Hi all, I have what I was told is a Christmas cactus but I don't believe that is what it is. I was wondering if anyone could identify it for me and offer me any advice on how to get it more healthy. I am going to repot it today. I will include a few pictures. Thank you.

I would be inclined to wait until it is thriving to repot. Added stress may make things worse now. It looks as if it may be being kept too wet and not getting enough light. Possible?

I can't name it for you.

I just gave it water and it sits in an East window in my kitchen. Thank you. It does flower red and they hang down if that helps. I also just realized the bottom of the pot had the hole plugged and I pulled that out. It is also getting new shoots and growth but don't know if it has root rot, part of the reason I wanted to repot it and I know you're suppose to remove the black, nasty looking roots. I may wait to repot but want to root a couple of cuttings.

Without seeing the flowers, I would guess that its an Easter Cactus (Hatiora gaertneri) not a Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera). The flowers are quite different between the two so to get a positive ID, we would have to see a flower.

Holiday Cactus can be confusing because the stems/leaves look similar. If your plant isn't the Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata)



but possibly Easter Cactus (Hatiora gaertneri)

Thank you all, is everyone's recommendation to wait to repot it or should I do it now?

The soil looks fairly wet and there appears to be some rotting stems. I'm not sure if this is the right time of year to re-pot but if you decide that's what you want to do, (depending on the size of the root mass) I'd suggest using the same size container or one only slightly larger and use a well draining soil, specifically for cacti and succulents. You can add extra perlite to the mix which will allow more air circulation around the roots and proper drainage.

I would leave it alone for now. You do have some rotting plants on one edge but the other edge seems to be thriving. Let it dry out a bit. Hatiora gaertneri are epiphytic (they live in trees without soil) so pot size is really not an issue. They do best with evenly damp soil - over-watering and under-watering will result in branch loss - they are much fussier than Schlumbergera (marketed as Christmas or Thanksgiving Cactus, depending upon the season).

DaisyI said:I would leave it alone for now. You do have some rotting plants on one edge but the other edge seems to be thriving. Let it dry out a bit. Hatiora gaertneri are epiphytic (they live in trees without soil) so pot size is really not an issue. They do best with evenly damp soil - over-watering and under-watering will result in branch loss - they are much fussier than Schlumbergera (marketed as Christmas or Thanksgiving Cactus, depending upon the season).

Thank you, I think I will leave it alone. It is a finicky plant to get it to bloom. I've only seen it bloom like a handful of times in my life. It was my grandma's who is no longer with is. I wasn't sure if it it should be repotted to try to remove the rotting parts while in the process but the one side that looks all brown isn't soft at all. It's like wood, I'm not sure if that's normal or not but I thought that to he it rotting from being over watered. As I mentioned earlier it had the hole in the bottom of the planter plugged and I never bothered to check cause that's how my grandma had it and I'm not sure the last time the soil was changed on it. Thank you all. Just want to keep it living considering it's older then me.

They do develop woody stems with age. And if the soil is old and cardboardy, I would repot in late spring or early summer, otherwise, leave it alone for another year.

Unfortunately, Easter Cactus are not day neutral. That's means there needs to be some environmental changes each year for it to bloom.

Next fall, allow the plant to dry and find a cool place for it to live (around 60F). Then, in late winter, give it more water and warmer temperatures. That combination will initiate the bloom cycle.

If you have a place to let it live outside for the summer (in a shady spot) and leave it out until temperatures drop to very close to 50F, that will take care of the winter chill. Then you can bring it in and give it its winter dry spell.

Ok, so sorry to re open this post after so long but I got a picture of one of the flowers to better help identify it i think. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

https://www.extension.iastate....

That screen is distorting the view of the bloom; is it possible to move the plant and get another photo of the bloom straight on?

Its an Easter Cactus.

Agree. Easter Cactus (Hatiora gaertneri)