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Christmas Cactus and Other Confusing Holiday Cactus

The Christmas Cactus is a plant with a long life, even if sometimes neglected. They brighten the winter with their cheerful blossoms and give plant lovers something to mull over- is it a Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter Cactus?

This family of cacti doesn't come from the hot desert. They come from the cool mountain rainforests in Brazil. They don't grow in soil but in pockets of humus rich debris in the crotches of trees and cracks of rocks. They usually have a spreading, drooping habit.

Christmas cacti have been in cultivation a long time. The plants being sold today are clones of several crosses of two species, Schlumbergera bridgesii, [or Schlumbergera russelliana], and Schlumbergera truncate that were developed in the 1800's. Typically they are given the names Thanksgiving cactus or Christmas cactus by the time of year they bloom. There are some slight differences in leaf shape in the different clones.

To add to the confusion Christmas Cacti bloom can be manipulated fairly easily by growers and the different varieties may be in bloom at the same time or even delayed until later in the spring, when they can be sold in place of the true Easter Cacti. Some varieties also bloom sporadically all winter.

The Easter Cactus belongs to another species entirely, Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri. It comes from the same general area as the other Holiday Cacti and requires just about the same care. It usually blooms in April.

The holiday cacti all have leaves that are thick and fleshy and occur in segments linked together. They are dark green. The base of the plant may turn woody as it ages. The earliest blooming Cacti have segments that have points at the top and a jagged side; the later blooming cacti tend to have more rounded tops and smoother sides, although this is very variable. Easter Cacti have more rounded segments.

The Christmas- Thanksgiving Cacti produce buds at the end of a segmented stem. The buds take several weeks to grow from tiny bumps to long, beautiful flowers. Each flower is tubular, with satin-like petals folded back along the tube in layers. These varieties now come in traditional red along with pink, white, orange, yellow and lavender.

The Easter Cactus produces buds at the ends of stems and along the stem at other segments. The flowers of the Easter cactus are rounder, and more like a daisy than a tube. There are several shades of red, pink and mauve.

Growing Holiday Cacti.

The rainforest cacti are grown

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