Christmas Cactus 4”

Holiday Cactus -The popular Christmas Cactus, which is native to Brazil, is actually one of three types of cactus named based on their bloom time: the Thanksgiving Cactus, Christmas Cactus and Easter Cactus. You may see these cacti collectively referred to as holiday cactus as they are all very similar plants. The Thanksgiving variety blooms in November, the Christmas variety blooms from mid to late December, and the Easter cactus blooms in the spring. Apart from their bloom time, the primary way to tell them apart is by their leaf shape: the Christmas cactus has more rounded points to its leaves than the Thanksgiving cactus, while Easter cacti have spikier blooms and more oval-shaped leaf segments. Since all require similar care, you can find everything you need to care for all three.

Holiday cacti enjoy bright, indirect light and will do well in a south, east or west facing window

Like most other succulents, holiday cactus do not like to sit in moist soil and will develop root rot if allowed to sit in wet soil for too long. Allow the soil to dry out somewhat between watering. A good rule of thumb is to check the plant once a week or so by poking your finger into the soil. If your finger picks up a lot of residue from the soil, you should leave it be for three to four days before you water it again. When watering, pour directly into the soil rather than on the top of the plant.

After your holiday cactus finishes blooming, keep it in a cool spot of around 55 degrees and water it only periodically. When summer comes around, you can place the cactus outside in a shady spot, where it will benefit from filtered light humidity. To induce blooming in the fall, outdoors as the temperatures begin to drop into the 50s and 60s. When temperatures drop below 45 degrees fahrenheit, you should bring the plant back inside and start watering more frequently, checking the soil every week or so.