Agree with Easter cactus or at least same genus. These don't bloom as readily indoors as the Thanksgiving types, definitely need specific conditions to bud. Nowadays a body can find preference being given to the combination Hatiora gaertneri for the one with that species name. And many of the various named Schlumbergera cultivars listed by cultivar name only, without an associated species assignment. Probably due in many cases to hybrid origins.

Cool thanks guys! It's so obvious when I look at the comparison photos up there. When I was looking at those same sketches online I was convincing myself it was one and then the other.

Is it true Christmas cactuses are hard to come by now a days? Why is that?

I've never owned an actual Christmas cactus before, so I've never really studied up on them. What I've gathered is that Thanksgiving cacti are more popular with greenhouse growers because they bloom earlier than the xmas variety, and they have more diverse colors to choose from.

True Christmas cactus seems to be difficult to find. Could be pricey if you find some. There are many for sale on net but most are misidentified. They differ in leaf shape and also flowers. Be very careful if you decide to buy one by mail.

Christmas cactus also supposed to be harder to get to bud. I've kept multiple different Thanksgiving types in ordinary rooms for years and had them always bloom without being covered at night or moved into a cooler area. Occasionally twice per year.

My grandmother's CC, over seventy years old, tended to bloom three times a year (as if it were a holiday predictor), fair sized flush for Thanksgiving, big flush for Christmas, and a few blooms for Easter. I realize it was just due to seasonal light changes, but it was so appropriate.

How wet do you keep your holiday cactuses? Since you said the Thanksgiving bloom easier, do you change the water schedule in the winter?

Might be a dumb question but hear me out.. says they are easy to propagate, just stick a piece at least 3 segments long into root hormone and into the soil. Will that grow more from the roots or of the ground? Or would that piece just grow longer? Like... If I was going to make a Holiday Cactus would I have to stick a bunch of pieces out of a pot or would a couple segments eventually turn into a full cactus?

Hmm, I wonder what happened to all the Christmas cactuses. My bf came home with 4 that were gonna be thrown in a dumpster and as I'm learning it looks like I've got 2 Thanksgiving and 2 Easters. Haven't seen them bloom yet which would have made it much easier on me to identify them. They are inside now but this pic is them when I got em. I've been trying to save the stump in the back in case it was a different type and it's alive but since it has the bristles on the ends I'm assuming it is an Easter and I think I'm just gonna dump it.

Was your grandmother in Arkansas too? Just wondering which area has the perfect weather to make a cc do that! That is awesome.

Any way to tell how old a cc is?

Yep, my grandmother, and her mother-in-law (my great grandmother) had the Christmas cactus there, in Arkansas. All I can say it was almost totally woody at the bases.