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Growing Christmas Cactus Plants: Watering, Light, Propagation, and More!
The Christmas cactus is a long-lasting holiday plant (move over, poinsettias!) that flowers in winter with colorful, tubular flowers in pink or lilac colors. Learn how to care for a Christmas cactus鈥攈ow much to water this succulent, how to get a Christmas cactus to bloom, and how to propagate for a gift that will give year after year!
About Christmas Cacti
The Christmas cactus () is a popular houseplant that blooms indoors in the winter, so it鈥檚 popular at holiday time and makes a great gift, too. Unlike regular cacti, however, this is not a plant from a dry, hot, desert location. Instead, this is a succulent native to tropical rainforests, where they grow on tree branches and soak up the high humidity, dappled sunlight, and warm temperatures.
The bottom line: Don鈥檛 treat a Christmas cactus like a run-of-the-mill cactus! It鈥檚 important to water these cacti more regularly but also to be cautious of keeping them too wet. (See detailed care instructions below.)
Holiday Cactus Types
There are three main types of 鈥渉oliday鈥 cacti out there: the Easter cactus (), the Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata), and the Christmas cactus (S. x buckleyi). For simplicity鈥檚 sake, we refer to all three species as 鈥淐hristmas cactus鈥 on this page since the care is the same. See our article on the different types of holiday cacti and how to tell them apart.
Growing
How to Care for Christmas Cacti
- Plan to water every 2 to 3 weeks, but only water when the top one-third of the soil feels dry to the touch. For example, if the plant is in 6 inches of soil, water when the top 2 inches feel dry. (Use your finger to check!)
- When the soil is sufficiently dry, soak the soil until water runs through the pot鈥檚 drainage holes. Place a tray underneath the pot to catch the water. After 10-15 minutes, discard any excess water in the tray so that the pot doesn鈥檛 sit in water.
- It鈥檚 especially important to water well while the plant is flowering.
- From spring through early fall, feed every 2 weeks with a balanced houseplant fertilizer. Feed the cactus monthly in the fall and winter to encourage successful blooming.
- Prune plants in late spring to encourage branching and more flowers. Simply cut off a few sections of each stem; the plant will branch from the wound.
- If you wish, place the cut pieces in a lightly moist potting soil鈥攖hey root easily after a few weeks and make for excellent Christmas presents!
How to Get Your Christmas Cactus to Bloom
The blooms of Christmas cacti and its relatives are triggered by the cooler temperatures and longer fall nights. The three main types of holiday cacti generally bloom according to this schedule:
- Thanksgiving cacti are the earliest and longest bloomers, typically producing flowers from late fall through mid-winter.
- Christmas cacti tend to bloom from early winter to mid-winter.
- Easter cacti bloom from late winter to mid-spring.
If your cactus is NOT blooming, it may be receiving too much light or too high temperatures. Here are some tips to encourage yours to produce flowers!
- To trigger blooming, nights need to be at least 14 hours long and days between 8 to 10 hours for at least six weeks. If you have strong indoor lighting that鈥檚 on at night, you may need to cover your cactus or move it to an area that鈥檚 exposed to the natural light cycle.
- Flower buds form best when the plant is kept in temperatures between 50 and 60掳F (10 and 15掳C).
- You can kickstart the budding process by exposing the plant to temperatures of about 45掳F (7掳C) for several nights in a row.
- Make sure that you are consistent with watering while the plant is in flower. If the plant dries out too much, it may drop its buds.
- If the cactus sheds its buds one winter, don鈥檛 worry: it should bloom the following year!
Types
There are three main types of 鈥渉oliday cacti鈥 available:
- Thanksgiving cacti (Schlumbergera truncata) bloom from late fall to mid-winter and are often mislabeled as Christmas cacti.
- Christmas cacti (S. x buckleyi) bloom from early winter to mid-winter.
- Easter cacti (S. gaertneri) bloom from later winter to mid-spring.
Catherine Boeckmann
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I bought the plant a month ago with buds. It looks good so far however, the buds are not blooming. I keep a check on the soil. I have the plant in a pot which is big enough however missed on a hole underneath the pot. Do I still need to get a hole drilled or it's fine till I keep a track of water? Can someone please suggest? Thankyou
Watch for root rot...I lost one that came from a florist without a drainage hole...
We always recommend pots with drainage holes, as it’s an added defense against overwatering (which many of us tend to do!). However, if you are careful with your plant and monitor the soil moisture carefully, you can get away with using a pot without a hole in the bottom. We would recommend getting a moisture meter, however, as that would help you tell how wet the soil is closer to the plant’s roots.
If you do decide to repot the plant, wait until after blooming finishes. Repotting now will likely cause the plant to drop its buds.
I was given a Christmas cactus that from your article I now recognize is a Thanksgiving cactus. It blooms from after Christmas thru late winter, then again late spring/early summer. The blooms don鈥檛 last long, but maybe I鈥檓 not watering enough at that time. It鈥檚 in a very small pot and although you say it likes being crowded, I want it to grow to a giant plant like the one you have pictured. My question is how deep a pot does it need? I have a wide but shallow banzai planter I thought of using because it has two large drainage holes and a tray for the excess water. The pot is about 4-5 inches deep and about 8-9 inches long. Would this work, or do I need a deeper and/or narrower pot? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I once had a Christmas cactus. it was huge and beautiful. I know I had it in an eastern window but other than that I cannot remember any extra care. That was a while ago. I would also like to know as you do what else I can do for this poor little plant. I bought it when it was half dead. I need to know if I should put it in a bigger pot and how much water I should give it .advise etc...
Parts of my plant appear very droopy and lifeless since I repotted it a year ago. It flowered at Christmas but does not look very healthy. Color is very dark also.
I follow the advice that I got from a local garden centre a few years ago as the plant was not doing well. Their advice was to put it in a sunny spot (my south facing patio doors were decided on) it has been in flower since early last November. I water it when I remember and feed it even less often. It is 40 years old born a cutting got from my wife鈥檚 dad.
I recently repotted a cactus, maybe 9 months ago. It's in a very warm room with afternoon sun and regularly watered. I noticed a few weeks ago that I have hundreds of little spores now all over the window, ceiling and curtains, its so frustrating. It must be from the dirt, but I bought bagged Miracle Grow soil specific for cactus's or indoor plants. Any other thoughts?
That certainly is annoying! Bagged soil sometimes contains unwanted things like soil fungi or fungus gnats. It sounds like it may be too humid in that room. If possible, let some fresh air in to dry out and remove spores (but keep your cactus away from cold drafts!).
My Christmas Cacti bloom but some of the tiny buds seem to dry up and drop off while the rest of the plant continues to bloom. Why?
