Types of Christmas Cactus – Rounded or Saw-Toothed

Choose holiday cactus by pad shape first, not by the tag word Christmas. Rounded, scalloped segments are Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera × buckleyi). Saw-toothed segments are Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata). Both are tender rainforest epiphytes. Easter cactus is a different genus. Sort all 2 here. Care stays on How to Grow Christmas Cactus.

Choose rounded Christmas or saw-tooth Thanksgiving

Clemson Extension: look at the flattened stem segments (phylloclades). Thanksgiving cactus has two to four saw-toothed projections on each pad. Christmas cactus margins are more rounded. A second check is anther color: yellow on Thanksgiving, purplish-brown on Christmas. Christmas cactus is the rounded plant. Thanksgiving cactus is the toothed plant. There are no true leaves. The green pads do the light work.

When grown on ordinary nights, Thanksgiving cactus flowers near Thanksgiving, about a month before Christmas cactus (Clemson Extension). Most plants sold in U.S. stores as Christmas cactus are Thanksgiving cactus — they ship and bloom earlier. That is a label habit, not a different water rule. Long nights still set buds on both. If you force darkness from mid-September, a toothed plant can still open in time for a December table. If you leave it on a lamp at night, neither type will set a useful crop of buds.

Flower color repeats: red, pink, white, peach, and purple exist on both. Color is a cultivar pick after you read the pad. Do not shop a color pack as a species. An older tag may say Zygocactus or crab cactus. Crab cactus is Thanksgiving cactus (toothed pads). Zygocactus is an old genus name now folded into Schlumbergera. Holiday cactus on a box is a season word, not a pad ID. Open a flower if you can: yellow anthers point to Thanksgiving; purplish-brown anthers point to Christmas (Clemson Extension). If the plant is not in bloom, the pad edge is enough.

Wrong holiday-cactus buys

• Easter cactus as a type we hold — Hatiora / Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri (sometimes still sold under old Schlumbergera names) blooms in spring with more star-shaped flowers. It is not in this catalog. Do not file it as a third pad class here.
• Desert cactus care because the tag says cactus — these are rainforest epiphytes. Bone-dry desert rest rots or shrivels them. Water when the mix is dry to the touch, on How to Grow Christmas Cactus.
• The word Christmas on a toothed pad — if the edges are pointed, you have Thanksgiving cactus. Same genus. Same care. Earlier bloom on a natural night length.
• Color as the species — pink is not a pad shape. Read the teeth, then pick color.

These are checkout mistakes, not a reason to change sun. Both Schlumbergera in this library take bright indirect light and a draining mix. Cuttings and a spring move do not change the pad ID. Easter cactus usually has smoother, more oval pads and flowers that open flatter and more star-shaped in spring. If a seller files it under Schlumbergera, still buy it as Hatiora / Rhipsalidopsis for spring bloom — it is not a third row in this catalog. Do not give it a desert dry-down either; it is another rainforest epiphyte with its own bloom window.

What each class offers

Rounded Christmas cactus. Schlumbergera × buckleyi (also sold as S. bridgesii) is the hybrid with scalloped pads and flowers that hang more. It usually blooms closer to Christmas into January when nights are ordinary. Christmas cactus is the plant we hold. True Christmas cactus is less common on big-box benches than the toothed plant. Same long-night brief if you want to time bloom. Older family plants with rounded pads are often this hybrid. They still want a draining mix and dark nights. They still drop buds if you move them every other day. They are not hardy outdoor cacti for a freeze.

Saw-tooth Thanksgiving cactus. Schlumbergera truncata has pointed teeth — crab cactus in some lists. Flowers sit more horizontally. Yellow anthers. Thanksgiving cactus is the plant we hold. This is what most people already own. Same water, same mix, same dark nights as Christmas cactus. Bloom comes earlier on a natural day length. If you bought it in October already in bud, you likely have this one. Keep the mix evenly moist once buds show, same as Christmas cactus. Do not treat the teeth as a pest. Do not sand them off.

If two labels disagree, trust the pad edge, then the anthers if the plant is in flower. Care after you choose stays on How to Grow Christmas Cactus. Stem segments stay on How to Propagate Christmas Cactus. A snug spring repot stays on How to Repot Christmas Cactus. A third plant that blooms in April with star-shaped flowers is Easter cactus — look it up as Hatiora, not as a missing third row in this library.

Browse all Schlumbergera by group (2)

Browse all Schlumbergera by group. This library holds two plants: rounded Christmas and saw-tooth Thanksgiving. Empty groups are omitted. Cards open the profile. They are not a second water calendar. Confirm pad shape on the plant in your hand before you copy a neighbor’s tag. The count in each heading is this catalog, not a promise every nursery uses the botanical name on the sticker.

Rounded Christmas cactus (1)

Schlumbergera × buckleyi — scalloped, rounded stem segments and later winter bloom. Same rainforest water as Thanksgiving.

Saw-tooth Thanksgiving cactus (1)

Schlumbergera truncata — pointed teeth on the pads, earlier bloom. Most plants sold as Christmas cactus are this one.

Light, water, and long nights live on How to Grow Christmas Cactus.