Flower of the Week: Christmas Cactus
Beautiful houseplants are essential when it comes to celebrating the long winter holiday season. If you pay attention, you will notice a plant with green stems, leaves like crab claws, and colorful flowers like wing-flapping birds. That is Christmas cactus. Since a splash of winter brightness is always welcome, take it home and let this vibrant winter fairy bring you the joy of the holidays.
To appreciate the original charm of Christmas cactus, why not pay a visit to its native habitat in Brazil? The Organs Range, located in Rio, Brazil, is where you can discover the wild beauty of Christmas cactus in addition to spectacular local scenery.
Darwin mentioned the Organs Range in On the Origin of Species. Its unique climatic conditions, combined with the fact that it’s rarely visited, make it a haven for many rare plants. The Organs Range National Park was founded in 1939, and there you can hike the mountain’s most pristine natural trails with a local guide.
Christmas cactus blooms in Brazil in May. Visit Organs Range National Park in May, and you will not only enjoy the beauty of Christmas cactus against the backdrop of nature, but also encounter such amazing flora and fauna that you’ll think you are in a horticulturalist’s dream.
In the mid-19th century, a cactus collector named Frédéric Schlumberger lived in a castle near Rouen, France. He delighted in the collection of Christmas cactuses he gathered from the rainforests of southeastern Brazil.
In 1858, Charles Antoine Lemaire named Christmas cactus’ genus name Schlumbergera after Frédéric Schlumberger, as a tribute in his memory.
In 1818, people began to plant Christmas cactus in Europe, and in the 1860s, horticulturists cultivated Christmas cactus with various colors, making them popular as an indoor ornamental plant that spread to North America, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Over the years, hundreds of Christmas cactus varieties have been selected and bred through constant hybridization, and these little fairies have been given catchy names such as Gina, Eva, etc.
In most Western countries, people associate Christmas cactus with various winter holidays. Before Thanksgiving in the United States, people buy Christmas cactuses in large quantities, and around Christmas in Europe, people take them home, too, one after another. They are deeply loved by all sectors of the population for the colorful, gorgeous flowers that warm the cold winter and bring joy to the holidays.
Christmas cactus requires certain temperatures to grow well, but other than that, doesn’t need much care. Just meet its preferred soil, light, and moisture conditions, and it will decorate your winter holidays like a champion.
Christmas cactus prefers a warm environment, and should be placed indoors by a window in winter to receive plenty of scattered light. It needs shade in summer to avoid direct sunlight. It prefers loose, fertile, well-drained soil. When the soil is too damp, it can affect the growth of the plant’s root system, so don’t water it too often, and wait to do so until the soil is dry. After flowering, cut off the spent flowers to reduce nutrient consumption and help it rejuvenate.
Size: 25-45 cm (10-18 in) tall
Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zones 10-12
Light: Half sun
Soil: Loose, fertile, well-drained
Blooming time: Winter