Holiday Cactus

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Cactus

All three succulents come from the coastal mountains of Brazil and grow in shade to part-shade in high humidity. They all bloom at various times. Flowers and leaves are slightly different.

Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) have broad, pointy leaves

Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) have flat, scalloped leaves

Easter cactus (Schlumbergera, Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) have rounded, scalloped leaves

All 3 varieties have the same environmental requirements. It is best if they are placed in an east-facing window, as strong bright sunlight can cause the leaves to fade and scald. Plant them using an excellent quality cactus or succulent soil in a pot that has a drain hole. They prefer the nighttime temperature to be around sixty-five degrees and the daytime temperature in the mid to high seventies.

Water when the top 2 inches of soil are dry – typically once every 2-3 weeks when indoors. If you put your plant outside in the summer keep it in shade and physically check soil to know when to water it. Keep in mind when holiday cacti are flowering it is good to keep your soil more moist, as flowering takes moisture to keep flowers nice.

You may feed your plant monthly with a regular house plant fertilizer. Reduce nutrients and water less after flowering to give your plant a rest. An eight-week rest works well for most plants.

If your plant gets leggy, prune after flowering by pinching off excess leaves at the joints. You may repot these to start new plants.

These are long-lived plants, many being around and passed down for over 100 years. They seem to be perfectly happy being slightly pot bound. If you re-pot make sure you do not increase the pot size by more than 1-2 inches.