Gardeners' Question Time Sully & District: Blooming Cacti, Shallow Depth and Signs of Spring
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Mar 13, 2026 
Bethan Collerton, head gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, shares practical planting and conservation tips. Anne Swithinbank, houseplant specialist and writer, explains Schlumbergera care and shade-plant solutions. Chris Beardshaw, garden designer and plantsman, discusses compact conifers, seaside planting and structure. They cover shallow-soil climbers, heavy-shade vegetables, recycling pots and favourite first signs of spring.
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Get Christmas Cacti To Flower More
- Encourage Christmas cacti to bulk up by potting on after flowering and giving a high-potash feed rather than a nitrogen houseplant feed.
- Keep them cool (about 10–16°C), moderate light, and slightly drier just before bud formation to increase the number of blooms.
Cool And Dry Before Buds Then Water
- For flowering quantity, use a cool, dry period in late autumn/winter to initiate buds, then increase watering when buds are fully formed.
- Bethan Collerton found cool-and-dry before flowering produced more flowers in her glasshouse plants.
Pick Truly Compact Conifers Or Keep Them In Pots
- For small gardens on clay and some shade consider compact conifers like Picea abies 'Conica' or dwarf Pinus mugo cultivars rather than promising true dwarfs.
- Many so‑called dwarf conifers are simply young plants that will grow larger over time, so choose slow-growing forms or keep in pots.