By Pat Dray
The Garden Spot
Pat Dray.
Christmas cactus, Thanksgiving cactus, Easter cactus…aren’t they all the same plant, just forced in to blooming at a different time?
Not exactly. Although the Christmas cactus and Thanksgiving cactus are in the same plant genus Schlumbergera, the Easter Cactus is in the genus Hatiora.
All three cacti are epiphytes, which are plants that obtain their moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and usually grow on another plant. Another common epiphyte is the orchid. They are found growing naturally in trees in the rainforests of Brazil and have such similar characteristics that they are obviously closely related.
The easiest way to tell the difference is that the Easter cactus has small bristles on the end of each leaf and there are no bristles on either the Thanksgiving cactus or the Christmas cactus.
The fact that these cacti grow naturally in rain forests, rather than in deserts as one typically thinks of with other cacti, is important to remember if you want to keep one of these happy and blooming in your home. Some have been reported to live for more than 100 years, so don’t give up on your plant.
The Christmas cactus does well under average home conditions with moderate care. It will adapt to low light conditions, but will produce blooms more readily if exposed to brighter light. Too much direct sunlight can burn its leaves, though, so keep the Christmas cactus in an area with filtered light. This is a rain forest plant, so moisture is important as well. During its active growth in spring and summer keep the soil slightly moist. Allow Christmas cactus moisture levels to drop and dry out some between watering intervals, but never completely, and never let the plant sit in water, as this will lead to root and stem rot. Applying a mild houseplant fertilizer solution every other week is also a good idea.
The more tricky part of growing these plants comes about when they are most popular, which is during the heating season here in Connecticut. Not many of us have a rain forest environment in our winter homes, so placing a tray of pebbles filled with water beneath the Christmas cactus container is a good way to add more humidity. They also prefer temperatures hovering between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit your heating dollars to save your plant.
If you want your Christmas cactus to bloom again next year, let the plant to go dormant for about six to eight weeks prior to when you’d like it to bloom by cutting back on moisture, light and temperature. Simply cut back the watering and make sure the plant receives 12 to 14 hours of darkness and average temperatures around 50 to 55 Fahrenheit. Keep it away from drafty areas. Keep it up, and your plant may also hit the one century mark.