Complete Christmas Cactus Care Tips

For a bit of holiday cheer, fill your home with colorful Christmas cactus blooms. These easy-growing houseplants unfurl exotic flowers year after year, with some families passing Christmas cactus plants down for generations.

Learning how to care for a Christmas cactus isn't tough. "It's very simple to grow. That's why it's such a popular plant," says Byron Martin, third generation grower and co-owner of Logee's Greenhouses in Killingly, Connecticut.

Types of Christmas Cactus

The first Christmas cactus plants were grown as houseplants in 1818 in Europe. These beautiful bloomers belong to a group of plants referred to as holiday cacti. They include:

• Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) — Flowers around Thanksgiving. Leaf edges have sharp points.
• Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) — Flowers mid- to late winter. Leaf edges are scalloped and rounded.
• Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) — Flowers March through May. Leaf edges are rounded.

Plant breeders developed many hybrids from these different species and most of the Christmas cactus plants for sale are actually Thanksgiving cactus hybrids. They earned the name "Christmas cactus" simply because they're flowering during the holiday shopping season.

Holiday cactus plants bloom in an array of hues, including red, white, pink and orange. "Schlumbergera are interesting for their vibrant colored, almost fairy-like flowers, elegant draping plant form and unusual flowering period," says Shacarah Gagnon-Kvale, host of @EpiphyticCacti on YouTube. "There aren't many plants that flower so gloriously in the middle of winter."

What Makes a Christmas Cactus Happy?

The secret to success with Christmas cactus plant care is understanding where they come from. These aren't your typical desert cacti, which thrive in hot, dry conditions. Holiday cacti hail from the jungles of southeast Brazil. "These are epiphytic cacti that grow in rainforests and cloud forests," Shacarah explains.

Epiphytes are plants that grow on another plant, like orchids or staghorn ferns. Christmas cactus plants grow the same way, perched in the crotch where a tree branch joins the trunk. In this space, leaf debris or moss forms the "soil" in which a Christmas cactus grows. The roots of a Christmas cactus weave beneath tree bark to anchor the plant to its host tree.

To grow holiday cacti well, it's important to "learn how to mimic that native environment in your own home," Shacarah says.

Where is the Best Place to Put a Christmas Cactus?

In the wild, holiday cacti grow at all levels of a tree, from higher up, where sunlight is stronger, to lower levels, where light is more dappled. Filtered sunlight is ideal, in an east or west window. "They can grow in low light," Byron says, "but it's better to give them brighter light, especially for best flowering."

How Often Do You Water a Christmas Cactus?

In a tropical forest, epiphytes experience both a wet season (summer) and dry season (winter). "That dry period can be really extensive. It doesn't rain for a very long time," Byron says. "It's important to let the plant go through a dry period every single time you water." Let the top third of the soil mix dry between waterings.

What Kind of Soil Is Best for a Christmas Cactus?

Most Christmas cacti come in a standard peat-based potting mix. It works well for awhile, but once Christmas cactus blooms fade, repot the plant into a chunky mix with plenty of air spaces.

Shacarah recommends using a mix with equal parts potting soil, perlite and Orchiata orchid bark. Put the ingredients into a bucket and roll it around to mix. "Wear gloves and a mask while mixing the ingredients due to dust hazards," she advises.

To increase air pockets, Shacarah also adds an equal part of standard size, expanded clay pellets used for hydroponic growing. "Rinse the pellets first to remove dust," she explains. "The pellets add drainage and hold moisture at the same time."

Some growers suggest using cactus mix for Christmas cactus plants and may substitute it for orchid bark. Shacarah doesn't follow that practice because cactus mix holds more water, which can lead to overwatering. A light and airy mix with air pockets most closely mimics the natural setting where epiphytic Christmas cactus plants grow.

What Type of Pot Is Ideal for Christmas Cactus?

Most Christmas cactus aficionados pair a chunky soil mix with a plastic pot or glazed ceramic container, which keeps humidity higher around roots, according to Shacarah. "That combination imitates how a Christmas cactus plant's roots would be growing in subtropical to tropical forests," she adds.

Does a Christmas Cactus Need Fertilizer?

The time to give a Christmas cactus plant fertilizer is during the growth period, from late spring through summer. Dilute a liquid plant food (10-10-10 works fine) to quarter strength and apply each watering from the time new growth starts in spring through flower bud set. "Another option is to add organic granular fertilizer to the top of soil," Byron says.

