Christmas Cacti for Winter Cheer

Besides poinsettia, another popular plant that’s a good centerpiece this time of year is the Christmas Cactus...originated in the tropical jungles of Brazil.

  • Topic: Succulents and Cacti
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: Christmas cacti, succulent, winter, epiphyte
  • Date: December 2005

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Besides poinsettia, another popular plant that’s a good centerpiece this time of year is the Christmas Cactus. Called either zygocactus or Schlumbergera bridgesii, this cactus originated in the tropical jungles of Brazil.

By true definition, it’s an epiphyte, a plant that relies on another plant for support but not for nutrients. The ancestors of the Christmas Cactus we know today can still be found high in the canopies of jungle trees, but their descendants are (luckily) quite happy in pots.

Christmas cacti come in a variety of bud colors ranging from pale pink to red, purple, orange, magenta and white. The leaf shapes vary from smooth oval to serrated or boxy along the edges.

If you purchase or are given one in bloom, it’s easy enough to reproduce those blooms the next year. With the proper care—and it doesn’t take much—this plant can shower its stems with winter blooms year after year. Though some readers report their Christmas cactus blooming in July; and once in Tucson I saw a huge tree-like specimen outside just ending its bloom time in October.

Many people think that because it is a “cactus” that it doesn’t require much water. But consider its natural habitat. In a tropical environment it would be receive quite a bit of moisture. I water mine twice as much as the other cacti and succulents I have sitting around the house.

For soil, use a cactus medium or amend your favorite potting soil with coarse sand to enable good drainage. Once again, remember that in the canopies the roots would not have been left sitting in water. Good drainage is essential.

Some people put their Christmas Cactus in a warm room from April to mid-September and get it on a monthly fertilizing schedule. Then in September they place the plant in a cooler location, decrease watering’s and stop fertilizing.

For myself, I leave my plant in a west window year round, water when I remember and fertilize if I feel like it. It’s doing beautifully for the third year now.

To propagate Christmas cacti, take stem cuttings from a leaf joint where the segmented leaves taper together. Do this in the spring and plant them directly into the growing medium.

When these plants flower, they throw an arcing shower of blooms that are quite lovely. I had 30 blooms this year. But, again, it was in September. With Christmas right around the corner, it still seems happy enough.

Have a good Christmas!