Released: January 03, 2002

Holiday Cactus Care is Easy

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Christmas and Thanksgiving cactuses often arrive as a gift that’s in full bloom. The lucky new owner may also get a small marker, card or tag that outlines the plant’s care.

"A tag probably won’t include enough information to help you ensure blooms again by next year’s holiday season. In fact, it may not warn you that the plant is going to stop blooming by late winter or early spring," said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension. "With just a little care, however, these cactuses can do just fine as a houseplant with interesting greenery."

Christmas and Thanksgiving cactuses actually are different species (Schlumbergera bridgesii and Schlumbergera truncata). Even so, both are natives of South America, where they grow on other plants for support, Upham said. Both also can thrive indoors under the same growing conditions:

* Normal household temperatures.

* Bright, but indirect light.

* Soil that’s constantly moist, yet never waterlogged.

* A light fertilization every other week from bloom time until the following autumn.

"Some people seem able to inspire a Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus to flower with very little effort," he added. "But they’ve either made some lucky choices or had the know-how to provide the ‘triggers’ or signals the plant normally would get from a jungle environment."

Upham said the following steps usually can help Kansans achieve cactus blooms by Christmas:

1. In fall, stop fertilizing. Only water enough to keep stems from shriveling, in order to form buds.

2. Aim to keep the plant a bit potbound. Move to a bigger pot in spring only when you haven’t repotted in several years and/or the current year’s blooms were fewer in number than the previous year’s.

3. If possible, let the potted cactus spend each summer in a shady spot outdoors. Leave it there until frost threatens – which in Kansas will often mean enough exposure to 50 to 55 F nighttime temperatures for the plant to start producing flower buds.

For indoor-only plants (or those that must come in before forming buds), put the potted cactus in an unused room, in a cardboard box or under a dark cloth, to ensure that it has 12 hours of complete dark for 25 consecutive nights. Day and night, keep it at temperatures between 59 and 69 degrees.

"After bud formation, the cactus will need another nine to 10 weeks to complete their flower development and bloom," Upham said. "That’s when you can resume its normal feeding and watering."

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Kathleen Ward, Communications Specialist
kward@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News