5 things you need to do with your Christmas cactus now so that it flowers in December – start prepping now for a blooming festive season

The Christmas cactus has become synonymous with the festive season and is often given as a gift. It generally flowers in December, but to guarantee your Christmas cactus will flower, it's important to provide the right conditions now.

'Christmas cacti add a gorgeous burst of colour into the home in December and now is a great time to give it some extra love so you can enjoy its display of pink, red and white flowers,' says Chris Bennett, founder of GardeningExpress.

So what are these magical things we can do to ensure our Christmas cacti will bloom? I've asked our experts, and they've listed five key care tips that will help right now.

1. Move it to a cool room

It's important to get the temperature correct, Richard Barker, horticultural expert and commercial director at LBS Horticulture explains, 'To encourage flowering, Christmas cactus needs a period where it experiences colder temperatures of between 12°C and 15°C. This can usually be achieved by moving the plant to a cooler room, or if it is grown on a windowsill away from a heat source the temperature may dip naturally. The exact temperature is not critical for flowering, but there does need to be a noticeable drop.'

Spare rooms are a good spot if you don't have the heating on in there daily, 'It needs to be cooler for six to eight weeks will help it to turn its energy from producing foliage into flowering,' says Lucie Bradley, gardening and greenhouse expert at Harvst Automatic Watering.

Buy a thermometer so you can ensure the temperature is perfect, we like Amazon's mini digital indoor thermometer, a great buy at £5.99.

2. Monitor the light

Light, or rather lack of it is one of the most important elements to ensure your Christmas cactus will flower.

'The single most important thing is to give your Christmas cactus long, uninterrupted nights, starting now as flower buds are - quite conveniently - triggered by short days and cool temperatures,' explains Luke Deedman, indoor house expert at Deedman. 'A cactus needs around 12 hours (at least) of complete darkness every night for around six weeks to set buds, so the end of October or the start of November is the perfect time to start letting it live in the dark to encourage December blooms.'

A great tip from Lucie is to cover it up. 'To create this time of uninterrupted darkness I usually use a strong cardboard box large enough to cover the plant and its pot without touching its foliage. I use this to cover the plant at 6.00pm and remove it the following morning at 8.00am.'

We like the look of B&Q's Strata heavy duty black 60L plastic stackable storage box, £15, it's big enough to keep a few of your cacti in.

3. Pause watering

As with most houseplants at this time of year, when to water your Christmas cactus is key.

Because Christmas cactus need a rest period to help encourage flowering, it's important that from mid-September you stop watering until the buds begin to develop as the days shorten. 'Once you see flower buds, keep watering the plant until the flowers die off. During the 'rest' period, the top few centimetres of compost should be allowed to dry out between waterings, but try not to let it dry out entirely,' suggests Richard.

You can test your soil with Amazon's soil moisture meter, £6.99. It takes the guessing out of when to water/not to water and all you need to do is stick it in the soil.

4. Pause feeding

'By November, your plant should be focusing its energy on flowering rather than leafy growth,' says Melissa Quinney, gardening expert at Cabin Master. Stop feeding now, and resist the urge to repot, as Christmas cacti actually prefer being slightly root-bound, and disturbing the roots at this stage can set back flowering.'

According to Richard although it's best to pause feeding until buds open, you can switch to a low-nitrogen or high-phosphorus feed if needed.

A good buy is houseplant propagation drops, £16.92 for 8oz, from Amazon, it's ideal for root growth.

5. Avoid moving the plant again (for now)

'When you see tiny buds forming at the tips of the stem segments, that's your signal that the routine is working,' says Melissa. 'At this point, avoid moving the plant around or changing its conditions.'

'Sudden changes in conditions, like a blast of cold air from a draughty window or a spell of bone-dry compost, can cause buds to drop before they open. Once the flowers begin to open, you can move the plant to a spot where you can enjoy the display.'

Pop your Christmas cactus in a new pot for the day, we like the classic glazed stoneware planter in honey from John Lewis, from £12, and it comes in three sizes.

Where to buy a Christmas cactus

'By adjusting the light, temperature and water for six to eight weeks your Christmas Cactus should now be in bud,' says Lucie.