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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—how 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’s 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’t treat a Christmas cactus like a run-of-the-mill cactus! It’s 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 “holiday” cacti out there: the Easter cactus (), the Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata), and the Christmas cactus (S. x buckleyi). For simplicity’s sake, we refer to all three species as “Christmas cactus” 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’s 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’t sit in water.
- It’s 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—they 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’s on at night, you may need to cover your cactus or move it to an area that’s exposed to the natural light cycle.
- Flower buds form best when the plant is kept in temperatures between 50 and 60°F (10 and 15°C).
- You can kickstart the budding process by exposing the plant to temperatures of about 45°F (7°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’t worry: it should bloom the following year!
Types
There are three main types of “holiday cacti” 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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they need more frequent watering when they are in bloom
Why is my Christmas Cactus dropping leaves? It has already bloomed. The other cactuses are not doing this. I moved them indoors from the porch when cold weather arrived. I have 3 large ones about 10 years old.
My cactus has buds but they don't bloom. It is in a bright east facing window in my bathroom. What can i do to move the blooming process along?
Make sure that the plant isn’t getting too cold in the window. Also be sure that it is getting enough water. Otherwise, it should bloom when it’s ready!
I have a large Xmas cactus..it looks like the roots are coming threw the bottom part of the plant... Can I add more soil??
Christmas cacti don’t mind being a bit restricted by their pots, so unless it’s showing signs of poor health, we wouldn’t repot it!
I got a cactus before Thanksgiving, it had plenty of buds . They dropped off and now is budding again . But they don’t flower , die before they open . Help please
I don't do any of this and my two fairly young plants grow and bloom without fail. They are both in a thin plastic pot from the local nursery. I noticed that they love to be crammed in a pot before they start to bloom.
They sit on a bed of wet rock for the humidity, on a low cabinet with a peace plant with grow lights most of the winter day.
My grandson loves to be the first to find the flower buds. This year the buds popped starting two weeks ago. The only thing this plant doesn't like is being moved around. Out to the porch in the summer and into the house when the weather starts getting cold. I live in Oklahoma.
Wonderful article, I loved it. So nice of you to post pictures, too! I have been a Virginia Volunteer Master Gardener since 1999 and will share this with my fellow Master Gardeners. Thanks for this educational and enjoyable read. We love to share educational information.
I have a very dark red & a whitish pink all in one pot - they bloomed - & I have re posted them in good soil & watered well - hopefully they live because the colors are just beautiful
