Do Christmas Cactus (Thanksgiving, Holiday) Flower More Than Once A Year? Oh Yes!
Do Christmas Cactus flower more than once a year? My Christmas Cactus is blooming again in February, and I explain how it happened here.
Christmas Cactus are extremely popular when November and December roll around. I happen to like them even when they’re not in bloom and think they make fine houseplants. But wait, did you know that they can repeat flower? Mine started re-blooming in February, so yes, Christmas Cactus do flower more than once a year.
Let’s get a bit technical for those of you who geek out on all things plant like me. The Christmas Cactus that you see here and in the video is actually a Thanksgiving (or Crab) Cactus. It was labeled as a CC when I bought it and that’s how it’s commonly sold in the trade. Nowadays you may see them labeled as Holiday Cactus. Regardless of which one you have, they can re-bloom more than once a year.
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My Christmas (Thanksgiving, Holiday) Cactus in bloom again:
I’ve gotten a few comments on reader’s Christmas Cacti flowering more than once a year and questions as to whether this was “normal” or not. Some people’s flower again and some don’t. What causes them to bloom again? I’ll share with you the conditions mine has been in and what I’ve done.
Here’s how my Thanksgiving Cactus looked last November. This winter repeat bloom is much sparser.
First off, I haven’t purposefully done anything to cause the re-blooming. I’ve found that some plants, like Hoyas, flower when they darn well please. The conditions I’ve had it growing in have most likely caused it. My cactus was sitting on my kitchen counter when it was in bloom for our viewing pleasure.
It stopped blooming in early December and I left it in that spot when I went to San Francisco to do a Christmas decorating job. When I got home in mid-month, I moved it into an east-facing window in my office. Because I live in the Arizona desert, it won’t be growing in that spot much past May – too hot!
There’s copious amounts of sun here in Tucson so the Christmas Cactus got ample light during the day. I’m out of my office by 4 so it received at least 12 hours of total darkness each night. Another factor: I turn my heat down to 65 at night, and because it was on the window sill, the plant stayed cool.
There are redbuds popping their heads out of the leaf sections so I’ll have flowers for at least another month.
So that’s what I think did it – the combo of the almost equal amounts of light/dark and the cooler evening temperatures. I haven’t fed the plant at all but will nourish it my usual blend of worm compost and compost when I repot it after the blooming is finished. I back off on the watering frequency when my Christmas Cactus isn’t in bloom and water it about once a week when it is. They’re epiphytic cacti native to the rainforests and therefore require more water than desert cacti.
As you can see, the bloom at this time isn’t nearly as big as it was around Thanksgiving. The flowering is much more sporadic but lovely nonetheless. There are quite a few buds barely poking their heads out of many leaf sections so it should have flowers on it for at least another month or so. By the way, each flower seems to last 4-5 days. I gently twist them off when the bloom is starting to look bad.
Does your Thanksgiving or Christmas Cactus bloom more than once a year? Please fill us in – inquiring horticultural minds want to know!
Happy gardening,
More on Christmas Cactus:
How To Propagate Christmas Cactus
How To Get Your Christmas Cactus To Flower Again
What Causes Christmas Cactus Leaves To Turn Orange?
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- About the Author
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Nell, the founder of Joy Us garden, was born into a gardening family and grew up in Connecticut’s countryside. After living in Boston, New York, San Francisco, & Santa Barbara, she now calls the Arizona desert home. She studied horticulture & garden design, working in the field all her life. Nell is a gardener, designer, blogger, Youtube creator, & author. She’s been gardening for a very long time & wants to share what she’s learned with you.
I have a Christmas that I have had for 12 years. I bought it a the 99 cents store in Surprise Az. It never once bloomed. I moved to Cornville Az. in 2014 I had it in the bathroom, and still no bloom. I moved it in the dinning room in March of this year, and it started blooming all over.It has 2 new blooms on it. I am over whelmed . I don’t no why or how it happened. I don’t even no if it will bloom another time or not. I just water it once a week. I don’t no if I should even call it a Christmas Cactus or not.
