As the holiday season comes upon us you may want to decorate your home with some lovely colorful flowering plants.

Besides poinsettias, there are holiday cacti that have flowers that may be white, pink, red, fuchsia or purple. They start blooming in November and continue through December and include the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus.

Both the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus are species of Schlumbergera, a leaf cactus.

The leaves are segments of the plant stem called pads. These plants are very different from what gardeners think of when it comes to cacti. How so?

They don’t like dry conditions or direct sunlight.

Native to the tropical southeastern coastal region of Brazil in the Organ mountains they can be found growing on trees and on rocks in shaded areas. They are epiphytes (air plants) like ferns, bromeliads and orchids and require high humidity and indirect sunlight.

In their natural habitat, they bloom in May, which is the beginning of Brazil’s winter season and are called Flor de Maio. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, they bloom six months later, usually November -December.

Most holiday cacti being sold in our stores are Thanksgiving cactus plants. The easiest way to identify the type you have is to examine the leaf segments. Look closely at the leaves in the photo and you will see that the Thanksgiving cactus has very sharp pointed leaf edges. They bloom typically in the fall around Thanksgiving.

In comparison, Christmas cactus leaves are softer and have more rounded scalloped edges. They bloom closer to Christmas and are hybrids that were produced in the late 1840s in England. There is a similar Easter cactus that blooms in the spring.

Besides the difference in the shape of the leaf segments, the Thanksgiving cactus bloom has yellow anthers, the pollen-bearing part of flowers, and the Christmas cactus bloom has purplish anthers.

Caring for your holiday cactus is very easy. It prefers being pot-bound in humus-rich soil which mimics their natural habitat of crooks in tree branches. Place it in an area of your home that receives bright, indirect or filtered light.

Give it only enough water to keep the soil from drying out completely but not too wet. Use a pot with drainage holes to prevent roots from rotting,

Flower bud production involves controlling the temperature and light the holiday cactus receives. To encourage your plant to bloom provide it with bright light and temperatures between 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 13 hours or more of continuous darkness each day. The cooler temperature and shorter periods of light will stimulate bud production.

Start in September or October by placing your plant in a cooler area outside in filtered light for six to eight weeks. Avoid drastic temperature changes which can affect buds and cause them to drop.

Established holiday cacti should be fertilized monthly between April and October with a complete houseplant fertilizer. When flower buds appear, stop fertilizing.

After bringing indoors keep them away from drafty areas or heater vents. Prune in June to encourage branching and more flowers. The removed tender stem sections can be rooted in moist vermiculite.

You can also use a rooting hormone on the bottoms of stems and plant them in potting soil. Read and follow all label directions on the rooting hormone bottle.

Your holiday cactus starter plants make wonderful gifts anytime during the year. It’s very rewarding to watch them grow and flower from year to year as well as to share them with others!

To learn more, go to https://go.osu.edu/holidaycacti

Belfast is an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in Mahoning County.