Growing Christmas Cactus

How To Care For a Christmas Cactus, Thanksgiving Cactus, or Easter Cactus

A Thanksgiving cactus in full bloom.

Nadezhda Nesterova/Shutterstock

The Christmas cactus is a very popular houseplant—and for good reason! When they bloom, they produce colorful, tubular flowers in pink or lilac colors. Their beautiful flowers, long bloom time, and easy care requirements make them a wonderful plant. We’ll bet someone in your family has a Christmas cactus!

About Christmas Cacti

Unlike other cacti, the Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) and its relatives don’t live in hot, arid environments such as deserts or plains. In fact, these epiphytic succulents are native to the tropical rainforests of southern Brazil, 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 it’s a run-of-the-mill cactus or succulent. They can’t take the same sort of sunny, dry conditions that other cacti can. It’s important to water these cacti more regularly than most succulents, but to also be cautious of keeping them too wet. (See detailed care instructions below.)

Thanksgiving, Easter, or Christmas Cactus?

There are three main types of “holiday” cacti out there: the Easter cactus (S. gaertneri), Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata), and Christmas cactus (S. x buckleyi). Each holiday cactus typically blooms closest to the holiday that it’s named after. However, most of the “Christmas cacti” sold today are actually Thanksgiving cacti, which tend to bloom from November through February and therefore pass unnoticed as Christmas cacti. To learn more, see our article on the different types of holiday cacti and how to tell them apart.

Note: For simplicity’s sake, we refer to all three of these species as “Christmas cactus” on this page, since this is the most commonly used term and our care advice applies to all of them!

Planting

Potting Christmas Cacti

When selecting a pot for a Christmas cactus, be sure to choose one that has a drainage hole in the bottom. This helps to keep the soil from getting too wet.
Christmas cacti grow well in most potting mixes that are formulated for succulents. The important thing is that your potting soil drains well.

Where to Put a Christmas Cactus

Plants should be kept in bright, indirect light. An east-facing window or a bright bathroom is ideal. Too much direct sunlight can bleach the sensitive leaves.
A daytime temperature of 70°F (21°C) and an evening temperature of 60-65°F (15-18°C) is preferred.
Christmas cacti prefer a more humid environment, which makes a bright bathroom or kitchen a good spot to keep them.
In the summer, Christmas cacti can be placed in a shady spot in the garden or in an unheated porch until temperatures get below 50°F (10°C). Keep them out of direct outdoor sunlight.

Care

How to Care for Christmas Cacti

Plan to water every 2-3 weeks, but only water when the top one third of 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. During the fall and winter, feed the cactus monthly 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!

Christmas cactus

How to Get Your Christmas Cactus to Bloom

The blooms of Christmas cacti and its relatives are triggered by the cooler temperatures and longer nights of fall. 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!

Pests/Diseases

Blossom drop: If your Christmas cactus is exposed to any type of stress, the plant will likely drop its blossoms. This could be related to the amount of light, or a sudden change in temperature, as discussed in above plant care section. Also, ensure that your soil doesn’t get too dry while buds are forming.

The plant may be susceptible to mealy bugs and, if over-watered, root rot. If you have problems, cut out infected areas and repot in clean soil.

Recommended Varieties

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.

A giant Thankgiving cactus in bloom. Photo by Catherine Boeckmann.

Wit & Wisdom

When the buds of a Christmas cactus look as if they’re about to open, make sure you water the plant regularly and keep it cool.
Late spring is the best time to propagate cuttings because most holiday cacti emerge from their winter rest and initiate new growth.

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Reader Comments

Thanksgiving cactus

I was given a Christmas cactus that from your article I now recognize is a Thanksgiving cactus. It blooms from after Christmas thru late winter, then again late spring/early summer. The blooms don’t last long, but maybe I’m not watering enough at that time. It’s in a very small pot and although you say it likes being crowded, I want it to grow to a giant plant like the one you have pictured. My question is how deep a pot does it need? I have a wide but shallow banzai planter I thought of using because it has two large drainage holes and a tray for the excess water. The pot is about 4-5 inches deep and about 8-9 inches long. Would this work, or do I need a deeper and/or narrower pot? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Droopy branches

Parts of my plant appear very droopy and lifeless since I repotted it a year ago. It flowered at Christmas but does not look very healthy. Color is very dark also.

My Christmas Cactus

I follow the advice that I got from a local garden centre a few years ago as the plant was not doing well. Their advice was to put it in a sunny spot (my south facing patio doors were decided on) it has been in flower since early last November. I water it when I remember and feed it even less often. It is 40 years old born a cutting got from my wife’s dad.

Spores

I recently repotted a cactus, maybe 9 months ago. It's in a very warm room with afternoon sun and regularly watered. I noticed a few weeks ago that I have hundreds of little spores now all over the window, ceiling and curtains, its so frustrating. It must be from the dirt, but I bought bagged Miracle Grow soil specific for cactus's or indoor plants. Any other thoughts?

