Grow and Care for Mistletoe Cactus

Grow mistletoe cactus in bright indirect light, and water when the top of the mix is dry. Mistletoe cactus is Rhipsalis baccifera — not a pencil cactus.

Hang it in bright indirect light, and water when the top of the mix is dry

mistletoe cactus is Rhipsalis baccifera, a rainforest epiphyte. It has thin, spineless, cylindrical stems that trail like green spaghetti, small funnel-shaped white to greenish-white flowers in winter and spring, and round white or pale-pink berries. Give it bright indirect light and a mix that drains. Water thoroughly when the top of the mix is dry, then empty the saucer. Keep growing temperatures around 60 to 80 F. The stems pucker and go limp when the plant is thirsty. [1]

It wants more moisture than a desert cactus because it grew in tree crotches, not in sand. A jungle mix of potting soil, peat, perlite, and coarse orchid bark holds a little water and still lets air in. A desert cactus mix that stays bone-dry is the wrong start. [2]

1. Hang the pot, or set it on a shelf, in bright indirect light. An east window is a good default. Sheer the pane if afternoon sun hits the stems.
2. Use a pot with a drainage hole and a cactus or epiphyte mix. All-purpose mix is fine if you add bark or perlite so water can leave.
3. Water until it runs out the hole, then empty the saucer. Wait until the top of the mix is dry before you water again. In a brighter spot you will water more often than in a dim corner.
4. Keep the room around 60 to 80 F while the plant is growing. Raise humidity with a pebble tray if heating dries the air. Do not stand the pot in the tray water.

Hang it in summer shade, then bring it in before frost

After the last frost, you can hang the pot outdoors in partial shade. That hardens the new growth and helps it flower later. Bring it back in before nights settle near 50 F, and check the joints for pests first. [3]

1. Wait until nights stay above frost, then hang the pot in shade or morning sun only.
2. Keep watering when the top of the mix is dry. Rain must be able to run out the hole; empty the saucer after a storm.
3. Bring it indoors before nights near 50 F. Wipe the pot, pick off debris, and look for mealybugs or mites.

Give it cool nights and a rest so it flowers

Mistletoe cactus flowers in winter and spring when it gets a cool rest and long uninterrupted nights. After bloom, keep it around 55 F for a month or two, water less, and skip fertilizer. When you want buds, move it where nights stay below about 65 F and stay dark. A lamp at night in that stretch is a common reason it stays green. Once buds show, do not move the pot.

1. After the berries drop, put the plant where nights are cool, around 55 F, for a month or two. Water only enough to keep the mix barely moist.
2. Then grow it on in bright indirect light and resume ordinary watering.
3. About two months before you want flowers, keep nights below 65 F and dark for 12 hours or more. No kitchen lamp, no TV glow.
4. When buds show, keep temperatures above 60 F and water as usual. Do not move the pot until the first flowers open.

After the flowers fade

Let the small berries color up, then fall. Water less until new growth shows, and keep the mix just moist through the cool months. [4] If you want a second plant, that job is How to Propagate Mistletoe Cactus. If the mix has collapsed, move it after bloom on How to Repot Mistletoe Cactus.

Not a pencil cactus — and not Christmas cactus

Pencil cactus is Euphorbia tirucalli. Young plants look like green pencils, but they grow upright, leak milky sap, and want sun and a dry mix. How to Grow Euphorbia owns that job. Mistletoe cactus trails, has no milky sap, and wants a hanging pot in bright indirect light.

Christmas cactus and Thanksgiving cactus have flattened stem segments; How to Grow Christmas Cactus owns that job. Easter cactus has rounded pads with bristles and a star spring flower; How to Grow Easter Cactus owns that job. Orchid cactus has long flattened stems; How to Grow Orchid Cactus owns that job. Holiday mistletoe is a leathery-leafed parasite, not this cactus. String of pearls is a hanging succulent with round beads; How to Grow String of Pearls owns that job. Shop coral cactus is usually a grafted euphorbia, not this trailing stem.

Hang it in bright indirect light, water when the top of the mix is dry, and keep nights cool and dark after a rest so it flowers.