A cool blooming plant for the holiday season. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Whether you call them Christmas Cacti, Thanksgiving Cacti, or Holiday Cacti, the care is the same.
The Thanksgiving Cactus blooms about 3-4 weeks earlier than the Christmas Cactus and is popular because most people want to get a jump on their Christmas flowers. The Thanksgiving Cactus is timed to flower in November/December whereas it’s December/January for the Christmas Cactus. They like and do best in bright, natural light; a medium to high light exposure. Be sure to keep them out of the direct sun and hot windows because their fleshy leaves will burn. Although they don’t do well in full sun, they do need bright light to grow, to bloom successfully, and to stay looking good throughout the year. In their natural rainforest habits, they will grow on other plants and rocks; not in the soil.
This means their roots need to breathe. You don’t want to keep them constantly moist or they’ll eventually succumb to root rot.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.