Soil Fungus

That certainly is annoying! Bagged soil sometimes contains unwanted things like soil fungi or fungus gnats. It sounds like it may be too humid in that room. If possible, let some fresh air in to dry out and remove spores (but keep your cactus away from cold drafts!).

Christmas Cacti blooms

My Christmas Cacti bloom but some of the tiny buds seem to dry up and drop off while the rest of the plant continues to bloom. Why?

Thanksgiving cactus buds

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?

Buds but No Blooms

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!

Xmas cactus

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??

Roots

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!

Christmas cactus

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

christmas cactus care

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.

Holiday Cactus article

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.

Christmas cactus

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

christmas catctus

my plant has wings on it at the base sigments. Is that wrong for the plant?

Wilting Christmas Cactus

I’m scared I may have killed my cactus. It bloomed for the first time in ten+ years. But I noticed it is extremely wilted. I looked online and found that my soil was too wet and it said to repot. I did that and then saw you shouldn’t repot when blooming. Please tell me I haven’t killed it?

Wilting Christmas Cactus

It’s not recommended to repot while a plant is blooming because repotting requires a lot of energy from the plant, so it will prioritize growing new roots over developing more flowers. This is a good thing, though—it’s much better to sacrifice the blooms now and allow the plant to recover. As long as you have repotted it without issue and can adjust your watering habits, your plant should be just fine!

Christmas cactus

I moved form NY to NC. In NY, I had to bring them in due to cold weather in October. Here I leave them outside on my screen porch. The blooms are fantastic. They come in for display or frost warnings, but they love screen porch.

Christmas’s cauctus

Would helpful if you would have snow all three in your article. I have t thanksgiving one that someone threw away in trash that I’ve saved. Nice to have something pretty after garden is put to bed. ThNks

holiday cacti

Our growing guide applies to all types of holiday cacti. However, if you wish to learn more, see this article about the differences beween the various types including pictures.

Christmas cactus

Why have my Christmas cactuses stop blooming they’re beautiful green look healthy but they just have not bloomed in the last two years I do think I have one is an Easter one

I did none of the things in this article.

I combined the two cati I had bought, put it in a well draining pot and soil, placed it on a bed of rocks on the top shelf of a cabinet on the south facing wall. It got indirect southern light. It had lived outside all summer in zone 7. I watered it infrequently, no fertilizer. It bloomed, both cati around dec and kept blooming until april. In fact, I never follow the articles and have had excellent plants and many babies.

How much darkness to flower?

I'm in the UK, and my Christmas cactus has started forming buds.
It's currently in a southwest facing window, and that's the only place it gets light from.
Will it flower if I leave it there?
From what I've read online, in an ideal world, they should have around 12 hours of darkness in order to bloom as best as they can.
My hallway has much less light (but it's by no means pitch-black!).

Will the buds form better if I put it in the hallway?
Or are they still capable of forming and flowering if I leave it in the SW facing window?

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Christmas Cactus Lighting

It sounds like the plant is enjoying the spot it’s already in! I wouldn’t necessarily recommend moving it. As the days get shorter, even the light coming through a SW window will be less and less—enough to trigger blooming. In fact, I keep mine in a south-facing window all year and it flowers a ton!

Dropping and limp leaves of Christmas cactus

What is the treatment for dropping and limp cactus leaves ?

Dropped Leaves and Limp Stems

Dropping leaves and limp stems can be signs of overwatering or underwatering. Think about how much and how often you’re watering and make adjustments accordingly. Christmas cacti don’t like to sit in water, but they also won’t tolerate bone-dry soil like an actual cactus would.

Christmas catus

My leaves are limp. I’ve been watering it once a week and giving it fertilizer because it starts to get flowers and then drops them. The cactus and I need help.

Christmas cactus

End tips are turning purple. Plant is growing well and bloomed beautifully

Thanksgiving cacti

I believe it’s a Thanksgiving Cacti that I inherited. I bought a moisture meter but I don’t know the optimal reading it should be. I was having troubles with it I believe over watering leaves and branches were falling off. It’s over 50+ years. It is reading at a 6 right now.

moisture meter reading

A Thanksgiving cactus, which is the same genus (Schlumbergera) as a true Christmas cactus but a different species, has leaves with curved, pointed “teeth,” whereas the Christmas cactus has rounder leaves.

The recommended moisture reading may depend on the manufacturer of the meter. For Rapitest, for example, the recommended reading for a Christmas cactus is 6. So you would not water if the reading were any higher. If the number is the same or lower, you would water. Check every 4 or 5 days. During the dormant season, however, reduce watering. So, when the plant stops producing blooms, reduce the watering until flower buds start to appear again.

If the cactus is dropping its leaves, check that it has enough humidity (around 60 percent), and check that the water is draining out at the bottom. Waterlogged plants can lead to root rot, which can cause branches to fall off. Also make sure that the soil hasn’t become compacted (too dense); if it is, then you may want to repot the plant with fresh soil, but wait until after the plant has finished flowering, but before new flower buds form.

Hope this helps!