Hi Nell!
My Christmas Cactus is some 20 or 30 years old. We are growing old together, and I love this plant. This plant is a bit of a spouse to me. It is always there, it makes me happy, and I’m doing my best to keep the plant healthy and happy.
It flowers every year in November, and in most years it flowers again sometime in spring.
This year, however, it flowered in March, and for reasons absolutely unknown to me it is flowering now (end of April) for the third time after November and March. I am absolutely stunned!
Best wishes from Berlin to the Arizona desert!
Marc
Hi Marc –
Thank you for sharing! I was visited Berlin in the summer 6 years ago & loved it by the way. I was surprised & delighted at how green your city is – the trees are so big.
With plants you never do know, that’s for sure! Some CC flower once a year, & some more. I’m glad to hear your CC is 20-30 years old because I know them to be long lived houseplants.
And yes, they do become our friends & companions! Cheers, Nell
Hi all! 4 yrs. ago a nice lady gave me a christmas cactus that was a start off of one she had, as she was transporting it here a small part broke off. So I have the bigger one, which in 4 yrs. has had maybe a total of 4-5 flowers the entire time. And the little bit that broke off I also put in a pot, stuck it in the window and had no idea if it would make it. After the first year, year and half (or so) it took right off and started blooming!! It has flowers all the time, all year round it is blooming!!! Is this unusual??
Hi Tracy – I’ve heard of off & on flowering during the year like mine used to do in my Santa Barbara garden. Flowers all the time & non-stop blooming is something I’ve never seen or read. So yes, for me it is!
My aunt, who is now deceased gave me a Christmas cactus about 4 yrs ago. I have it sitting in front of my glass door on the south side of my house. It is over an air vent too. I don’t do anything to it except water it but the spot must be ideal. It blooms continually from Oct-March. I just noticed today it is full of buds again. I wonder why it blooms so often. I tell folks that maybe my aunt is blessing it. I enjoy it and think of her each time it blooms.
Maybe your aunt is Wendy! It’s a wonderful thought. When I lived in Santa Barbara, mine growing outdoors bloomed quite a bit. Location & environment is everything – it must be quite happy in its spot. Nell
I have a Christmas plant given to me by a friend 2 years ago. Last Christmas it has bloomed twice ,into February . This year in November it bloomed and again in February . To my surprise it bloomed again in May and I am totally shocked to see it is again starting to have buds on the tips. When I say bloomed I mean the plant is covered with blossoms. The plant itself is big and healthy looking . Evenly proportioned, love my plant.
H Monica – I’ve gotten 3 blooms out of a Thanksgiving Cactus. It sounds like yours is very happy. Thanks for sharing so other can read this! Nell
I have never reported or moved my cactus from the same spot. It is supposed to be a Thanksgiving cactus, but it blooms continuously all year.
Hi Ramona –
They do better when slightly potbound. Sometimes they bloom off & on all year – yours must be happy. Nell
Hi. Can I assume from your photo that these plants aren’t toxic to cats? Thanks.
Hi Erin – Yes, it’s non toxic to both cats & dogs. Nell
My Christmas cactus has bloomed non stop from before Halloween we moved into a new house with a sunroom and it is happy. March 6 and many flowers and 13 new buds. Don’t know how to post a picture here
Cheryl – Sounds beautiful. And such a long bloom time! Thanks for sharing, Nell
Hi,
My daughter (a pre-school teachers’ assistant) was given a Christmas Cactus in December, 2017 and she immediately handed it off to me. (We’re happy her cats and kids are thriving and that she doesn’t have a black thumb with them 😉 ) I placed it in my kitchen window and watered it lightly once a week. I repotted it into a slightly larger pot and kept it in the same window (which faces south but is blocked by tall trees and the house next door). It started to bud in November, 2018 and I was thrilled. Now, in early March, it has double the buds it had before and I’m beyond joyful. I won’t repot it again – I’m afraid to push my luck. Other neighbors recently cut down some trees and I am now getting more (but still limited) sunlight. It’ll be interesting to what happens this year. Thanks for your great information!
