Is your Christmas Cactus blooming in November? You probably have a Thanksgiving Cactus! Yes, there are multiple holiday cacti (including an Easter cactus). Here’s the difference—plus, tips on how to care for your holiday cactus to keep it blooming.
What’s the Difference Between the Christmas Cactus and Thanksgiving Cactus?
Christmas Cactus
Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) is the long-lived plant our grandmothers grew. I have a plant that came from one my mother-in-law grew from a cutting she received over 70 years ago! They are the ultimate pass-along plant since they are so easy to root. Just pinch off a “Y” shaped piece from one of the branches and stick it in a pot of sterile soil or vermiculite. It will root in no time.
Thanksgiving Cactus
Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) typically blooms between mid-November and late December, sometimes through January. Its leaf segments are square shaped with pointed hooks on one end and along the sides like pincers, giving rise to its common name “crab cactus”. It is native to Brazil where its 2 to 3 inch long, satiny flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.
Easter Cactus
The Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) blooms in the spring and sometimes again in the fall around Halloween. Its flaring, trumpet-shaped flowers have pointy pink or red petals.
Many of the plants available for sale are hybrid crosses of Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) that come in a rainbow of exotic colors including orange, purple, yellow, red, pink, white, and two-tones.
More Ways to Tell a Christmas Cactus from a Thanksgiving Cactus
Look at their bloom color and the way the flower blooms:
- The Christmas cactus has hanging flowers in shades of magenta and blooms, of course, near Christmas. The range of flowering is late November through early February.
- The Thanksgiving cactus has flowers that face outwards and the plant comes in a wide range of colors. This plant blooms near Thanksgiving. It can start flowering in very late October or in November.
They also have different stems:
- The true Christmas cactus has a flattened stem segments with smooth, scalloped edges.
- The Thanksgiving cactus has a very toothy stem with two to four pointed teeth.
- While the Christmas cactus stems hang down like a pendent, the Thanksgiving cactus has stems that grow upright at first and then arch.
Most nurseries and stores actually sell the Thanksgiving cactus (not Christmas cactus) because it blooms around the American Thanksgiving; also the Christmas cactus is more difficult to ship as the stems are more fragile and often break.
Caring For Your Holiday Cactus
The holiday cactus is not your typical cactus. We are all familiar with the desert cactus but the holiday plant is a forest cactus—an epiphyte that lives in decomposing leaf litter found in the forks and on the branches of trees in tropical rain forests of South America.
- The conditions in our houses are nothing like their native rain forest homes but still they do fine in normal household temperatures of 65 to 70 degrees, with a drop at night to 55 to 60 degrees. They will need protection when temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep under a shade tree or patio. Not in full sun.
- They like their forest floor so give these cacti acidic well drained soils. Use a cactus mix and add perlite, vermiculite and orchid bark. They’re not cold tolerant.
- They like bright light but not direct sun; an east or west window is perfect. If the leaves turn yellow it means they are getting too much light.
- Let the plants dry out between waterings by watering them when the top 2 inches of the soil feels dry. Do not over water; this is the number one reason for their demise in our homes. Neglect is better than over watering. You could get a hydrometer to help Don’t let them sit in water because if they get too waterlogged they will rot.
- Misting them frequently helps increase humidity.
- Optional: Fertilize them with a, all purpose fertilizer such as a Miracle Grow Tomato water soluble fertilizer (1 tablespoon to a gallon of non-chlorinated water). Feed 2 times a month.
Like all the plants we have there, it gets no special care otherwise. Luckily for us it thrives on neglect and cool temperatures.
How to Keep Holiday Cactus Blooming
The keys to getting your holiday cactus to blossom are short days and cool nights. They need 13 hours of darkness and nights at 50 to 55 degrees for at least 1 to 2 months before they will set buds. I put some of my plants outside all summer and wait until the nights start to drop below 50 degrees before bringing them in for the fall and winter. They usually bud right up and start to bloom after that. The plants that grow in my kitchen get no special treatment and they blossom just as well. Go figure!
The plants flower best when slightly potbound so only repot them if they are really crowded. Unlike many holiday plants they are non-toxic to cats and dogs so don’t be afraid to bring one home for the holidays!
Read more about plant care tips on our Christmas Cactus growing guide.
Reader Comments
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Thank you!
I came here looking to figure out what I have a cutting of, and found out it is a Christmas cactus. And that I have it in the wrong kind of soil—I'll have to repot it this weekend!
Easter and Christmas together in one pot
Can I repot my Thanksgiving cactus and my Easter cactus together in one pot? Can I get them to bloom at the same time?
christmas/easter cacti
good day
I am having a hard time deciding which one I have. I have the leaves of an Easter but the flowers of a Christmas. My plant is a portion of the one my great grandmother had and passed down to my grandmother. (fyi I am 57 to put a perspective on how old this plant is)
Is there any other way to tell?
thank you
Nancy
Christmas or Easter?
