Easter Cactus
4.5 out of 5 (20 experiences)
Survivor
Blooms easily
About Easter Cactus
Did you know plants in the Schlumbergera genus are actually leafless? Instead of leaves, they use modified stems to capture sunlight! Unlike the Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus, this species flowers in the spring. They also have rounded corners, where its counterparts have more pointed edges. In the wild, they are epiphytes, meaning they grow on tree branches or rocks! 🌳 🪨
Taxonomy
Hatiora gaertneri
Hatiora
Cactaceae
Caryophyllales
Also known as
Schlumbergera × graeseri, Whitsun Cactus and Schlumbergera gaertneri
How to care for Easter Cactus
How often to water your Easter Cactus
every 9
Easter Cactus needs 0.5 cups of water every 9 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.
Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.
Water 0.5 cups every
9
Finding light for Easter Cactus in your home
a window
Easter Cactus may have difficulty thriving, and will drop leaves 🍃, without ample sunlight.
Place it less than 3 feet from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.
Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of Easter Cactus in your home 🏡.
How to fertilize Easter Cactus
Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.
By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.
To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Easter Cactus after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.
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My Easter Cactus has weak looking pads that are turning brown or even white-ish near the soil….help??
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Hi plant fam, I’m worried about an Easter Cactus I inherited. I repotted it in succulent soil and it’s on my work desk in direct/indirect sun. I water it every 2-3 weeks. Any tips to help revive her? Thank you 🙏🏼 #EasterCactus
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The leaves are falling off!! Over the last week or so the leaves have been falling off. It’s a cactus so not sure if “leaves” is the right term😂 Over the weekend the a big chunk came off and I’m concerned about my plant baby. Any idea what’s happening?? Note: Current pic of plant and all of the “leaves” that came off over the weekend:(
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Is this browning a sunburn? She's been sad since day one. 😅 Have tried lots of different spots in the house. Got a little beat up, sadly, from cats knocking her off the shelf and biting her leaves. Soil seems perpetually bone dry. Finally took her to my office so the cats couldn't get to her, and now we're wgtting this brown on the end leaves. She's right next to a window with frosted glass that gets lots of light through most of the day. #EasterCactus
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Found this guy today. Someone left behind over grown in its pot and over watered. Would love any tips to help her thrive. I did replant already.
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Happy #WhatTheSuccWednesday #GregGang I’m very happy to announce that Walt has at least 12 new pads growing (after surviving getting closed in blinds by my 5y/o) #HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #NewGrowth #SucculentLove #EasterCactus
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How to help my Easter cactus recover? My Easter cactus just overcame a major bout with thrips, and after quarantine, pruning off all the excessive damage, and a couple weeks of rest, I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to help her along. It’s hard to capture in photos, but her leaves are all thin and limp now, and have lost their glossy sheen. She just looks unwell. But believe it or not, she looks better than she did last week. I’m just worried I’m missing something that could help. Thanks! #HappyPlants #CactusClique #EasterCactus #Cactus #SucculentSquad #SucculentLove #GregGang #babevila
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My plant is drooping #EasterCactus
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Why is my Easter cactus so sad right now? It gets good sunlight and I water it in accordance to what this app says and the pot has good drainage. Please help😭
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What’s going on with my Easter cactus? This leaf has four smaller leaves growing on it. Is that a little white root coming off of it and if so can I propagate it? #EasterCactus #HappyPlants #GregGang #SucculentSquad #SucculentLove #CactusClique #PlantsMakePeopleHappy
Care Summary for Easter Cactus
Easter Cactus
Greg recommends:
Water
0.5 cups every 9 days
Placement
< 3ft from a window
Nutrients
Repot after 2x growth
Based on the 4” pot your plant is in, and that it doesn’t get direct sunlight.
What other plant parents say
Survivor 16
Blooms easily 7
Fast grower 6
Easy to propagate 5
Large, lush leaves 2
Browns easily 1
10/22/2021
I really enjoy this plant. It grows fast and blooms really pretty flowers. It’s super easy to care for and likes more water than a normal succulent.
Fast grower
Easy to propagate
Blooms easily
Survivor
Browns easily
07/07/2021
Easy to overwater so water carefully
Blooms easily
Survivor
07/02/2021
Such a sweet plant! (Not literally, please don’t eat.) My hatiora gaertneri, which I named St. Nick, had been living in my work place in the staff room. It was looking a little brown and dried up, (like a lot of cactuses do) so I decided to water it a little. Keep in mind I’m a complete beginner! Not long after watering it more, boom! Beautiful lush green tone on the leaves, and bright orange buds. It wasn’t long until it was in full bloom. Such a beautiful and easy plant, no fuss at all. :)
Large, lush leaves
Fast grower
Blooms easily
Survivor
05/30/2021
My poor poor plant. I suck at taking care of plants but my friend got me plenty for Christmas and he’s been slowly dying it really sucks for him. But I’ve been working hard to take care of him now, he is a SURVIVOR— looks like he is starting to come back to life. Wish me luck!!
Survivor
05/25/2021
I’ve found this an easy to grow plant. You can tell when it is over due for watering cause the leaves will shrink and wilt. Blooms once a year after a period of dark old cold weather. Take care of when handling cause the stems break fairly easily.
Large, lush leaves
Easy to propagate
Survivor
05/01/2021
I love this plant! She has made it through my freshman year of college no sweat :)
Fast grower
Survivor
04/29/2021
The blooms are so beautiful! I have three and they all have different colored flowers. I’m developing a habit of adopting a new one every year from Costco 😂
Easy to propagate
Survivor
Blooms easily
04/03/2021
It’s common name is Christmas Cactus, but don’t let that fool you. It is a succulent and needs much more water than your average cactus in order to stay plump and produce flowers.
Easy to propagate
Survivor
03/23/2021
I love my Easter Cactus!!! They are pretty hardy
Fast grower
Blooms easily
Easy to propagate
Survivor
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