When your Christmas cactus first starts to bloom, you will see an array of rich reds and purples! But after a few weeks when the beautiful purple flowers begin to fade, and you have seen just a few stems, you will start to hear a low husky voice say, “why is my cactus turning purple?” So now you may be asking yourself, what are these little plants so afraid of?
It can be quite alarming when your Christmas plants suddenly turn ugly and delicate. What makes this type of cactus so afraid? Well, when plants in the family BVVVVVVVV are forced to compete for nutrients such as nitrogen, oxygen, and water they often try to spread their spore count and get the most nutrients possible. Too many nutrients at once can be toxic to your plants and make them weak, meaning that they are not able to fight off diseases. Too many nutrients also can make your potted plants very heavy, so water may be difficult to obtain for them.
Some of the most common reasons why your Christmas plant blooms and then suddenly turns purple is that the soil where they are growing has either been recently added with a lot of nutrients or the roots have been infected with a fungal disease. Another cause that is commonly cited as the cause is roots that have been pruned. If your plants have ever had to go through a hard frost and been left without water or fertilizer, they may have developed fungus growth around their roots. In order to prevent your plants from suffering from fungal diseases, you need to water and feed your Christmas trees (once per year during the winter months and once per year in the summer months). These simple steps will help you avoid the most common reason why is my Christmas cactus turning purple.
The third most common reason why your christmas cactus appears to be turning purple is because it has been subjected to extreme temperatures of direct sunlight. For instance, during the summer months the heat from the sun can dry out your plants so that they become more susceptible to sunburn. Also, if your poinsettia grows in a pot instead of directly outside in the yard, they are not exposed to strong sunshine rays as often as they are if they were planted in the yard. If you live in an area that experiences extremely hot summers and mild cold winters, it is especially important to water your poinsettia and allow it room to grow. You should place your poinsettia pot in a shaded area during the hot summer months and allow it to finish drying out completely by wintertime.
Another way to prevent your christmas cactus from turning purple is by repotting it. When you repot a plant, it is important to remove all the roots, unless you plan to keep the pot and the plant together. You can then repot the plant with a smaller pot and add new soil. You should repot your plants every few years, depending on their tolerance to the conditions in your garden. By removing the roots from your poinsettia, it will make the plant easier to maintain and keep disease away.
One more way to prevent your christmas cactus from turning purple in the soil is to give it the proper amount of water. Many times when you are in areas of the country that are experiencing extremely dry conditions, your poinsettia will not survive. The soil in this type of environment becomes so dry and so moist that nutrients just do not get absorbed and spread deeply within the soil. This is due to the lack of water in the soil, coupled with the presence of too much moisture in it.
In order to combat this problem, it is important to give your poinsettia the water it needs each time you water it. Make sure that you water it enough to completely cover the soil, but no deeper than the roots. Also, as stated before, it is a good idea to repot your plants each year in order to prevent the occurrence of root rot.
So now you have some answers to the question of “Why is my christmas cactus purple?”. It is important to keep your poinsettia healthy during this time of year in order for it to bloom properly. In addition to providing it with the correct amount of water and nutrients, you can also provide it with the correct environment in which to grow. Purple Cactus Juice provides the perfect solution when trying to keep your plants healthy.
