Christmas cactus
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called Claw Cactus, common winter cactus, crab cactus, Crab's Claw Cactus, False Christmas Cactus, Holiday Cactus, lobster cactus and Thanksgiving Cactus.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
- Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Well-drained or Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
Most foliage plants prefer more humidity than a heated room gives; succulents are named as an exceptionPenn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Sand, Loam; pH Acid or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Growth slows and what does arrive is thin
The newest leaves on the Christmas cactus are the palest and smallest, and the stems carrying them bend toward the brightest side of the room.
Partial shade is where its source places it. Below that the plant spends stored sugar faster than it makes it, and reaching is what that looks like from outside.
Telling it apart: Spacing. A plant short of light stretches; one short of nitrogen keeps its spacing and only loses colour.
RHSChristmas cactus leggy, leaning growth: causes- Leaves turn glassy from the stem outward
The Christmas cactus leans in its pot as the tissue at soil level softens, and the lowest leaves drop whole.
Plants that store water in their tissue take it up readily and release it slowly. In soil that stays wetter than the well-drained or moist but well-drained its source describes, the stored tissue breaks down.
Telling it apart: Firm and wrinkled is thirst; soft and swollen is the opposite. The two look similar from across a room and feel nothing alike.
RHSDiagnose a soft, mushy stem on this Christmas cactus- Lower leaves collapse and yellow within days of a watering
On a Christmas cactus the yellowing climbs from below. Affected leaves feel limp rather than papery, and water sits in the saucer long after it drains through.
The source for this plant describes well-drained or moist but well-drained soil. Compost that stays saturated loses the air spaces fine roots grow into, and those roots die back first.
Telling it apart: Weigh the pot in your hand. A pot still heavy a week after watering is holding more water than the roots are using.
RHSDiagnose yellowing leaves on this Christmas cactus
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Christmas cactus.
Routine care
- Watering
- Set the stem segment in moist potting mix that drains well, and water once the mix has dried completely.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- Start monthly feeding when new spring growth appears, then feed less in fall and early winter.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Repotting
- Give it a new pot about every three years, since it grows well when a little pot-bound.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Stem cuttings root readily.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Increase from stem cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Pruning is not needed.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by scale insects and mealybugs.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Mealybugs can occur. Diseases: usually none.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Schlumbergera truncata, the false Christmas cactus, is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to a small area of the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist forests. It is the parent or one of the parents of the houseplants called Christmas cactus, Thanksgiving cactus or zygocactus, among other names.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- SE. BrazilWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Southeastern BrazilNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- wet tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- succulent epiphyteWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Epiphyte, Herbaceous Perennial, Succulent; habit arching, multi-stemmed, rounded, weepingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Trailing (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 9–12 in; width 12–24 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 0.1-0.5 metres; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 5–10 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers orange, pink, purple/lavender, red/burgundy, white; blooms in fall, winterNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers purple in autumn and winter; red in autumn and winter; pink in autumn and winterRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
Has medicinal, environmental and food uses.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Christmas cactus
Other Schlumbergera
More of the Cactaceae family
Bunny ears cactusLeaves go soft and slightly see-through
Bunny CactusSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Chin CactusSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Dominos Easter Lily CactusSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Dutchman's Pipe CactusSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Easter CactusSourced care, difficulty not yet judged
Plants with similar care
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.