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Great Houseplant: Holiday-Blooming Cactus

You may know it as Christmas cactus, but whichever holiday floats your boat, this plant is a year-round beauty

Jenny Peterson December 7, 2012

Houzz Contributor

Comment7

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Just because this plant enjoys the spotlight around the holidays, don't forget to enjoy it year-round — its striking form and foliage are difficult to find in any other plant. You might be wondering why I'm writing about Thanksgiving cactus now. The answer is: because what most people think of as Christmas cactus, and what most nurseries sell as Christmas cactus, is actually Thanksgiving cactus. True Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) is very difficult to find, so the more readily available Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) has been commonly dubbed Christmas cactus.

Now that our semantics have been cleared up, here's what you need to know about this ubiquitous holiday plant.

J. Peterson Garden Design

Botanical name: Schlumbergera truncata
Common name: Thanksgiving cactus
Water requirement: Average
Light requirement: Bright light until early fall
Mature size: 12 to 18 inches tall; cascades over the edge of a pot
Benefits and tolerances: Generally pest and disease free
Seasonal interest: Profuse blooms from late fall through January

J. Peterson Garden Design

Planting notes. Here's where this holiday-flowering cactus gets tricky. There is a secret to getting these plants to rebloom every year, and I share this secret with one consideration: I know many people, myself included, who do nothing special to their Thanksgiving cactus and are still treated to annual flowering.

That being said, traditional advice for these plants is to give them bright, indirect light (on a covered patio or through a bright window) until September or October. At that point, it's suggested to reduce the light to about 10 hours a day for 20 to 25 days.

Put a box or bag carefully over the plant from 6 to 8 p.m. or place it in a darkened garage during those hours. This imitates the short day cycle that is necessary for these plants to set buds for holiday flowering.

When the buds begin to set, increase watering and bring the container out to a brightly lit area for holiday display, but never let the plant sit in soggy soil.

Rikki Snyder

Distinguishing traits. Thanksgiving cactus and Christmas cactus are both flat-leaf cacti native to the tropical forests of Brazil, but they're different in subtle ways. Thanksgiving cactus has pointed or claw-like stem ends, while those of the Christmas cactus are rounded.

Thanksgiving cactus also begins to bloom earlier, setting out buds in mid to late fall with flowers in white, fuchsia, pink, red and salmon. Most plants bloom profusely from about one month before Christmas until later in January or even into February.

J. Peterson Garden Design

How to use it. Plant this holiday bloomer in containers of festive colors (red, green, silver) and display it with other houseplants or other seasonal flowers, like poinsettias or cyclamens.

If you live in a very mild area (zones 9 to 11), you may be able to leave this plant outside on your patio throughout the season. All other zones should plan to display this plant indoors during the colder months.

Comment7

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gattabooks

I love this plant because it adds great texture to my other potted plants out on the deck all summer and then it gives a great burst of color in my sunroom on a cold winter day. This is a picture of Mikey with one of my favorite plants.

8 Likes December 16, 2012 at 9:33AM

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Christa Walck

Mine sits on the radiator in a south-facing window in a far northern climate and blooms profusely around Thanksgiving, so it is aptly named. The critters are fond of the radiator too.