The vibrant blooms of a Christmas cactus are certain to provide cheer to the holidays during the darkest days of the year, but sometimes they seem to bloom almost a month early. Why is that? It’s probably a Thanksgiving cactus rather than a Christmas cactus if your plant seems like it’s jumping the gun. Despite having very similar appearances, these two plants may be distinguished from one another by a few essential traits. Whichever kind it ends up being, you can still expect vibrant blooms from your cactus over the winter’s cooler, darker months.

Plants That Are Similar But Different

Thanksgiving cactus and Christmas cactus are similar enough to be confused for one another. Unlike cacti found in desert ecosystems, both grow wild in the highlands of southeast Brazil, where they favor cold, shaded environments. This is partially the reason they make such low-maintenance houseplants, even though they do need more frequent watering than cacti found in the desert.

These two Christmas cacti feature segmented green stems that are flattened and spineless; they are technically leafless. Their blooms, which have a similar appearance, come in pink, red, yellow, or white hues. Although the blooms and stems may seem identical at first sight, each of these characteristics provides hints that will enable you to differentiate between the two.

Christmas versus Thanksgiving cacti

Prior to its introduction into the Thanksgiving market, Schlumbergera truncata, sometimes known as the “crab cactus,” was more well known as the “crab claw cactus.” At Walmart, it’s also known as zygocactus. The sharp “teeth” on the sides of each stem segment serve as a distinguishing feature. These teeth might vary in size and are soft rather than pointed, but they are almost always visible to some extent.

On the other hand, a Christmas cactus seen on Etsy is derived from a species known as Schlumbergera russelliana, which is mixed in with some S. truncata and probably a few more species. Schlumbergera x buckleyi is the hybrid that is produced, and it might be challenging to locate it for sale. Its stem segments have more scalloped or rounded edges than sharp teeth.

Examining the blooms closely is another method of determining the kind of cactus you have. blooms may open at any time in the autumn or early winter. Each flower has a cluster of long, thin anthers sticking out of it that are topped with pollen. It is quite probable that you have a Thanksgiving cactus if the pollen is yellow, and a Christmas cactus if it is pink.

Zygocactus varieties

Another indicator of whether you’re cultivating a Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus is how old your plant is. Numerous novel variants with traits that obfuscate the distinctions between the two species have been generated in recent years. them days, it’s more probable that you’ll find them for sale rather than the original species-type plants. Thus, if you purchased your young plant from a garden shop or supermarket, it’s likely a hybrid of Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus species, along with a few other closely related species.

You may have a pure Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus if Grandma gave you a clipping off of the fifty-year-old plant that was growing on her kitchen counter. It may possibly be another plant that looks similar, the Easter cactus, which usually blooms in the spring.

Regardless of whether you own a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or hybrid cactus, you’ll appreciate these plants for what they are: low-maintenance indoor plants that often provide beauty to your home over the holidays. These plants have a long lifespan and may be shared with friends or handed down from generation to generation from a little stem cutting planted in some moist potting soil.