Christmas cactus plants stop growing during flowering and for a short time after. Stop feeding plants during that time.

What Triggers a Christmas Cactus to Bloom?

A Christmas cactus forms flower buds primarily in response to daylength, although most Schlumbergera hybrids sold respond to both a decrease in light and temperature, Shacarah explains. Christmas cactus is a short day plant, which means it needs 12 to 14 hours of darkness each night for six weeks to set flower buds.

If you keep plants outdoors for summer or sitting on a windowsill, as fall arrives and days shorten, plants will naturally start to form flower buds. "This typically starts to occur around Sept. 1," Byron says.

Plants aren't super sensitive to light interruptions during the darkness. "Keeping Christmas cactus in a room that's not used much at night is better, but a plant on a windowsill that receives a little interior light should still set buds," Byron adds. Once flower buds form, you don't need to continue providing long nights of darkness.

Often Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus will initiate a few buds in spring when you move plants outdoors for summer. Even a 5-degree temperature drop at night can induce budding, Shacarah has noticed. Plants kept outside for summer can stay outdoors until night temperatures are 40 degrees. "Some of these plants grow at high elevations in cloud forests, where nights can be quite cool," she adds.

Does a Christmas Cactus Need Pruned?

You never have to prune a Christmas cactus or any of the Schlumbergera hybrids, unless they get too big. "Prune plants right after flowering in late winter, before new growth begins," Byron says. He suggests removing any long, gangly stems, placing cuts at the joint between leaf segments.

Christmas Cactus Problems

Christmas cactus have few problems. "They're pretty impervious to most insects," Byron says. "In fact, a healthy plant can live in a home for years without any pest issues." There are a few common issues that crop up with Christmas cactus plants.

• What does a stressed Christmas cactus look like?
  The most common stress issue for Christmas cactus is overwatering, which leads to root rot. When this occurs, stems usually collapse. Byron has seen Christmas cacti come out of root rot if plants are repotted and the soggy soil removed. Using an airy growing mix helps eliminate overwatering issues.

• Why do Christmas cactus leaves turn red?
  A Christmas cactus with red or pink leaves (above) is either getting too much direct sun or needs more water.
  
  
• Why is my Christmas cactus dropping flower buds?
  A Christmas cactus plant is very sensitive to changes in the environment. A plant that has set flower buds is even more sensitive. If humidity suddenly drops indoors as heating season begins, flower buds may fall off. Soil that's too dry can cause buds to fall, as can overwatering.
  
  
• Why is my Christmas cactus falling over?
  A Christmas cactus plant that keeps tipping over may need repotted. Christmas cactus plants are slow growers with small root systems. "I might keep a young plant in a 3-inch pot for three years before needing to repot," Shacarah says.
  
  You can also repot if you want a bigger plant. Byron's rule of thumb is to increase pot diameter by 2 inches when repotting. Tackle repotting in spring as new growth begins.

How do I propagate Christmas cactus plants?

Christmas cactus leaves root easily. "We receive one leaf segment from plant breeders to grow on," Byron says. He sticks the bottom quarter inch of a leaf segment into potting mix, perlite or sand. "Place four to five cuttings into a 4- to 5-inch-wide pot to get a fuller plant," he adds.

Shacarah likes to start with a stem section having two to three leaf segments, placing just the tip of the base on or slightly in damp potting mix in a 2- to 3-inch-wide pot. "It's important to keep the rooting medium damp but not wet. I put a clear plastic cup on top of the pot to keep the humidity up indoors," she says.

Expect roots to form in a few weeks. "Often the leaf segments look dehydrated during propagation, but one day they look fully hydrated, which means they're rooted," she says.

Cuttings also root easily in water or in a plastic baggie with a damp paper towel.

Christmas Cactus FAQs

Where can I buy a true Christmas cactus?

The original Christmas cactus is uncommon and not typically found for sale. Usually you'll need to find an existing plant and get some cuttings.

Where can I find unusual holiday cacti?

"There's a whole community growing these cacti, and there are all kinds of crazy hybrids now," Shacarah says. Look for hybrids that are variegated, have double or frilly flowers and ones that flower three times a year. Visit Whitton Greenhouses or Byron's business, Logee's Greenhouses, for fancier hybrids.

What is the most surprising thing about holiday cacti?

"Epiphytic cacti are so unusual," Shacarah says. "It doesn't get more fascinating than cacti adapted to grow in cloud forests."