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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 have what I believe is a Christmas cactus (could be an Easter one) and it blooms several times each year, including in the summertime! It seems to know the holidays, too, as it blooms around July 4th, among other holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). It bloomed at Thanksgiving and is still producing some flowers. I do need to repot it though as the roots are coming up, though someone once told me that this type of plant likes to be pot-bound. I water it every couple of weeks and it is in a north/east-facing window where it gets the morning sun.
My Christmas cactus bloomed early November this year. I kept on a covered porch here in sunny South Carolina and watered it well. Even split it up for present and it was gorgeous in doors as temps dropped. Now it looks overwatered and wilted blooms. ? I think I need to repot? Maybe set it outside again? Fertilize?
The plant is likely a bit too wet! Indoors with less light, it needs a lot less water than it does outdoors. It may also just need some time to adjust to indoors and bounce back on its own.
I jus received a Christmas Cactus - my first ever - so this page was extremely informative I love this plant and do not want to kill it!
I have a cactus that is at least 100 years old I acquired it in the 80s repotted it then because pot was cracked. Do they get root bound or do I not worry .. looks a little droopy now and leaves just don鈥檛 look right. My house is cold. Staring to bloom . So going to make sure it鈥檚 watered Any suggestion
If you haven鈥檛 repotted it in 40 years it may be ready. I鈥檓 sure it takes C cacti long time to get root bound but 40 years might cover it.
I have had a Thanksgiving cactus for 5 or more years. It has never bloomed. What can I do to get it to bloom?
My Christmas Cactus has never bloomed. It is in a small pot. Should I repot into what kind of a pot? Thank you for your help. Dawn
I have a Christmas cactus in my office and work 8am-5pm. To encourage it to bloom, I've started putting it in a box before I leave every day, and putting it back by the (east) window when I get back to work in the morning. What do I do about the weekends? I can't get into my building on weekends, so I either need to leave it in the box all weekend, or leave it out of the box. Suggestions?
You should probably leave it in the box if you can't take it home due to boxes holding water longer
