{"id":19648,"date":"2025-11-30T08:09:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T13:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/?p=19648"},"modified":"2026-02-09T16:20:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:20:48","slug":"how-to-grow-holiday-cactus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/how-to-grow-holiday-cactus\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Grow and Bloom a Christmas Cactus in Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to its beautiful winter-blooming flowers, the Christmas Cactus has become a popular holiday plant. There are a couple of things to know, however. While Christmas Cactus are true cactus, they are native to the tropical rainforest! This means they need different growing conditions than a desert growing cactus.<\/p>\n

Caring For Your Christmas Cactus<\/h2>\n

Because they grow in the rainforest, Christmas Cactus don’t go as dry as a regular cactus does. Instead of watering them when they’ve gone almost completely dry like a desert cactus, water them when they get dry just over half of the way down. In the fall, reduce your watering slightly so they get dry about three quarters of the way down. When you repot be sure to use a soil that says it is for cacti and succulents.<\/p>\n

And because they grow in the rainforest, they don’t want all day long beating sun. Direct sun in the mornings before 10:30 A.M. or afternoons after 2:00 P.M. is best. Mid-day sun could burn the leaves. If you notice your leaves getting reddish, that’s a sure sign of too much sun.<\/p>\n

You can begin feeding a Christmas cactus in late winter, around the end of February. Use a balanced fertilizer (20-20-20) at half-strength. Stop feeding when they begin to produce flower beds in fall.<\/p>\n

To help a Christmas cactus set blooms in the fall, when you bring it in for the winter, put it into a room that stays fully dark at night\u2014not a room you go into and turn on artificial lights. Put it in a window sill where it’s a bit cooler next to the glass, if you can. That helps to induce the brief dormancy period.<\/p>\n

Lastly, enjoy! Christmas cactus may have a few specific requirements but they are NOT difficult to grow.<\/p>\n

Your Beautiful Holiday Cactus is Waiting\u2026<\/h2>\n

Stop by The Great Big Greenhouse Garden Center in Richmond, VA,<\/a> to explore our festive selection of easy-to-care-for holiday plants.<\/p>\n

To read more posts from Bonnie, visit our blog<\/a><\/p>\n

Return to the Great Big Greenhouse homepage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to its beautiful winter-blooming flowers, the Christmas Cactus has become a popular holiday plant. There are a couple of things to know, however. While Christmas Cactus are true cactus, they are native to the tropical rainforest! This means they need different growing conditions than a desert growing cactus. Caring For Your Christmas Cactus Because … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bonnies-garden","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Grow, Prune, and Bloom Your Christmas Cactus in Virginia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to grow and care for your Christmas cactus in Virginia with these expert tips for a healthy, blooming holiday plant.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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