This time of year, folks are truly enjoying the abundance of blooms on a holiday cactus. Join any garden page on Facebook, and I guarantee you’ll see pictures. Tina reached out recently and asked why her Christmas cactus is already blooming. Have you noticed this too? Maybe you have a Thanksgiving cactus! Check out the differences in the leaves, or the phylloclades. (This is not my photo, credit goes to the world wide web):

Or just remember that Thanksgiving cacti have margins that have pointed lobes, while the Christmas cacti have rounded margin lobes.

To ensure flower production, it is best to keep the plant out on a sunny deck or patio throughout the summer. Then bring it inside in fall when temperatures start falling below 50 degrees.

And don’t forget, this is a great plant that you can share with others because it is so easy to root a new one. Take a few phylloclades (leaves) and stick them shallowly in a moistened soilless planting mix or in sand. Keep the mix moist (on the dryer side even) and place the pot in a sunny window. To speed up rooting, place a large ziplock bag over top of the pot to create those humid greenhouse-like conditions.

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