How to grow Holiday Cactus

Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) – Branching epiphyte with flattened joints. Foliage is dark and glossy green with two teeth at the apex. Plant Form or Habit: cascading. Plant Use: rotational color hanging basket. Exposure: medium. Flower Color: Red, purple, white. Blooming Period: winter. Height: 1 foot before weeping. Width: 1 foot. Foliage Texture: medium. Heat Tolerance: medium. Water Requirements: medium. Additional Comments: Allow soil to dry slightly between waterings; allow temperatures at night to drop slightly to induce flowering.

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DO NOT transplant in the winter! Only transplant in the spring. After the buds are gone, keep the plant fairly dry (to totally dry, to the point of shriveling) all winter until the days get warmer and longer. Then treat like a normal houseplant. They really like to be outside (in the shade) all summer and until about October. In September, fertilize with a bloom type fertilizer. The shorter days initiate bud set. When the buds do set, keep evenly moist (not wet), and importantly, make sure the light hits the plant from the same direction as it did outdoors. (Suggestion: place a marker in the pot, a bamboo skewer or something on the south side of the pot before I bring it in so I know that light will hit the plant from the same direction.) If you don’t do this, the buds, if larger, will turn to the light and often twist themselves off.

To grow from seed gather the black seeds from the fruit and sow them in 50 per cent peat and 50 per cent vermiculite, keep warm and moist. Sprouting may take from one to three months.(1)

Mature single segments of the plant are used for propagation. Leave the segments to form a callous for at least 24 hours if not more. Place the cut end in a mix of perlite and peat. The container should receive indirect light and they should begin to root in a few weeks.

Holiday cactus will appreciate to be placed outdoors under shade during the summer months.

As Holiday cactus is half hardy, ensure temperatures are mild enough to plant out - wait until after your last frost date to be on the safe side.

These estimates for how long Holiday cactus takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

The holiday cactus group is a phenomenal favorite, and LOTS of people have at least one plant, at least in the USA. The most common holiday cactus is commonly called “Christmas Cactus” but this plant is actually the “Thanksgiving Cactus” or “Holiday Cactus.” These are actually two different species of Schlumbergera. The Thanksgiving Schlumbergera truncata has pointed soft spikes on the segments, and is the more common plant. The S. truncata is also called Holiday Cactus. The true Christmas Cactus (more rare) is Schlumbergera buckleyi, and has rounded scallops on the segments.

Originated in the South American Jungles

Christmas cactus, Crab cactus, Thanksgiving cactus, Schlumbergera truncate, Holiday Cactus

Schlumbergera truncata (Haw.) Moran

Misspellings: Schlumbergera truncate

¹ polkhort.ifas.ufl.edu