PlantFiles: Christmas Cactus, Holiday Cactus, Zygocactus
Schlumbergera x buckleyi

Possibly the most popular plant in North America. It is not necessary to put the plant into the dark to force blooming. These plants will naturally set buds and bloom if given a winter rest which is cooler and drier than normal, and a summer which is warm with good indirect to part sun light. Mine typically bloom in the fall and spring.

I never saw any seeds on my plants. I took rooted cuttings from four different colors and put them in one pot. Although they bloom at different times, it's very interesting. Right now the white are in bloom. Only problem is the blooms are on one side of the pot.

We have one in the spare bedroom in a south facing window. Every year for the past few years, since we got it, the plant has bloomed wonderful white with pink around the edges. Never has this plant been on a dark light schedule and still rewards us with blooms. I think it's blooming without intervention is because the spare bedroom hardly ever has the lights turned on at night and the heating vents in the floor are closed in the room keeping it cooler. I enjoy this plant and it's blooms. It is easy to grow too!

I think I have this particular variety. A real show stopper when it cranks out the flowers.
I have found in general for the (Cristmas Cactus group) that not only daylight length, as some suggest, makes the plant bloom but it also has to do with night-time temps. If your cactus is not blooming well, try leaving the plant about three weeks in 55 degree night temps in the fall (Dont let em freeze though) then bring indoors and move the plant to a bright warmer location and keep evenly moist. I have had my plants bloom 2, sometimes 3 times in a 12 month period by experimenting with night temps near a cold basement window, but it tends to wear out the plant a bit.
Science!...It seems to work.

We have here more then 30 pictures, some of the them is TRUE Christmas cactus...Which one? I also think the shape of the flower is also different
I am guessing the pictures by :
eloopj ,sandy130 ,trilian15,ladyannne are true cactus flowers

And they are different from :
kniphofia, jnana, hankpage, IslandJim

and I think vince has the real cactus also.

Great pictures and good tips how to make it bloom!
Thank you people!

My grandpa has had one of these beautiful plants for years (I need to find out how long and where he got it). Today, I was at his place for Christmas and asked to take a few starts of it. I know that this may not be the ideal time to attempt this, but figured that such a hearty plant would work. I started four. We'll see! Of course, here in western Oregon this is just going to be a houseplant.

His plant is amazing with large deep pink blooms.

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Most of the pictures for this plant on this site are the wrong plant! A few are the real thing. Real Schlumbergera x buckleyi don't have points on their segments.
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I have had my Christmas Cactus for over 16 years! I have annually @ least 2 blooms and on a few occasions 3-4 blooms a year!! I will be uploading a few pictures under the name of "cacTYEpete9".

Would like to find out more about this plant.
Have one from my Mother who died in 1965. It is in a large pot on a bar stool and the plant almost touches the ground.

The leaves are smoother than most seen here. It does not have the pointy edges.

Bloomes before Xmas and early spring. Also sometimes in January.

Would appreciate any information that could be given.

Thank you,

Common name is Christmas Cactus (hybrid between S. russelliana and S. truncata).

- Latin name is Schlumbergera x buckleyi - genus: Schlumbergera (old name Zygocactus), species: x buckleyi.

This plant is an artificially produced hybrid of Schlumbergera russelliana & Schlumbergera truncata

From Norma in Shenandoah Valley of VA

I purchased my plant about 5-6 yrs. ago. Have had good luck with it blooming after the Xmas holiday and pretty heavily. Mine is bright pink...beautiful! I keep it in a south window or window with indirect sunlight. I have had to repot it about 3x and it is now in a 10" pot and is bursting at the seams!

I am wondering if these plants can be divided? Anyone have any ideas? When you propogate from leaves, how much of the spike do you cut off and do you place in water until roots show or potting soil? Can you cut these plants back? Mine is just getting so huge that if I repot again, I won't have table sturdy enough to hold it! I usually fertilize once every 1-2 wks. during the summer, and it really takes off then...guess I will be ready for a 12" pot next! How do you all show your plant...plant stand, table, hanging?

