I have two Christmas cactus and one thanksgiving cactus. Was considering getting an Easter cactus. I the two Christmas Cactus have recently started going limp and hanging over a lot. The leaves have started going soft and some are starting to go wrinkly. I thought I might have been over watering (water soil till water drains out the bottom every 7 or 8 days). Would this be too much water and would it be too often. I thought that also they might be in incorrect soil as I thought it might be holding too much water so a few days ago I repotted all three with cactus potting mix and gave each of them a small amount of water. What I want to know is what do I need to do to save the plants. Will attach photos later and also wanted to check if the plants are in the right place (getting enough light but no too much). Finally if I got an Easter cactus would I care for it exactly the same way as the Christmas cacti.

Thanks for any help in advance.

These sometimes mystify me too.
While in recovery, it may benefit from a humidity enclosure to help the 'leaves' plump back up.
Some notes https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/...

They look pretty happy to me.
Bear in mind, I'm not saying I'm a pro, but I've had them on and off for years, different individuals.
Your light looks ok, although I might alternate between the upper and the lower shelf.
Understand that these are rainforest epeiphytes, not from hot desert 'cactus' conditions. Humidity is nice and may explain why they seem thin to you. Humidity can be helped with a humidifier, or natural summer humidity depending on your location ( but not with pebble trays or misting). If possible to place outside in full shade for summer into fall, that is my preference. I live where summers are warm and humid. With protection from rain in September/October, I can give them shorter days and a dry rest then.
Currently have one truncata purchased this past winter, still in original pot, with nice plump 'leaves' on windowsill, and a huge gifted one and a small one potted in terra cotta outside in full shade, looking healthy enough but not very plump as we've had a very dry month.. They all tend to hang except newly purchased, which I think stand up because they just came from greenhouse..

Did they bloom this past season for you?
I've seen one live ( but not bloom well if at all) on a poorly lit kitchen shelf for five year still in the original (shrinking when dry peat) potting and getting water trickled over every week or two.
My understanding is, truncata would have spiky serrations, buckleyii would be smooth (er?) like yours and so would Easter cactus ( Hatiora garnerii?)

The thanksgiving cactus I have only recently got so I have never seen any flowers. The two Christmas I only got last year as cuttings and I thought they would take a few years before they would flower (not sure if that is true let me know if I am wrong) so no flowers. As for shade in summers to fall I our place get a lot of very hot sun every morning less sun in afternoon but still hot so not sure outside is best idea. As for the the limp you reckon the plant would fall over the side of the pot that much. But alot of the leaves are softer than they used to be which you would suggest is because of the humidity?

They look big enough to bloom, to me.
I do not feel I am a pro. Here is a university source for care of these https://gardeningsolutions.ifa...

Thanks for your help. I'm not sure if the cactus in the worst condition will flower till it recovers, as more of it has fall off today

Dropping segments sounds like it's getting too dry. It looks like one of the pots is clay. Those can dry so fast.

What does the root section look like for the part that fell off?

I got the impression that a section without roots had fallen off, but if that's not what happened, that's a good question. I used to have a bookmark on an article @ Clemson about Schlumbergeras but the article I could find there now is so similar to the one posted above from FL. Not the actual facts people don't need but vague and conflicting phrases about "let it get very dry" and in the next paragraph, "don't let it get too dry." I can't use that to do anything for my plant. It discussed that getting too dry could cause limbs to fall off, and that buds form between 50-85 when there are more hours of dark than light.

Easter cactus (Hatiora gaertneri - or whatever they're calling it this week) can bloom at any time of year.

These plants never knew a thirsty moment. But they are very tasty to squirrels. That's the main hazard for me when taking these outside. I keep them on the porch now, where squirrels rarely investigate.




And I haven't yet gotten around to potting 2 jars of cuttings of S. truncata that have been in water since last summer. Both of those jars had blooms over winter. I don't know that I will pot them at this point. The jar of water is so much easier and takes up so much less space. There are more pics of this somewhere, probably in "what are you propagating?" discussion on propagation forum. My drive is getting too full too fast to keep every pic I take to chat about.

The section that fell off didn't have any roots. So what you are saying it it got too dry and that is why parts have gone lump and droped off is that correct. I was going 2 put the Christmas and Thanksgiving in the dark for 6 weeks in mid September. As for the limp leaves if I water just before soil gets dry would this help heal the plant. I was also told that putting trays with gravel underneath with water in would help with humidity is this correct (if not what should I use). Finally the plants were in plastic pots inside a ceramic pots

Tim, approximately where is your location geographically

London England

Would think that you could put them outside for the light adjustment. I usually put mine outside and bring them in around October prior to frost and they bloom great.

The problem with that is there would be no humidity outside it will be too hot in the summer. If I used the tray with water for humidity it would have dried out in no time

They need more water than you would thank, i water mine real well then let'um dry out. They seem happy.

In nature, Schlumbergeras (Schlumbergera) (common names Holiday Cactus, Christmas Cactus and Thanksgiving Cactus) as well as the Easter Cactus (Hatiora gaertneri) are either epiphytes (growing on trees), or lithophytes (growing on rocks) where their roots receive excellent air circulation. When grown as a container plant, they do best in a light, airy potting medium and the soil should be consistently damp throughout, never overly wet and never overly dry.

In my opinion, even a cactus/succulent soil should be amended with extra perlite or pumice, etc. to allow for lots of air pockets.

Can anyone confirm that I do need to make sure that they get humidity and would putting the plant on. tray with gravel water be sufficient (if not what should I use.

Also want to know if the temperature can be too hot my thermometer was showing 82f with humidity of 50%. Would these be ok? Plus would I need to look after a Easter cactus in the same way as all the other holidays cacti

I don't know how hot is too hot but around where I am, 82°F is a refreshingly cool day. It's over 90 here every day for months during summer and the holiday cacti love it -as long as they're not being eaten. 50% humidity would be noticeably low, 60% is noticeably low this time of year.

I don't think humidity or lack of it is a big deal. Really high humidity causes a lot of aerial roots to grow, which are interesting but later they shrivel up and look like brown strings which aren't an attractive addition, to my eye. If not cut off, they'll fall on the floor.

To propagate, I have a better success rate laying segments horizontally on the surface vs. trying to stick them straight up. Sometimes the straight-up ones rot instead of taking root, but there is a longer wait when starting sideways.

Various pros/cons to weigh against personal preference, amount of material available, curiosity, etc...