The Craziest Thing I Learned About My Christmas Cacti & Why I Am Loving Them Now!

I have owned at least one Christmas cacti for a few years now; I currently have two. I believe they were both given to me by my friend, Lela, who is a much better plant parent than I am! Anyway, I’ve always kept my Christmas cacti in a south-facing window in my home’s living room. They have bloomed in past winters, but I have never had tons of blooms.

Lately, I’ve been working as a freelance writer, and recently researched Christmas cacti for a story I wrote. During my research, I leaned that Christmas cacti aren’t true cacti and aren’t as drought-tolerant as I thought they were. While they are succulents, these plants like humid conditions and can benefit from being kept on a pebble tray for humidity. I haven’t put them on a pebble tray yet, but I do try to at least give them some water daily now that I’ve learned more about them.

It also turns out that Christmas cacti can bloom better when they get equal hours of sunlight and darkness. So I have moved my cacti from my living room—which is usually lit for at least 7 hours this time of year at night (I tend to go to bed late)—to my home office, where the room is dark after I stop working at about 6.

So now, both of my plants are producing buds—they have never had so many buds so early before! I can’t wait to see what they will look like when they bloom!

Now that the weather is colder here in NJ, all of my zinnias have browned and definitely won’t bloom again. I will have to clear out all my old zinnia pots! I am going to miss my summer flowers. I mostly grew sunflowers and zinnias this past summer.

I brought my rosemary plant and my basil indoors—hopefully I can keep them going through the winter!

While I wait for warmer weather, I will have to refocus my efforts on my houseplants. I have two snake plants that have been struggling along for a while now—so I should give them some love! I will have to figure out how to take care of them better. I would love to get a spider plant, too. Years ago, I had two orchids, but I finally killed them off—I wonder if I should try and give them a go again. I would love to have some flowers to enjoy during the winter months.

Do you grow houseplants? I would love to hear about your favorites!