The flower is the real way to know for sure. If yours has flowers that look like Christmas cactus flowers and rounded leaves, you likely have a genuine Christmas cactus, especially if it’s been around for a long time!
I received a “Christmas”
I received a “Christmas” cactus last year as a gift. It has done well. I think now that’s it must be a “Thanksgiving” Cactus, because it has many little spines at the edges of every new leaf it puts out. I’m wondering if it might be two different plants, because two branches of of it blooms white flowers and the rest of the branches bloom beautiful red/fushia flowers. Could I try and separate them, or is it typical to have multiple colors from the same plant? I will definitely be trying to propagate from the branches when it finishes blooming this year (still blooming since Nov 23!), so I can try to get an all-white flowering plant as well.
christmas cactus
I have the 3 types of cacti mentioned in the article, all over 15 years old or more.They sit in a south facing window zone 6 and get watered weekly. They bloom every year. I have many small ones from cuttings in the spring and they are budding now.
TIME TO BUY!
I just purchased a new "Thanksgiving" cactus 2 days ago. My local supermarket has 4" potted plants on sale for $2.99! Every color that you can imagine, except yellow. They're covered with dozens of buds. My problem is that the buds stop maturing after I get them home and most end up falling off within a week or so. My house is cool (60 degrees or so at night) and I don't water them until the soil starts to feel dry. This happens time and again. What's the problem?
HOLIDAY CACTUS
Thanks to those great pictures you provided I have clearly identified my Cactus as a Thanksgiving cactus but it blooms in October, again in December, and again for Easter!
Please note it is Canadian and perfectly in tune with Canadian Thanksgiving.
Christmas cactus
I have a Christmas Cactus started from a 70 year old family cactus and it's never bloomed. Think pot was too big. Replanted and greatly improved so we'll see this year. Was given a Thanksgiving cactus a few years ago. Sits in garden kitchen window facing west. Very cool at night in winter. Bloomed beautifully for first time last year around Mother's Day.
Thank you!
Thank you for this timely post. I recently inherited my mother's beloved Christmas cactus that use to belong to her mother, and you may have just saved its life, I think I've been overwatering it!
Christmas Cactus
I have two cactus. For years they bloomed with many blooms but the past couple of years they have just had a few blooms. Should I change the soil occasionally or add a fertilizer? Would egg shells or coffee grounds be good for them and if so around how much. Any help you can provide is appreciated.
If your plant is very
If your plant is very potbound you could repot it in fresh soil. Fertilizing twice a month with a water soluble fertilizer during active growth and keeping it in a room that is dark and cool at night might help it to set buds.
Loquot plant
Hello,am just admiring your cactus plants and the article on how to tell the diff. betwix them...when I spotted what could be a plant we have been searching for many years....to the left of the picture could be the leaf of a nespoli plant.,,or loquat..could you help me out ??????Meditteranean yellow fruit not grown here in Canada..Could use your advise. Thanks.
It is nothing that exotic,
It is nothing that exotic, just a streptocarpus.
Cactus plants
My great aunt had a huge pot in her sun window and it was blooming in the summer-fall season. I think it was a Christmas cactus. It had to have several plants in it. I remember maybe 3 feet pot I think. It had pink flowers which hung down. Do they bloom other times of he year? All I know is she must have had it a long time and taken care of it. I always loved a Christmas cactus when they flower. Have to get one sometime this year. It could sit on my front porch in the late spring and summer. It is enclosed.
Definitely get one Jayne!
Definitely get one Jayne! Especially if it reminds you of a loved one. I am always surprised at the times of year when mine decide to gift me with blossoms. It is not just during the holiday time periods when we expect them to bloom. I think they flower when they are happy.
Christmas Cactus
I really enjoyed reading this post. I never knew there were different holiday cacti. My is bloomng beautifully right now , probably because I brought it in from outdoors recently as it was dipping down to 40. I had also inherited my Grandmotjer's Christmas Cactus that always sat in her East facing window. Then my Mom had it for years then I received it. It must have been nearly 90 years old before it died last year.
Thanksgiving caco
What does it mean when the plant drops leaves? Also when the leaves have reddish edges?
Christmas Cactus article & photos, Robin Sweetser
I really enjoyed this article. I've done okay with my rather young 5 year-old Christmas Cactus? (It blooms at the strangest times, some years!). I didn't know to let it dry between waterings, though. Was really happy with this nice short article with some helpful observations and beautiful pictures. Thanks!