides the plant with medium to bright indirect light. A temperature of about 55 F or more keeps the plant happy inside the home.
Watering
This plant likes more water than most other cacti, so regular watering is a must. However, let the growing medium dry out nicely before watering again to save it from overwatering.
When it comes to fertilization, our guide will show you how to feed your Christmas cactus properly. For more care instructions, check out our Christmas cactus care guide!
A Few Useful Tips
- The survival rate of each cutting is not 100 percent. Therefore, grow many of them.
- Cleaning the flask with a 10% bleach solution will remove contaminants. However, before planting the cuttings, rinse the container with warm water to remove any traces of bleach.
- Growing multiple Christmas cacti in a single flask or pot will give out the illusion of a fuller and denser look.
- Once successfully transplanted, occasional misting and humidifiers can be used to mimic the plant’s tropical conditions, as it originated in the Brazilian rainforests.
