Gardener’s Corner

Do you own a Thanksgiving Cactus? We do, and found out it was a Thanksgiving Cactus (as opposed to a Christmas Cactus) quite by accident ...

This case of mistaken identity happens a lot, because the two are from the same genus, Schlumbergera. The biggest distinction between the two is the time of year they bloom (Thanksgiving time vs. Christmas time).

If you have a sharp eye, you can also tell the two types apart from looking at them. The “leaves” of the Thanksgiving Cactus (actually called their phylloclades) have soft points along the sides, whereas the phylloclades of a Christmas Cactus are relatively smooth.

Perhaps a more simple sight distinction is the direction and shape of the phylloclades. With the Thanksgiving Cactus, they are spread out and erect; with a Christmas Cactus, they tend to arc downward ...

But other than that, the two are in the same family, and their blooms have the same range of colors ... red, pink, white, orange, and mixed shades of those colors. “Prickly” has blooms which are a very light peach color, with a hint of pink.

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