I am going to try putting it outside on our southeast-facing deck for the summer in a few weeks. Will see how it does. Will try the darkness routine after I bring it back inside next fall and maybe I will get more flowers around the holidays.

Sure would appreciate in suggestions any of you may have as to better care and tending of this beautiful behometh!

I started my plant from cuttings taken from my grandmother's 50+ year old plant in Finland. I have it in Florida and it has been blooming in waves since December, full of buds at present and ready to bloom again. I keep it in a shady spot of honor right by the front door. It likes to be placed in a spot and then *left* there. Even here in Florida, it sticks to the blooming schedule! I don't drive myself crazy worrying about shortened days and light, either. This plant is a definite must for anyone who loves to have plants that become ever more firmly entrenched in family history through the years.

A friend gave us a small plant in a 4" pot last year at Christmas. This Christmas it is covered with blooms! Must have at least 35 and it is still a smallish plant!!!!!!

We did not move it from the spot on the deck of the back lanai where it has lived since we got it. We water it when we remember and have never had to put it in a dark place for any period of time.

To show it off better while it is covered in blooms, I placed the plastic 4" pot in a larger ceramic container and covered the top of the pot with green moss. We hope to transplant to a larger pot after it finishes blooming. At this time it is gracing our lanai dining table.

I recently bought the "Thanksgiving Cactus," or the crab-clawed pinkish/coral version of this plant. It bloomed for Thanksgiving, and has now rebloomed again in February after being placed in a southeast windowsill and being given plenty of water. Lovely!!

I have a large, bright-true-red flowered plant that my son gave me for Christmas several years ago that blooms profusely. I always slightly fertilize all of my house plants with liquid house plant MiracleGro 8-7-6 (dark green bottle with yellow lable) at half strength every time I water, so I don't have to remember a fertilizer schedule, and all of my house plants grow beautifully, and this Christmas cactus blooms every year. I recently read that these jungle ephiphytes need fertilizer as often as every 7 to 10 days, so apparently I had been unknowlingly doing the right thing for it all along, hence have had no problem with blooming.

Sunset's Western Garden Book says that "to ensure bud set for late December bloom, keep plant where it will receive cool night temperatures (50F - 55F degrees) and 12-14 hours of darkness per day during November." I've found that an unused extra bedroom, right near the window, works just fine.

hi there,
i took a start from my mother's very successful christmas cactus about 4 years ago.
4 years later, it is EXACTLY the same size, and has never bloomed. I give it the right amount of water and light that everyone recs, but, while my mother's continues to thrive, mine is stagnant. Any ideas about how i can get this little guy to bloom/grow?
thank you so much :)

San Antonio, Tx.
I have never grown one of these plants, but was going to give some tips on how to induce blooming. Because the previous comments contain these tips, all I can say is that the blooms are so exquisite that I am almost enchanted by them when seeing them in person. The photos I posted are of a plant that has been in the same container for over 26 years.

I have a Christmas Cactus that is at least 65 years old and came down through my husband's family. How much older we don't know. It was doing fine in a south window, but in the last four months it has been losing its leaves and is not getting any new growth. The leaves turn brown along the edges, turn a light green and flatten. Then they fall off the plant. I do not notice any new growth. I would really hate to lose this family heirloom.

I've had my plant for nine years and it gets more magnificent every year. It blooms around Christmas and then again in March. Right now it is in its full second bloom!

Like the "Thanksgiving Cactus" and "Easter Cactus" S. x buckleyi has arching foliage with brilliant flowers that cascade in whorls of colored petals. All varieties require similar care to that outlined below. Their leaves however, vary in shape. The Christmas Cactus is very similar to the Thanksgiving cactus, most people don't realize they are different plants. The Christmas cactus has the common red-colored flowers, while the Thanksgiving cactus come in many bright colors.

In February-March, when flowering is over, the plant needs to rest. Water sparingly without letting the stems shrink. If possible, move it to a cool, bright location.

In April/June, start to water more. The winter period is over and the cactus will start to grow again. New shoots at the tip of each stem are visible. Repot in April, if needed, and then feed a couple of times during these months. Use a standard cactus soil mixture so that water can easily drain. Roots are weak and will easily rot if soil is too wet.

