A Christmas cactus is a colorful addition to houseplant collections and is easy to care for. Christmas cactus is a member of the cactus family, but it doesn't have spines. It also requires more water than its thorny relatives.
Christmas cacti spend most of the year growing long, segmented paddles that branch from low-lying base stalks. Each segment is softly rounded at the tips and sprouts from the center of the segment behind it. This produces hanging, scalloped-shaped branches.
Flowers of the Christmas cactus usually appear during the short days of December. Flowers form at the center of the outermost tip of each branch. Blossoms hang down loosely. Sections of petals fountain out of each other in a long, graceful arc. Bloom size may vary from species to species, but blooms typically range from 1 to 3 inches long.
Christmas cacti thrive in bright, indirect light and require light to moderate waterings.
For more information, please see the PlantTalk script #1336, Christmas cactus.
