How to Take Care of Cereus

Use a sandy loam for the cereus plant. The ideal medium is 1 part sand, peat moss and leaf mold, 3 parts loam and 1/2 part charcoal or dried manure. Use a container with drainage holes.

Place the cereus in a sunny location where it receives at least six hours of sun. The plants do very well in east-facing windows with shade from the southern sun, when temperatures are 90 degrees Fahrenheit or more. The plants need total darkness at night or it does not bloom. This means no artificial lights on in the room with the plant.

Water the plant when the top 2 inches of soil is dry. Add fertilizer to the plant every 10 days after watering the plant so that the roots don’t sustain root burn. Use a commercial fertilizer formulated for a blooming cactus plant.

Promote summer flowering every year by allowing the plant to go dormant in fall and winter. Do not fertilize the plant then. Reduce watering so that the soil dries out between each watering. Place the plant in a sunny room where it won’t be disturbed. Do not often repot the cereus. The plant will bloom more when the roots are pot bound.

Bring the plant back to its original location in the early spring after the plant resumes growing. Resume a regular watering and fertilizing schedule.