County Gardeners Extension Express

Holiday Cacti

During the holiday season, many plant stores have a wide variety of house plants and succulents to choose from. One popular houseplant is the Christmas cactus. While they are sold as “Christmas cacti,” they are sometimes a different variety. Thanksgiving cacti tend to be a hardier variety that makes it easier to ship and sell during the winter months. There are a few tricks to tell which variety of holiday cacti you are purchasing:

• Thanksgiving Cactus: bloom from Thanks-giving through Christmas; leaf margins have two or four saw-toothed projections pointing upward along the sides of the stem; flower color can be red, lavender, salmon-orange, and white.
• Christmas Cactus: bloom from Christmas through March; leaf margins have rounded scallops along the sides of the stem; flower color is usually red, pink, and white.
• Easter Cactus: bloom from March through May and potentially again in the fall; leaf margins are smoother than other holiday cacti with brownish bristles; flower color can be red or pink.

Holiday cacti are generally easy to care for. They prefer coarse soils with humus and sharp sand to provide adequate drainage. Keep soil moist, but do not overwater; root rot can easily occur in overwatered cacti. These plants will bloom if they are in cooler locations around the house.

For repeat flowering, cacti need to be in locations between 60 to 65 degrees, stop fertilizing, allow soil to dry between waterings, and provide 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness every night for 5 to 6 weeks.

Move plants to a well-lit area of the house once flower buds appear and resume regular watering and fertilizing. To avoid bud drop, ideal temperature is between 60 to 70 degrees.

Holiday cacti are easy to propagate by creating cuttings of stem sections. Spring and summer are ideal times for propagating.

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