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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 took in a Christmas cactus from my friend this week. The branches were actually breaking off & falling to the floor. I started from the beginning. Got rid of all old soil. Bought new soil & replanted. I鈥檓 hoping all will be good as I will follow your advice
Where can I buy Easter and Christmas cactus. I keep buying and I keep getting Thanksgiving cactus with the real pointie leaves. Thank you
Check your local Trader Joe鈥檚 they have them listed as spring, peekaboo, sunset and zygo cactuses. Aldi carried them last year as well. There are several fb groups (holiday cactus club, holiday cactus lovers) that you can glean much information from. Best of luck
Try Etsy. Com, I think that鈥檚 where I got my starts. Good luck!
One of my cacti's leaves are reddish-purplish in color while others keep their pretty green leaves. What causes the leaves to turn a different color?
This is my question. Why are the leaves of my plant turning reddish purple?
Why are my Christmas cactus leaves turning purple?
Location 鈥 Christmas cactus requires bright light during fall and winter, but too much direct light during the summer months may be the reason for Christmas cactus leaves turning purple on edges. Moving the plant to a more appropriate location may prevent sunburn and solve the problem
My cactus blooms beautifully in November with the blooms lasting a couple of weeks. After they drop off new flower buds appear but they do not bloom. The buds dry up and drop off. What do you suggest? It usually blooms fully 3 times per year. Thank you
Hi, Linda, Bloom drop is common on Christmas cactus. Change鈥攊n temperature (think drafts, hot or cold), moisture (too much or too little), and light (these plants bloom after a relatively long period of darkness)鈥攃an interfere with its bloom. These plants do best in a cool environment (around 61掳F) where they get at least 8 days of darkness for about 16 hours per day (this means the absence of artificial/lamp light as well as sunlight). That’s why it blooms in fall: the days are getting shorter. For repeat blooms, you have to replicate similar conditions. Sometimes we may do this without realizing it; we think it’s customary for the plant to rebloom on its own, but it’s more likely that you helped it along, perhaps by putting it in a darker, cooler spot and watered it just right.
I see the temperatures that you advise, however I live in Florida and we barely have any cool temperatures anymore period however my cactus, blooms beautifully all of them period I put them in the shade all summer and the winter I bring them out to start getting some sun I feed and water them regularly at that point and I had amazing blooms this year
