Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

The Christmas cactus triggers arguments over its name.

MCT photo

Of all the potted plants in bloom for December display, my favorites are the holiday cacti, sometimes known as Thanksgiving or Christmas cacti.
They’re festive and, unlike many other holiday plants, don’t turn into compost fodder by January.
In fact, with a little care, holiday cacti will thrive and rebloom for years — 20 years, in the case of Ara Basherian’s plant. His mother-in-law gave him the small cactus two decades ago.
“It kept growing, and we kept putting it in larger pots,” says Basherian, a retired auto executive. The plant is currently in bloom.
For those who’d like to try growing them, holiday cacti are widely available in stores this time of year.
In Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Basherian’s potted cactus lives in a sunny spot in his den.
His wife, Roz, chair of the Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary, jokes that her husband and the cactus “are sympatico.”
It certainly seems content, sporting fuchsia-colored flowers that last for weeks.
“All it requires is a little bit of sunshine and, every so often, a little bit of water,” said Ara Basherian.
People shopping for holiday plants for indoor decoration may not realize how easy the cacti are to grow and get to rebloom, says Bridget Behe, a horticulture professor at Michigan State University.
They “see that beautiful flower and think they’re complicated or challenging,” she says. But with the right location and a little care, it’s “ an ideal flowering plant.”
The Basherians’ cactus lives in part of the house set back to 60 degrees overnight. Placing the cactus’ pot closer to the floor, rather than on a higher shelf, also will keep it slightly cooler, Behe says.
Especially after flowering, these cacti prefer being dry to soggy and can survive without care — if, say, the owners are on vacation — for a couple of weeks. The plants can use slightly more water as they form buds and flowers but never so much that the soil stays soggy.
For summer, move the plants outdoors to a shady spot and bring them inside before the first frost.
Before that transition, Basherian sponges off his plant’s flat, segmented stems with a mixture of water and a few drops of liquid dish soap to rid them of any bugs.
Usually, just being outside in the fall will be adequate for the plant to set buds.
Or you could move the pot to a cool, dark place where there is no night lighting for six weeks in the fall. Exposure to lower temperatures as well as to increasing hours of darkness encourages bud set for the Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti.
And when they flower, in November and December, they will be so gorgeous that you’ll want more cacti to be part of future holiday celebrations.