One of the most vibrant flowering houseplants is the Christmas cactus. When the days become shorter, this low-maintenance plant blooms and puts on a spectacular display over the holiday season. Christmas cacti come in a broad range of hues, including pink, red, crimson, orange, gold, cream, and white, as well as bicolors, in which a single flower displays many hues simultaneously.
This easy-to-grow flowering houseplant has been a beloved holiday decoration for many years. In fact, a lovely Christmas cactus has evolved into something of a family heirloom, being handed down down the decades.
Christmas cacti are magnificent holiday plants when they are in bloom, with their vibrant flowers shining like diamonds at the ends of their stems. Christmas cacti display jagged foliage when not in flower the rest of the year, lending credence to one of their other common names, crab cactus.
Nota: The Christmas cactus is sometimes referred to as the Thanksgiving or zygo cactus.
Questions about Christmas Cactus? Send us an email if you have any inquiries concerning your Christmas cactus. An expert from our team will be pleased to attempt to assist!
Christmas Cactus Growing Instructions
For the most blooms, grow Christmas cacti in direct sunlight. It may also grow in low or medium light, however the darker it gets, the less blossoms this beautiful houseplant produces. Christmas cacti can tolerate direct sunlight on their leaves inside.
When the top inch or two of the potting mix get dry, water the Christmas cactus. In comparison to fall and winter, spring and summer are when it prefers a little more water.
Christmas cactus should be fertilized with a houseplant-specific fertilizer in the spring and early summer. For information on how much fertilizer to use and how frequently to apply it, refer to the instructions on the product container.
Christmas cactus requires ordinary to high humidity because it is native to tropical rainforests. While Christmas cactus can handle low humidity levels, you might discover that it thrives and blooms more when the humidity is higher.
The Christmas cactus thrives at ordinary temperatures, although milder fall temps of roughly 55F (13C) can encourage it to bloom.
What shades are available for Christmas cacti?
Many owners of Christmas cacti are debating whether to let their plants to bloom.
A large number of Christmas cacti are in bloom across the stores during the holiday season. They have vibrant red, pink, yellow, orange, white, or purple blossoms. The typical gardener can’t help but grasp one or more of them in vibrant hues and dash for the checkout.
But eventually, reality sets in, and you want to not only keep it alive but also want it to bloom in the next years. Why, you might even be giving your heirs a massive, spectacular Christmas cactus.
Christmas cacti come in how many shades?
The Schlumbergera truncata, sometimes known as the Christmas cactus, blooms from October through January. The species and its variations, sometimes known as the Thanksgiving or holiday cactus, are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 12. Most frequently grown as a houseplant, the Christmas cactus blooms in a variety of hues, including the classic red as well as purple, pink, orange, gold, and white.
What shade of Christmas cactus is the rarest?
Christmas Aspen Red Cactus Single Christmas cacti like “Red Aspen” are preferred by certain gardeners. Due of its lacy, reddish-purple blooms, this uncommon hybrid is widely prized. “Red Aspen” is a fantastic present for a beginner gardener because of its toughness and adaptation to the home environment.
Do you have any yellow Christmas cacti?
The yellow Christmas cactus is a succulent plant that was grown in a soil mixture made especially for succulent plant species that drains effectively.
Is there a Christmas cactus that is purple?
Christmas Cactus thrives in climates with daytime highs of 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and evening lows of 60 to 65 degrees.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Although experts concur that fertilizer Christmas Cactus shouldn’t be done during bloom season and the weeks preceding it, neglecting to feed it properly the rest of the year can lead to problems like discolored foliage.
From April through October, you may help keep the foliage on your Christmas Cactus from becoming purple by using a standard all-purpose fertilizer twice a month.
Because Christmas Cactus requires more magnesium than the ordinary plant, you should apply a teaspoon of Epsom salts every other week. In October, stop fertilizing completely to encourage blooming during the holiday season.
What three varieties of Christmas cacti are there?
It’s time to party, have fun, and be merry during the holidays. As a result, this is a season associated with decorations. We make an effort to make our homes appear better overall, whether we’re talking about Christmas or any other holiday. What better way to accomplish this than by utilizing eye-catching plants like the Christmas cactus? Christmas cacti, sometimes referred to as holiday cacti, are popular seasonal plants that come in many varieties based on their growth patterns and blooming seasons.
Which of the following three Christmas cacti can you plant indoors? There are three primary varieties of Christmas cactus (holiday cactus): Schlumbergera truncata, Schumbelgera bridgesii, and Rhipsalidopsis gaertnerii. These three varieties of holiday cactus differ from one another in terms of leaf shape and flowering season. While Schlumbergera truncata possesses clear-cut, notably pointed edge projections, Rhipsalidopsis gaertnerii has distinctly rounded edges. On the other hand, the Schumbelgera bridgesii has leaf projections that are teardrop-shaped or scalloped.
This article aims to deconstruct the distinctive qualities and traits of the numerous kinds of Christmas or festive cacti. It will consider their development patterns, habitat needs, and flowering times.
What kind of Christmas cactus do I have, and how do I know?
The holiday season has here, which not only calls for decorations but also festive plants! At this time of year, there are many lovely holiday plants to pick from, whether they are bought from a florist, nursery, or are grown at home. The Christmas cactus is one of the most popular plants to give or receive at this time of year. Or is it a Thanksgiving or Easter cactus?
The three cacti differ from one another in terms of how their leaves are shaped. The edges of the leaves of the Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumgera truncata) are very sharply pointed and shaped like claws. The leaf projections of the Christmas cactus (Schlumgera bridgesti) are more scalloped or teardrop shaped. The edges of the leaves of the Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertnerrii) are extremely rounded and centered.
