Personally, I have never kept the soil constantly moist when rooting Christmas cactus cuttings for fear of rot, seeing the cutting don't have any roots.
I water once, then let the soil pretty much dry before giving it anymore, and CC cuttings can send out roots rather quickly if taken care of right.

I like keeping the cuttings in small living conditions, a bunch of cuttings in a small somewhat "cramped" glass of water, or a small pot with fast draining soil set in decent indirect light.That's all I ever did to root them.

I have some cuttings right now that have rooted in water a while ago and REALLY need a pot.
When I finally get around to potting them up (maybe this week) the pot won't be much bigger than the glass of water they are currently in that is now filled with roots, so the transition from water to soil shouldn't be a problem, as long as the pot is not too big, and soil not heavy.

Billy Rae

Hi,
I put my Christmas cactus cuttings in soil (cactus soil w/ perline) about 2 weeks ago. Now they look like they are wilting; I checked on of them and there is no sign of root growth. Should I put them in a glass of water to root?

mccaba,

Even though you can root Christmas cactus in soil or water, it might be easier for you to first root them in water. There is always a possibility for rot with rootless cuttings in soil.
Your cuttings sound like they need water now or have rooted perhaps if they are rootless and already wrinkled.

I'd take off the bottom couple leaves (they could also be rotted) and put them into about an inch or two of water, keeping the water level the same (topped)
When the roots get to be about an inch long,then you go ahead and pot them up.
You can safely cramp them into a small pot so each root end of the cuttings are almost touching (that's what I do)

I finally got around to taking the cuttings that rooted in water (a few branched cuttings 7"-8" in length) and potted them up into a 3" clay pot and they doing very well.
I plan on giving it to my sister who lost almost everything in a flood, including her Christmas cactus.

Billy Rae

Ines,

Yep, that's another way to root them. You have reminded me that I had a few broken CC pieces that have rooted during the summer in an outdoor potted plant. Better tend to it before the SNOW flies! Hate that (S) word!

Billy Rae

I potted a cutting of my mom's christmas cactus recenently and have it sitting in my windowsill. If it needs shade let me know. Also I need to know if I need to water it once a week, or when the soil is dry.

If the cuttings don't have roots they cannot take up water and watering the soil will only promote rot IMHO. You can mist them lightly to keep them from drying out. A number of people have commented that CC cuttings seem to root well with a "nurse plant". This is what Ines is talking about--just sticking the cuttings back into the pot with the mother plant. Of course if you don't have the mother plant thats not an option. But you could try putting them in with a spider plant, philodendron, etc.

Ok thank you I have now done that and hopefully it will thrive. Also I have a cactus by which I dont know the common name. I found the name Mammillaria Rhodantha to be it's scientific name on a cacti guide but sadly it appears to have base rot. I fear that my only options are to either cut it in half and try to root it or just throw it away.The cactus is about two inches wide and four inches tall. Can it survive this kind of operation???

Christmas Cactus sections are THE EASIEST to root...and they need no roots, no buddy plant, no family plant, no neighbor plant......they do it all for themselves by simply putting a piece...make it consist of 3 or 4 sections...and place at least two of them into soil that is composed of
peat moss/vermiculite.
Or....peat moss/potting soil..having vermiculite in it.
Dust the bottom with some rooting hormone.....or not.

Just stick it into the soil, water it and put it into a sunny window. Keep it damp....but not wet or soggy.
Water to drainage and don't let it sit in that drainage water for any length of time.
Allow at least 3 or 4 weeks for that to form roots.
When propagating any plant by cuttings, it is always a good idea to root as many as is practical....for insurance.

A 4" pot I think is an ideal size.....but a 2" will do in a pinch. The 4" will accommodate more sections more easily.

Late October/early November, I rooted some cuttings of CC in AV potting soil. I bagged them in ziploc bags and left them at the kitchen windowsill for three weeks. Now, I have some buds forming on some of the sections! Isn't that wonderful? Here's a pic of my cuttings.

{{gwi:490880}}

Xuan (temporarily in East Bay, Calif.)

Xuan, That's fantastic!

Xuan,
Congratulations! Great job! You GOT to love them!

Happy holidays!

Tom

Yeah... I'm really happy! :-)
Now I'm waiting for the blooms and then will pot them up into a hanging basket when they've done flowering.

Xuan

Hi,I have a 6 year old zygo christmas cactus and a piece snapped off just today,.I was wonder what to put it in to reroot the piece so I can replant it,the roots entirely came off the whole peiece,the plant was raized from a baby and is now bout 3 foot wide from expanding but the section the fell off was a end piece with bout 20 pieces connected.please mail me if anyone knows,thanks

I had to post this because it is so cool. I put out a thanksgiving cactus cutting to callus over before trying to root it and it started rooting in air! It has been raining in my area last few days so maybe air is humid? Anyway, I just laid it on top of the soil and the roots started to grow! Attaching a pic of this.

I am also experimenting with Rooting a Thanksgiving Cactus in water vs Rooting in soil. So far let me show you what I have. The photo attached show a cutting rooted in water vs a cutting rooted in soil. The cutting with the longer roots is the one I rooted in water (ie the cutting in the left side of the pic). The water roots are not necessarily that much thinner then the soil/ air roots in my experiment, but I do agree with the opinions that the water roots have a more difficult time adjusting to the soil, but some of mine have adjusted. Depends on the species of TC you are trying to root. The cutting ( single leaf) on the right side of the picture is the cutting that has rooted in air/ soil.

I am so appreciative of all the good advice and sharing, I want to post my experiences so I can help others.

Oh dear, I wish I had found this thread earlier. When my Xmas cactus broke off, I just threw it away (the pieces). I never thought I could put them back into the soil and they would root. Live and learn.....