10. Tea Water
Please don’t pour used tea leaves with sugar and milk into the Christmas Cactus. Use cool, plain tea water at least once every 45 days. It will boost the leaf color, improve the nutrient absorption, and slightly acidify the soil. Coffee water (very diluted) also works, but use it sparingly to avoid over-acidifying.
11. Over-rotation
Once they are settled at a place, please do not rotate your plant, especially when the buds appear. Moving the plant will cause the buds to fall off and then reduce flowering. Before moving them to reduced light levels in autumn, wait until the flower buds open, then return your plants to a spot where you can enjoy them.
An earlier change might stress them and cause the cactus to drop flower buds before they bloom. Try marking the pot’s front with a small sticker so you always place it back in the same orientation.
12. Pest Check (Important!)
White Christmas Cactus rarely gets pests, but mealybugs love hiding in the joints of the stems. Check occasionally, especially during winter. If you spot cottony clusters, dab them with cotton soaked in rubbing alcohol. Keeping the plant clean helps prevent pests from spreading.
13. Stress Blooming Tip
Sometimes, the plant refuses to bloom because it’s “too comfortable.” Slightly reducing water and lowering the temperature in early winter gives it a gentle push to start forming buds. Think of it as a wake-up call for flowering season.
They also live surprisingly long—many people pass them down for generations—so if you care for it well, it can easily become your family’s holiday heirloom. Do tell us in the comments which trick you applied and how it helped you?
