Holiday Cactus Tips, Tricks & Blooming Secrets! Schlumbergera Care

[@jonstfrancis]

One trick I discovered with large holiday cacti is to put the pot in a container but place large stones in the container for the pot to sit on; that way you can water it often but the water doesn't stay around the bottom of the pot which is what causes wilt and if too long rot.

[@FreePlantsForever]

Good tip!

[@tammytoth5874]

I do that with my African Violets. They thrive doing that.

[@jonstfrancis]

@@tammytoth5874 Yeah, exactly the type of plant this trick works with.

[@tinynh25]

@@tammytoth5874 I also do that with my African Violet, and it is thriving!

[@laveraharper9698]

Thank you for this tip! Enjoy 🎉​@@tammytoth5874

[@karenamalfi8551]

Thank you for this video. I have my Mom’s Holiday cactus and it’s 30+ years old. It’s doing very well. And I didn’t know that it’s common for them to live so long. It’s nice to still have it 🙂

[@FreePlantsForever]

Yes! I've heard some amazing stories about heirloom holiday cactus, how wonderful that you have your mother's cactus. So special.

[@karenamalfi8551]

@@FreePlantsForever Thank you 🙂

[@jonstfrancis]

I have a Christmas (x Buckleyii) which is like 40 years old. But there is some footage on youtube of ones much older, like 200 years old.

[@robertwormley4294]

I got mine from a lil ol lady who said she always had it. You could barely get your arms around it, so beautiful thick and even tall. I've taken many starts in my thirty years with it.

[@BeckyA59]

My apparently Thanksgiving cactus that I got last year is starting to bud. It's in the window in the living room so it's getting that artificial light, I didn't know it needed dark like a poinsettia does! But it looks like we'll get a few blooms at least. TBH in my home, as much as I love having many plants, they need to be able to survive under benign neglect 😁 to some extent

[@FreePlantsForever]

Nice! Luckily these cactus do fairly well with some neglect 😅 as long as you don't do anything drastic in the next month those blooms will stick around 🌼

[@fbiagentfrank]

I only buy plants that can handle neglect and the only time I have any issues with them it's because I'm giving them too much attention😂 I've got dozens of pothos, philodendron, and snake plants.

[@BeckyA59]

It's decided to start blooming again which is awesome!

[@user-ss7yq6er3p]

Thank you!!! Exactly what I needed. All of your detail and actually showing all the steps was super helpful! I need to save my mother’s Christmas cactus. She passed away 2 years ago and I didn’t take care of it correctly. Now I can try to make 3 plants out if what’s left and each sister can have one to help keep a part of our mom with this us

[@scubajenn5]

Good timing that this video showed up on my feed! My neighbor just gave me her cactus...I'll need to see what kind it is from you leaf sample (thank you for that!). Now, I'm going to go get it out of the full sun! Thanks for the info!❤

[@FreePlantsForever]

Glad to help! If the plant isn't used to being in full sun, I'd recommend to gradually move it into the sun to get it used to the exposure. Best of luck and fingers crossed you get some good blooms ❤️

[@christijones7814]

I’m so glad this video popped up on my home page. I have a small Christmas (I think) cactus that I’ve had for almost 2 years now. It was one that someone had just put a small cutting into soil so it’s not grown very much. After watching your video, hopefully I can get it to bloom in a couple years. I had one about 10-15 years ago that never bloomed either because it was in a window and always got lots of light pretty much all year round.

[@margaretchiodo-keller4495]

I loved this video, and learned alot. I have 1 mother Thanksgiving cactus, and 2 baby plants that I propagated from the mother. All are doing well in my dining room. The mother sits on the dining room table year round, and the 2 babies are in the dining room bay window. They are the hot pink color, and all 3 bloom in November. I do notice that they don't hold the flowers as long as I would like, but I think that's because the room stays at about 64-70 degrees. Maybe, if I kept it a bit warmer the flowers would last longer.

[@amongarcia3856]

I am from the Philippines and I sm really glad I found you here and learned much anout the christmas cactus. ATM I only have a few potsu and is starting to propagate them. May I know dear, what fertilize solution you are using?

[@cheralsquyresArt]

Thank you so much. This is my Christmas Cactus 2 or 3 yr. With me. I am not sure I fertilized it much. I placed in my garage. I think it naturally gets dark but we do have outdoor lights. It’s looking great. Like a beautiful plant. Not sure about darkness though???

