Thanksgiving Cactus
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Thanksgiving cactus
The Thanksgiving cactus blooms in November, and it looks very similar to the Christmas cactus. The only way to tell the two cacti apart is by looking closely at the leaves. The Thanksgiving cactus has serrated leaves, while the Christmas cactus has rounded leaves. This type of cactus looks a little more like your average house plant, although it is a true member of the cactus family. The flowers come in pink, red, white, and yellow. The Thanksgiving cactus is native to southern Brazil, and it grows well with orchids and bromeliads.
It’s very easy to grow your own Thanksgiving cactus, whether you want to start from cuttings or purchase one that’s already started from a garden center. If you want to start your cactus from a cutting, just cut off a branch that has four or five sections of leaves. Then you’ll need a rooting powder to help those cuttings take root. Place the cutting in a flower pot with potting soil. Just press it down until it’s about an inch deep into the pot. You might need to use straws or sticks help hold it up. Make sure that you keep the soil moist, and place a plastic bag over the plant to help hold the moisture in. Place the pot in a sunny area, but not in direct sunlight. After the plant is established, then you should let the soil dry out whenever the plant is not producing flowers. Since it’s a cactus, it doesn’t need a lot of water to survive. You should only water the plant when the soil seems excessively dry.
Caring for your Thanksgiving cactus year-round is very important if you want to enjoy the flowers. The plant will need at least 12 hours of darkness starting toward the middle or end of September. This will help the plant store up energy to produce its blooms in November. If your Thanksgiving cactus is outside, then you will probably not need to do much to induce these temperatures unless you live in a very warm climate. The best temperature for this type of plant, especially around blooming time, is 50 degrees. In fact, you might want to consider keeping the plant in your garage until it starts to bloom if the temperatures in there are around 50 degrees. This temperature is the perfect one to get flowers on your cactus, even if it doesn’t get much sunlight.
After you begin to see buds on your cactus, it’s time to start applying fertilizer. Over the years you will probably have to repot this plant because its roots tend to grow very large. If the roots are restricted by the size of the pot, then you won’t get any blooms on your cactus. It really is better to plant it outside as long as your climate is not too warm. However, if you do live in a warmer area, then you won’t hurt the plant by keeping it in pots as long as you transplant it to a larger pot every few years.