Hi Ellen – You’re very welcome; thanks for stopping by! Sounds like your CC is happy in its environment. Some sun is okay – just keep your eye on it & makes sure it doesn’t burn. I this it as a houseplant & the flowers are the icing on the cake! Nell
I received a very old Christmas cactus from my Aunt. Gosh, it must have been 10 years ago already, and it was old then! The branches are hard like bark about 5 inches up from the soil.
Since I received it, it’s only bloomed maybe 5 times, and it’s nowhere near the amount of glorious blooms I’ve seen in pictures. Maybe 10 blooms at most?
I would like to try to force it into dormancy, but I live in a small house. Not many on my rooms are DARK for 12+ hours each night. I do have a windowless bathroom that is dark, but the light gets turned on frequently throughout the day. Would that disrupt the the process of forcing it into dormancy?
Hi Cassandra – Those branches get woody with age. It needs the bright light in the daytime. You could put it in a closet every night & take it out in the daytime. You’d need to do that for around 6 weeks or so. Mine is just setting buds now in early Dec. Nell
My 100 year old Christmas Cactus has been blooming non stop since November 2019 it is now April 2020. It usually blooms all of December and into January…then blooms again for Easter. It is so lovely. It was my Grandmothers’ and she gave it to my mom who then gave it to me! I think of it as my guardian plant …she is just watching over me that’s all.
Oh my goodness Myra! I said CC are long lived & yours really proves it. Mine flowers once or twice a year but I really love it as a foliage plant too. Thanks for sharing, Nell
I have both a Christmas and thanksgiving cactus. The Christmas cactus was given to my mother by her grandmother, my brother and I then split it between us. Mine sits in a SW facing window. It starts blooming in December and is still blooming now. My thanksgiving cactus isn’t as prolific. I bought it 20 years ago. It also has SW lighting but has more shade during the day. I water each when the dirt is dry. last reporting was 6 years ago for both.
Hi Kathy – I just repotted my Thanksgiving Cactus last spring. It bloomed beautifully this past holiday season. They sure are long-lived. nell
So I found this site because I was wondering about my CC. It bloomed at Thanksgiving and then again in January and then again in March! It started blooming at the end of May and is in full bloom now. I am totally stunned! An interesting fact about this is I moved at the beginning of March and probably repotted it sometime in April. It just continues to bloom and bloom! I have done nothing special with it. It was in a west facing window in my other house. Now it is in a southeastern facing window. It is on the windowsill, so it gets some direct sunlight during the day. I live in Pennsylvania and keep my house around 65 in the winter and 74 in the summer. Anyway, that’s my CC story… not even exactly sure if it’s a CC or a TC. hahahaha.
Tina – Thanks for sharing! I’ve only had mine bloom twice so yours must be very happy. And, that’s a lovely CC story! Nell
Our Thanksgiving cactus normally blooms a beautiful deep pink and is always on time for Thanksgiving. However, this year it is blooming now also (June) only the flowers are WHITE! What has caused the change in color?
Debbie – Change in CC flower color is normally due to a change in environmental conditions. Nell
My Thanksgiving cactus blooms at Easter too!
Ashley – Funny how they do that! Mine only bloomed once this year – you never know with plants! Nell
I have a 10 year old cactus that hasn’t stopped blooming in 2 years. I have it in a cool room, no direct sunlight, water it every 2 weeks and fertilize with Miracle Grow every 3 months. It is huge. Wish I could include a pic.
Cathy – Sounds lovely! They make wonderful houseplants & even better that yours is blooming non-stop. Nell