[@FreePlantsForever]

Usually they plants get to know your climate and will naturally flower when the days get shorter... unless you're somewhere close to the equator. I've never changed the location of my plant and it does naturally start to bloom once the autumn arrives.

[@nirmaliedesilva2497]

What's the best soil mix for Thanksgiving Cactus? Thank you for the informative video.❤

[@FreePlantsForever]

I find it does best in a cactus and succulent mix. Something with a lot of good drainage and not too much organic material.

[@Sexyblkmetalchick]

I purchased my first Thanksgiving cactus today from Meijer. I have been looking for this plant for over a year.

[@barbararoller7340]

When do you recommend fertilizing if you live (like I do) in a place where you don't really have much of a winter season. I live in Southwest Florida. "Winter" weather is as rare as a few days each year or sometimes as long as 2 to 3 weeks, in mostly January. The temps will drop down to 40 or below - sometimes we might get down into the 30s but then the sun comes out and during the day we are back to 60s/70s. The rest of the year we are in mostly in the 80s to mid/high 90s. We are considered "sub-tropical", with a rainy season from June to the end of October and LOTS of humidity. My succulents are mostly in my screened lanai where they get about 8 hrs of very bright filtered sunlight and lots of humidity - they are thriving. But not sure if my Thanksgiving cactus would be happy there.

[@BrendaShaw-h8y]

My Thanksgiving cactus is full of blooms!

[@FreePlantsForever]

Amazing! I love this time of year...

[@lorrainejudd2425]

Thanks for your video, i am repotting my Christmas cactus that is not blooming.

[@FreePlantsForever]

Perfect time of year. Give it some good plant food and let it build up its energy to give you some great blooms when the winter comes.

[@joneslo5572]

I am in North texas, zone 7, can i leave my christmas cactus outdoor to over winter after it bloomed.?

[@StalkerNaturaliste]

Easter cacti are not Schlumbergera but Rhipsalidopsis.

[@FreePlantsForever]

Ah, good to know! 🌵

[@Tammy-1979Y]

Do you have any suggestions on how to repot a Christmas cactus that has been in the same pot for 15+ years? The pot has 2 different varieties of cactus in it and I thought it would be good to separate the plants into 2 new pots with fresh soil. I hesitate to disturb it but the dirt is rock hard and the plant has never bloomed well. Any ideas?

[@simplydee4522]

@Tammy-1979 KZbin video from Garden Answers titled Repotting 200 Year Old Christmas Cactus. Laura takes you through repotting a humongous one. Hope this helps.

[@paparobert9267]

@@simplydee4522Laura is amazing!

[@10mllowe]

Helpful video, about placing in the dark for 14 hours, how often (daily, weekly?) and for how long (like a month before Thanksgiving?) thank you.

[@Me-ii9wr]

14-16 hours of darkness each day for 4-6 weeks

[@brigcyr]

Why do my flowers come out all at once, but only stay out for two to three days, and all drop at once? I have three Thanksgiving cactus and all three of them do the same thing…all different colors.

[@barbaracerafici5612]

So is the 14 to 16 hour trick a one time thing or do you do it every night until you see blooms?

[@caseykatie9655]

How often do you water these plants? What does it mean if the leaves are wilting and a little wrinkly/shriveled?

[@dunker982]

Have a good guess.

[@juanitarichards3644]

My Thanksgiving cactus looked like that one time and I was told to water it. The segments puffed back up in no time. I water once a week.

[@bougle43]

When do you prune the blooming cactus?

[@barbaralevengood7628]

Why are my cactus dropping good amounts of segments

[@EtherealSunset]

Is it normal for dome of the growth near the top to start growing roots?

[@minglee4121]

Good video 🎉🎉🎉. I want to try this year with a thanksgiving cactus ❤🪴🍃🍀🎶🎶🎶.

[@joycekelley6362]

I ordered this Thanksgiving cactus online. I replanted it. I am worried about the color of the first segment. It is gray. The rest of the segments look good. It came three little stalks in soil wrapped in clear Syran wrap. I live in Arizona. It is hot summer here. The soil was very hot. It took nine days to arrive. I took it out of box, unwrapped it and left it on counter to cool down. Then I gave it a drink and planted them. They had roots. Do you think it will be okay or is that first segment no good. I have kept it under a grow light and our house is cool. I tried to post a picture but it seems I can’t post pictures here.

[@FreePlantsForever]

Hopefully it's just taking time to adjust to it's new surroundings and didn't get too hot. If the first segment starts to go squishy, it may have rot and you might want to cut it off and just keep the healthy looking segments since they propagate really easily. Keep an eye on the segments and keep feeling them to make sure they stay firm. If they're squishy, that's when you take action.

