Is it a Thanksgiving cactus, or a Christmas cactus?
What one thinks of as Christmas Cactus is more likely to be Thanksgiving Cactus since it mostly is what is sold around the holidays. Plants that bloom around Thanksgiving are the species Schlumbergera truncata. True Christmas Cactus blooms later into December and comes from the species Schlumbergera x buckleyi, a hybrid produced in the late 1840s in England.
In addition to bloom time, one can distinguish between the two by examining their stem segments or “leaves”. Thanksgiving Cactus segments have sides with pointed lobes along the edges while Christmas Cactus segments are smooth sided and have no pointy edges.
Bloom form is another indicator of species difference. True Christmas Cactus blooms have Continue reading Christmas Cactus . . . The perfect passalong plant!!