Caring for Holiday Cacti

How to care for holiday cacti…and get blooms!

Today we’re talking about holiday cacti, including the Thanksgiving cactus and the Christmas cactus. My Thanksgiving cactus started as a cutting from my own grandmother’s plant, so it’s a really special plant in my collection.

Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti can live very long lives, often being passed down through generations. Maybe mine will be my daughter’s plant 🙂 But what are holiday cacti, and how do you tell the varieties apart? Let’s talk about it.

Holiday cacti types

There are three main types of holiday cacti: Christmas, which is probably the most common, Thanksgiving, and Easter. The three different plants look very similar and also have similar care needs. Here’s an overview of the three.

1. Christmas cactus

Christmas cactus, otherwise known by its scientific name Schlumbergera (genus) bridgessii, is a tropical cactus hailing from South America. Its flat green leaves have rounded points along the edges, and it blooms long, lean in the winter. Late December, around—you guessed it—Christmas.

2. Thanksgiving cactus

Thanksgiving cactus, otherwise known as its scientific name Schlumbergera (genus) truncata, is very similar to the Christmas cactus. The best way to tell them apart is by looking at their leaves. While both plants have flattened green leaves, the Thanksgiving cactus has pointier tips on the leaves. It blooms long, lean flowers in the late fall—around Thanksgiving.

3. Easter Cactus

Easter Cactus, or rhipsalidopsis gaertneri, is actually part of a totally different genus. However, its leaves do look very similar to Christmas cactus leaves. It blooms in the spring, and its flowers aren’t as long and lean as the Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus flowers.

Light needs

Since I own Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti, I’m going to focus on those. Both Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti enjoy bright, indirect light. That means that somewhere near a sunny window is best. But, from my personal experience, my Thanksgiving cactus has done well in medium light conditions, too.

These plants do not like too much direct light, though. This can scorch their leaves. If your window is too sunny, you can consider adding a sheer curtain or something like a UV-blocking window cling.

Water & soil

Since these plants are tropical, they don’t mind frequent watering as long as they are planted in soil that has good drainage. I tend to let the top few inches of my soil dry out between waterings, and it hasn’t had a negative impact on the plant. A bit of extra water while your Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus is flowering is a good idea, too.

When I water my holiday cacti, I like to do so thoroughly in the sink. I use the handheld head on the faucet to spray down the whole plant, too. This helps to clean it off while also giving it a bit of extra moisture.

I have my plants in an indoor potting soil mixture with some additional coco coir or fine moss added in. This helps keep the soil light, which encourages good drainage and air circulation. A mix labeled as “cactus” or “succulent” mix is also a good choice.

Temperature & humidity

The minimum temperature for your plant should be about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti do not respond well to temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and will not tolerate frost. They do well in a variety of normal household temperatures with warmer days and slightly cooler nights.

Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti also do well in a variety of normal household humidity levels. But since they are tropical plants, they do like a bit of humidity. Group with other plants, add a humidifier, or mist the plants regularly to help keep humidity levels higher.

Potting and pruning

These plants have very long lives and can live very happily as houseplants for decades without a whole lot of care and fuss. They need repotted every few years, both to provide additional room for growth and to refresh the soil with a nutrient-rich mixture since soil can lose its luster over time.

Although you won’t really need to prune this plant, you can do so in the spring to encourage more branching. More branching will also mean more flowers since the buds grow on the stem tips. You also might knock a stem or two off while repotting or just during the course of living in the home with your plant. (That’s how I got my first cutting from my grandma!)

Encouraging blooms

Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti have lovely tube-like flowers. They can be bright or pale pink, purple, red, white, yellow, or a mix of these colors. But how do you get your holiday cactus to bloom? Well, you don’t have to do much, actually.

Typically when we think about getting flowers to bloom on plants, we think about giving them plenty of water, sun, and warmth. But only one of those is true for getting Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti to bloom—watering!

In fact, to get buds to turn to blooms on your plants, you actually need darkness. Nights need to be longer than the days, so you may need to cover your cactus after about 8 hours of light during the day. Or put it in a dim room or basement. Or just let nature do its thing near a window…those naturally shorter days always give me blooms!

Temperature is also an important consideration. It typically needs to be in the 60s or even upper 50s to be cool enough to bloom. My holiday cacti have bloomed in mid- to high-60s with no issues.

When you notice your cactus beginning to form buds, keep your hands to yourself! Moving the plant could cause stress, which can often lead to your cactus dropping its buds. Also make sure it has plenty of water while the buds are forming and while the flowers are in bloom.

Propagating cuttings

As I mentioned, my holiday cactus came from a cutting that had fallen off of my grandmother’s plant. Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti can be propagated very easily through stem cuttings. The best time to do so is in the spring.

First take a cutting at a joint—that’s the area where each of the “leaves” meets. You can take a cutting with a single joint, or you can take a cutting with multiple joints. Larger pieces might have a harder time establishing new roots, though.

Simply let the cut end of your stem dry out for a few days—this will help prevent the cutting from taking on too much water when you plant it. You can dip the cut end in rooting hormone if you have it, then plant it in an indoor potting soil. Keep the soil moist to encourage root development. 

After a few weeks, roots will begin to develop. You can gently tug on the cutting to check. Once this occurs, you can begin treating the new plant just as you would any other holiday cactus plant. Here’s a new cutting freshly rooted!

Wrapping up…

I love this plant and encourage you to add one to your collection! Given how easy it is to propagate, you might be able to bum a cutting from a friend and root one yourself, too. My cutting is a full-blown plant now, and 8 years later, it’s going strong with blooms every year. Happy planting!

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