These three cacti are all classified as short-day plants. Therefore, the plant needs low temperatures and 12–24 hours of darkness in order to bloom. If you overwintered your plant outside or bought it from a florist or nursery, you should keep it in a cold, dark place until the buds appear. The optimum location is an infrequently used bedroom or lower level. The Easter cactus gets its name from the fact that it takes 8–12 weeks of short days to bloom as opposed to the Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti’s roughly six weeks. It can be brought into a warmer environment once the buds start to form for your enjoyment. At this stage, a plant may occasionally start to lose its buds. That might be caused by air currents, warm temperatures, an abundance of water, or direct sunlight. Bright light is good for the plants, but not direct sunlight. Before watering, the soil should be completely dry to one inch below the surface. Fertilizing or repotting shouldn’t be done when the plant is in bloom. The plants appear to thrive when they are root-bound.
You might see the Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus bloom once more in the spring, though perhaps not as lavishly as over the holiday season. Simply restore the plant to its short day settings to promote springtime blooming.
Unless they are overwatered, these plants are generally disease-free. If the plant turns crimson, there is either too much sun, not enough phosphorus, or not enough water. There are rumors of plants that have been passed down from generation to generation for more than a century. Take advantage of these easygoing holiday plants and establish a new gardening custom. Call the Linn County Master Gardener Hortline at 319-447-0647 with any and all of your gardening inquiries.
A white Christmas cactus exists, right?
Bright and indirect light are both beneficial to our White Christmas Cactus. These cheerful wintertime flowers look lovely when placed in a pot of a vibrant color and cheer up indoor spaces. The petals of the flowers face downward and are vibrantly colored. There are many various colors available for Christmas cacti, including yellow, red, white, pink, salmon, and bi-color.
The White Christmas Cactus grows nicely indoors in a space with direct, strong light, such as a window sill in the east or the north. The White Christmas Cactus can tolerate low light levels, but it will blossom more rapidly in bright light. When exposed to ambient temperatures of anywhere between 65 and 75 degrees F and bright, indirect light, the flowers, which are dazzling white, bloom profusely.
The plants prefer to remain in a dryer environment. During the holidays, White Christmas Cactus is stunning, offering a sophisticated white hue with vibrant green foliage. The Christmas Cactus makes a sweet hostess gift when you go to a party or get-together. They bring color and are simple to maintain, making them a wonderful addition to any home.
Why are Christmas cacti’s hues different?
A lovely Christmas cactus with white blossoms was a gift from my son. However, the blossoms were pink the following year. What took place?
Hybrid plants frequently revert to the prevailing hue of the original species. Fortunately, even though the flowers are not the color you ordered, they are still lovely. Keep cultivating it in a sunny area. Reduce water use beginning on October 1st, spend the nights somewhere cooler and darker, and wait to be rewarded with flowers.
How old is the Christmas cactus?
During the holidays, the Christmas cactus may be seen everywhere, and with good cause. It’s a blooming succulent that requires little maintenance, produces lovely blooms, and, with the right care, can last up to 100 years! That is correct! This plant may endure for a long time, bringing color to your holidays for many years. For a plant that is as cheap and uncomplicated as the Christmas cactus, that’s a fairly great investment!
Can the color of a Christmas cactus change?
Did you know that Christmas Cactus make hardy houseplants? Christmas Cactus are frequently sold throughout the holiday season. Both indoors and outdoors, I find them to be incredibly simple to grow, and mine always bloom once a year, typically twice.
They are absolutely fantastic, but like any plants, they can have faults and problems. I decided to write this piece because the leaves on my client’s Christmas cactus had turned orange. It seemed like too fantastic of a chance to miss.
Let’s get a little more technical for those of you who are plant nerds like me. Thanksgiving (or crab) cactus is what you are seeing here and in the video instead of Christmas cactus. It was marked as a CC when I purchased it, and that is how it is frequently offered for sale in the trade.
These days, they might be identified as Holiday Cactus. Any of them could experience this, no matter which one you have.
This plant is turning a deep bronze from its too orange state. The leaves are scraggly and sagging.
When under stress from the environment or culture, plants change hue. This one changed to a deep orange/brown/bronze color—the exact shade is up for debate! mostly as a result of water shortage. It has occasionally gotten a little too much sun. Dehydration is evident in the leaves’ thinness and wrinkles, which can be seen if you look closely at them.
At least six years ago, I purchased this Holiday Cactus at the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market. It was a piece of the Christmas dish garden I created for my client’s front porch table. She resides on the coast approximately a quarter mile from the Pacific, one and a half hours south of San Francisco. This plant has managed to live despite the other plants having long since moved to the compost pail. Oh, and did I mention how tough Christmas cacti are? This is evidence!
Unlike the desert cactus that Tucson is covered in, these succulents are epiphytic cacti. Christmas Cacti grow on other plants and rocks, not in the soil, in their native rainforest habitats. They are shielded from full, direct sunlight by the canopies of trees and plants, and they flourish in this environment.
Changing Color
Christmas Cactus can become orange, brown, or golden when exposed to much sunlight because they prefer shade from it. Yellow leaves may also be an indication of excessive sunlight or moisture. In Santa Barbara, my Thanksgiving Cactus was an outside plant that turned burgundy or purple in the winter as a response to the chilly weather.
Early in December, the Thanksgiving Cactus was lying on its side on the opposite end of the front porch when I first went to my client’s house. She is close to the Pacific, so at least some moisture is provided by the fog where she resides. That, in my opinion, is what has kept it going.