I’m familiar with the Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving cacti but this one is blooming quite early! Do they sometimes bloom earlier than they typically do, or is there a Halloween cactus I don’t know about!

Sorry, no such thing as a Halloween Cactus. But wouldn't it be black with orange highlights?

Your Holiday Cactus (Thanksgiving Cactus) is Schlumbergera truncata. They bloom mostly in the fall and come in every color. The blooms are initiated by lengthening nights and a drop in temperature.

There is a second Schlumbergera referred to as a Christmas Cactus with more rounded stem segments and the same flower. The accepted name for that plant is now Schlumbergera bridgesii.

The Easter Cactus is a completely different plant - Hatiora gaertneri.

Lindsey the blooms are beautiful! And I looked at your avatar picture and that is an impressive cactus room you got going on there!

Mine are early too- I'm just N. of NYC (6b, I think).

All of mine are early and exploding...in previous years I brought them inside around Labor day and they bloomed a lot later (thanksgiving-ish through late january) and not every tip of every branch all at once. This year all their arms are covered in blooms at the same time and super early.

They have been outside, all exposed to the same temperatures. They've experienced more cool nights than in previous years becasue it was hovering in the 52-62 range without any cold snaps that usually prompt me to bring them in early. The plants that got full sun are in bud, the ones that had partial shade at the edge of my porch are in full bloom right now.

I don't know what it means- just reporting my observations. Maybe we'll gather some data

You can force S. truncata into bloom by keeping the temp below 85 and providing 14+ hours of darkness, assuming moisture, light intensity during the non-dark period of the day, and fertility are within acceptable range.

This is well documented, and how "they" are able to be ready for sale in bud/bloom nationwide during the holidays.

Thank you so much everyone!!

@lucillle thank you, but it’s actually not mine! it’s a botanical garden here in Mansfield, OH that I am a member of.

Here it is, days less than 12 hours of sun, day temps in the 70s nights in 55-65 range.
The red and the peach are exploding and all the blooms opened at once. They spent the summer in full sun. The fuscia was a little shaded.

Nice!

Very nice, Paula!

Pretty blooms Paula! Love the peach one.

That peach one is a BEAST- its my favorite plant
I love the color but its my favorite becasue its so tolerant and rages pretty much no matter what I do. I don't know if its this color variant or something about this specific plant but it's hard as nails. Everyone in the neighborhood has a daughter plant, and even after this show, it will bloom all winter long and none of my others do. This is its grand hurrah- but I'll get buds here and there all winter long. Of all my "babies" this one has the best attitude, lol.

I remember, way back in the way whens, that all the 'Holiday Cactus' were pale orange in color.

WOW that peach one is GORGEOUS! So far, my own personal one had white blooms! I have another, and no buds have appeared yet, so I’m excited to eventually see what color it will produce. (:

I've never had much luck with them, but I have one Thanksgiving cactus that is starting to put out buds. I've never seen it bloom but I'm thinking they will be red or orange.

Beautiful pictures, @Turbosaurus.

Mine are in full bloom too - maybe because they thought they were gonna die - i haven't been too great about watering lately. I never put them or my epiphyllums or orchids outside in summer, but want to try that next year. Mine are always this early so maybe it has to do with living north of Seattle and not having enough light, cool nights due to windows still open, trying to soak up the last of the warm-ish nights.

I'm new to this forum, have been an "outdoor" gardener/landscaper for many years and want to learn more about my lovely blooming houseplants so I can treat them better. Looks like a great forum!

Welcome @flowerluvr53. I have a few Schlumbergera truncata but no buds yet. Still too early for mine. We love pictures so if you have some, please show us your pretty blooms.

Here's another observation for the books- the color of the petals- The peach/orange plant that bloomed early had petals of deep color all the way to the base, but a daughter plant from that original that had more shade (but no other difference) and is in bloom now (a month later) has flowers with white at the base- the color only rims the petals. Its a cutting from the mother, so genertically they are identical. I'm reporting more sun per day in summer corresponds (not sure it causes, but corresponds) with brighter colors, earlier booms, and a shorter intense bloom period. YMMV

@ fowerluvr53
Thank you for your kind words. I wouldn't be the gardener I am if they weren't so tolerant when I was learning. They're the only plants to thrive (survive) the early years.

I know I risk a bug infection taking them out but I've got an oak tree, its a giant on the south side of my house that shades windows all summer long. I love that it keeps it cool inside but my plants MUST go outside beyond its canopy. I do try to remember to treat the plants in soil with a powdered systemic pesticide before they come back in, but the orchids are on just a prayer.

You definitely take a risk when you put them outside. I've had many more good years than bad, but if I do the math it is a high risk trade off. The bad years- really only one year was really bad. Once you get a bug and there's no spiders/predators to kill them you are really up a creek. Where I live, I don't have the option of keeping them inside

I love the way the plants thrive when they are in a good spot outside. We just have to be even more vigilant when they're outside in order to catch problems early. It's the same with my greenhouse. A few bugs can spread to all the plants if I don't catch them early.

Cutting from the peach mother plant that had more shade this summer.
First, its 6 weeks later blooming, and second, the color is entirely different.


the mother plant had no white, every bloom was peach from tip-to-tail

Beautiful, Paula! That was really fast for a cutting to bloom, and interesting about the color change.