"A. Turner" wrote:

Hi Fellow Gardeners:

I have 2 Xmas Cactus plants inside my home that are growing wild!
They bloom beautifully, but are really overgrown for the size of the
pot. Very difficult to manage/water them.

What is the safest way to trim these plants? Where should the cut be
positioned? Anything I need to watch out for?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Instead of trimming them, take cuttings. Cut right at a joint,
taking cuttings that contain at least two segments. You should
take 3-4 cuttings from each plant.

Dip the cut end into rooting hormone powder. Let the cuttings
air-dry for about three days in the shade.

Pot the cuttings in a mix of 3 parts clean sand to 2 parts peat
moss. (In a 4-inch pot, you can put two cuttings.) Keep the mix
moist but not soggy. (If the pots are in saucers, there should be
no standing water in the saucer for more than a few minutes.) Keep
the pots out of direct sun but in strong indirect light.

If you do this now, check for roots after the parent plants bloom
(in about 4-6 months). If you get rooted cuttings, discard the
parent plant, replacing it with one or two rooted cuttings.

For potting, use the same mix as for rooting the cuttings but add a
small amount of bonemeal and a little compost. See my
http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html; however,
with newly rooted cuttings, do not add other nutrients until after
new growth appears.

--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

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