

One of the most important aspects you need to consider when caring for a Thanksgiving cactus is the amount of water you need to give the plant. The blooms of this plant typically last two to four months, but in order for them to bloom again the following year, you need to trick the plant into entering a dormant stage by providing it with less light and colder temperatures. These plants often bloom in shades of pink, yellow, white, or red, which adds a bright contrast to your traditional fall décor. The leaves of Thanksgiving cactus plants are broad and flat with small serrated edges. The Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera Ttruncata) Let’s take a more in-depth look at each variety. These three plants all look alike, and they require similar care, but there are differences that you should note. There are three varieties of holiday cactus the Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), the Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii), and the Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaetneri). These cactuses produce beautiful blooms that vary in color from bright orange, red, and purple to more subtle pink and white colorations. These cactus plants are epiphytes that originate from the tropical treetops of the rainforests and the natural forests of Brazil. ( The furnace man told us not to do that because all the air needs to circulate for the uptake and outflow vents to work properly, but he isn’t the one with the Holiday Cactus.Holiday cactuses are not the spiny plants that we have in our cactus garden. I shut the door in there and close the vents for heating. It goes in an upstairs unused bedroom which gets a lot of bright light. Then I will let it get super dry before I bring it in. Once this is re-potted, I will water it with Hydrogen Peroxide like I advise in this post to guard against taking any gnats inside. My anniversary is coming soon, so I have a great excuse for buying myself something. Perhaps I should get a Soil Moisture Sensor so that I can be sure. Since she won’t have a drainage hole, I will schedule her watering days and be sure to dig a finger in to see if she is wet before I water. I know that the Thanksgiving Cactus is a succulent and doesn’t need much water. I am using soil mix with about 30% added turkey grit so that the soil will be loose and drain quickly. (Affiliate Links thru Amazon are included on this post.) ( Also an umbrella that I keep up most of the time.) Next year, I may put her on my potting bench which has a large maple hanging over it. But these days, it is hot and glaring til after 6pm most days, sometimes later. Prior to losing the trees, she was in bright light but not hot sun after about 4pm. She get a lot of bright and hot afternoon sun until late in the day. I have always summered her on the deck, but we have lost so many trees over the past few years that I forgot to take that into account. I feel that she has turned red in a lot of her bracts because she is getting too much sun. OK, technically, it’s two plants, alright? But I think she is a set of fraternal twins probably.Īnyway, you can see in the photos that she is green and red colored. I have written about her before in this post. I don’t have to worry about a dish under her, but I do need to put a “coaster” if I am putting her on something that might be damaged by a damp pot.

This pot has no drainage hole and I planned it that way so I could set the pot in a lot of different places. I am planting her in the same pot as she was in previously. I will keep her in the same pot since I know she wants her roots tight and snuggled firmly underground. I know that it is best to do a re-potting after blooming such as in springtime when the growth starts up for the year, but she seems like she is starved for fresh soil and has had a little too much sun, so I want her to have a good holiday season. A nice plant so I have to give her an extra dose of care this month. And now here I am expecting a great show for the Holidays. Against my better judgement, I am re-potting my Thanksgiving Cactus into new soil.