July-August, starts rest period number two. Reduce watering and place in a warm, sheltered spot in the garden, if possible. Protect it from the burning sun.

September-February, if th ecactus has been standing outside, bring it in. As soon as there is any sign of flower buds, start to increase watering again. It must never lack water at this time or moved around much; otherwise buds may drop.

Key things to remember:

Place in high light (southern exposure) in Fall and winter, and medium light in spring and summer. Keep dark 12 hours per day from October 1 until bloom.

Keep soil evenly moist except in fall; then let it dry slightly between waterings. Raise humidity.

Maintain temps. in the low 70's (F) during the day and no lower than low 50's (F) at night, except between October 1 and bloom. Then, keep temperatures below 53 degrees F all day if possible.

Feed less in Fall. Never move or turn plant when it is in bloom; it will drop buds and stop flowering. Propagate by stem cuttings or seed.

If the cactus starts to shrivel in its rest period, it needs more water. Give it a good soak in a large bowl of water, then lift it and let it drain after about a half an hour.

Crown rot is a sign that the roots are rotting. Either the plant has been overwatered or soil mixture is wrong. The plant cannot survive this, so take cuttings from healthy stems before it is too late.

The buds fall off when plant has been moved around too much or has insufficient water.

I have a huge (12" diameter pot) that I got as a cutting from my great-great-grandmother's plant 12 years ago.

I have some pink, white, and red cultivars. They are really easy to propagate.

Oh, yes and yes, again! Right now there are around ten of these(different shades in the blooms) and they tend to thrive much better in the cooler part of my glasshouse...Merry Christmas, December, 2002! Elaine

I live in north-central Florida (U.S.), and in the summer it gets extremely hot here. I had mine in the house and it was doing well, however, when I placed it in partial shade outside, it grew to almost double.

I was told in order for this plant to bloom, it must have 13 hours of darkness; starting in September. I have brought the plant into the house again, leaving it in a bedroom which is not used at this time ~ meaning that it would get the proper amount of darkness. I started this process in early November and the plant is ready to burst at the seams with blooms.

In my Zone 9 garden I have these plants growing in a sheltered area hanging from an oak tree - they always bloom and have never failed.

In order to get the Christmas Cactus to bloom it has to be in a cooler temperature, for example, on a window sill. It will not bloom if kept warm.

Water regularly about once weekly. Don't go for long periods of time without watering - this plant is not a true cactus and needs regular moisture.

The Christmas Cactus produces beautiful, unique flowers in many different colors. This plant is a joy for all!!

S. x buckleyi is the common and old fashioned "Christmas Cactus" that your grandmother may have had, blooming at Christmas or a little after. The phylloclades are smooth and crenate. S. x buckleyi is well-suited to a a hanging basket, with a pendulous habit. The flowers are symmetrical and are also pendant. The flower color of most of these plants is fuschia or purple, sometimes with a tinge of orange, although we are now seeing a bigger diversity of colors coming from hybridizers.

This plant is indeed a TRUE Cactus, being an epiphytic jungle cactus and not the spiny desert plants that most everyone thinks of when they hear the word "cactus." Being from the rainforest,they like to drain quickly but do not like to be dry for long periods of time. However, you CAN kill them by overwatering. (Ask me!) The soil should feel like a damp, wrung out sponge most of the time, with the top inch of soil drying out on occasion.

Cooler temps in the fall may indeed be beneficial to this plant, but the most important thing when attempting to induce budding is a long night/short day photoperiod, with 12 hours or more of darkness. My Holiday Cactus will usually bloom again indoors in 65-70°F temperatures in the spring when the day/night hours closely approximate those in the fall - proof that no "cooling off" treatment is necessary to induce buds.

This is the true "Christmas Cactus", not to be confused with Schlumbergera truncata, which is often referred to as "Holiday Cactus" or "Claw Cactus".

This is a 19th century hybrid between S. russelliana and S. truncata, created by William Buckley, of the Rollison Nurseries in England. They are easy to grow houseplants, and normally flower in early winter.