[@KnutRogerJakobsen]

My christmas cactus have gotten pale green, almost yellow leafs. What should I do to make it happy again?

[@amycampbell4698]

Would it be ok to put the catci outside in weather above 70? What is too hot for the plant? I’m in East Tennessee, where it’s in the 90’s in July and August (and very humid).

[@newatthis50]

I'm in SW Missouri now, I received one in a mixed pot. At the time one of the plants had some sort of bugs so I set it on an old stump under a bush and promptly forgot about it. This fall after the leaves fell I found it. The other plants in the pot had died but it was thriving!! It has buds and might bloom soon😂

[@juliecaywood8083]

Thank you for the info....great! My Christmas cactus is outside (July) in the shade in Texas! The leaves are turning red...is that o.k.?

[@kirstenpost477]

No purple is bc to much sun getting to it. Hope to help though its been months since u asked.

[@DeborahHutchings-z7d]

What is the white film at the base of my Christmas cactus, and do I remedy it if it’s a problem?

[@FreePlantsForever]

I'm not sure from just the description, but it's possible that you have hard water if you've been watering from the tap - I have this issue in my house. Some plants don't mind it, and if the rest of the plant looks healthy, I wouldn't worry too much. You could wipe it down and try watering with distilled or rain water and see if that helps.

[@carolynwardle6913]

My cactus is blooming, last year it bloomed until May.

[@chrystolita]

Sooo My thanksgiving cactus blooms at every holiday. Any idea why? I'm not complaining about it I just found it to be odd.

[@visitacionmcgarity5161]

I do everything to make my cactus bloom but it doesn't bloom at all. Christmas cactus hard to grow for me

[@cynthiacharlery710]

How can I get a plant

[@markrichards6863]

Just add water once a week and feed monthly. These plants grew out of control in my garden, when I lived in California.

[@shericreates]

I wish I could propagate mine. Every time I try they either wilt or dry up. I have tried every techniques. And my big one I have had for years are dropping limbs. I transplanted it back into a clay pot because it was in one of those self watering plastic pots. Not my favorite. Maybe I used too big of pot?

[@ROlson-dx2jc]

Clay is the best for them. Also they like a smallish pot. I have made the mistake of overpotting them and it really makes them decline in health. The new pot should be just a little bigger than the root ball.

[@crystalvanness9139]

I have a Christmas plant and the leaves are very thin and limp what can I do to bring it to life

[@FreePlantsForever]

I would check the soil. Usually thin and limp leaves are a sign that it needs water, but if the soil is wet then it could be root rot. If it's in soggy soil the plant should be removed from the soil and any rotten or soggy roots and branches should be cut off, and dried out to re-propagate. I hope that helps!

[@livefire4433]

Remove the old soil with water less chance of damage to roots

[@FreePlantsForever]

Oh good advice!

[@JohnKelley-vg7zr]

I bought a Xmas cactus 2 months ago, watched you video, now again. VERY disappointed my cactus has done practically NOTHING since I got it!😢 I even repotted it into a slightly larger pot w/cactus mix. Nothing is happening. I expected it 2b huge by now. My portulacaria afra Ive propagated and grows like crazy 4me. I have a forest of them. I'm watching ur video & getting exasperated even more. Y r they going 4u not me. I even put outside for a while on my balcony so maybe they can take hint from my Dwarf jade monsters!

[@cheralsquyresArt]

It is November 12 here .

[@FreePlantsForever]

Are you hoping for more growth, or flowers? It grows relatively slowly, and repotting might actually slow the growth as it can send the plant into a little bit of shock. Be patient - if it's a Christmas cactus it might not flower until later in December - if it's an Easter cactus, it will be Spring. Also, be aware of the light they are getting, if they are in a grow light situation, they will start to need longer stretches of low light to remind them that the seasons are changing. Hope that helps!

[@visitacionmcgarity5161]

What's the secret ?

[@dennismoore8351]

That's a Christmas cactus.

[@sharleenehurst4250]

It is called the CHRISTMAS CACTUS, not Holiday Cactus.

[@FreePlantsForever]

Hey Sharleene - if you actually watch the video, you'll learn that there are a couple of varieties, Thanksgiving Cactus, Christmas Cactus and Easter Cactus - the different names refer to the times of year that the different varieties bloom. Three holidays, two of which are religious. Please don't make this a "woke" thing. It's not.