If you have trouble telling the difference between a Thanksgiving cactus vs. Christmas cactus vs. Easter cactus, chances are it may have been (intentionally) mislabeled where you bought the plant.
I see so many “Christmas cacti” in stores when they are, in fact, Thanksgiving cacti (Schlumbergera truncata). True Christmas cacti (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) are actually less common, even though your grandparents probably had one that lived for many, many years.
While you can get true Christmas cacti from collectors or specialty sites these days, most of the ones you see commercially (especially around the holidays) are Thanksgiving cacti sold as Christmas cacti.
I know, not confusing at all, right?!
Retailers sell the Thanksgiving cactus version because growers are able to control the bloom time to give us bright displays around Thanksgiving and into Christmas. It’s a beautiful holiday plant (that’s not yet another poinsettia) and you can keep it as a houseplant year-round instead of disposing of it after the holidays.
A Thanksgiving cactus is also less fragile than a Christmas cactus, whose flattened stems (called phylloclades) are more prone to breakage during shipping.
Then there’s a cousin, the Easter cactus (Schlumbergera gaertneri, but previously known as Hatiora gaertneri and Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri), which looks similar to the other two holiday cacti but blooms in spring.
So, how can you tell which is which?
The first clue is the bloom time
All the holiday cacti are named for the time of year they bloom.
- A Thanksgiving cactus typically starts blooming between early November and early December.
- A Christmas cactus blooms between late November and early February.
- An Easter cactus blooms in spring between March and May (usually around Easter, hence its name).
As you can see, the flowering period for Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti are quite close and often overlap, so you can’t always identify the species by bloom time alone. It also gets tricky with houseplants because they may not form flower buds every year due to (lack of) bloom triggers.
And what if you buy or receive a holiday cactus plant when it’s not blooming?
Look at the leaf shape
You can easily distinguish a Thanksgiving cactus from a Christmas cactus by its leaf shape.
The leaf segments on a Thanksgiving cactus are square-shaped with pointy edges that resemble pincers on a crab. This is why you’ll sometimes hear the plant called by its other common name, crab cactus.
A Christmas cactus, on the other hand, has teardrop-shaped leaf segments with scalloped edges.
Look closely and you’ll see the slight difference compared to an Easter cactus, whose leaf segments are more oval-shaped with rounded edges.
The stems and growth habits are different too
Another way to tell the difference between holiday cactus types is by their growth habits.
- A Thanksgiving cactus has stems that grow upright before bending over in an arch.
- The stems on a Christmas cactus hang down like a pendant, giving it more of a droopy appearance.
- Easter cactus stems tend to stay compact and upright.
Easter cactus flowers are distinctive
While Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti both have elongated, tubular flowers, the distinctive blooms on an Easter cactus are a dead giveaway.
You can always tell you’re looking at an Easter cactus by its star-shaped flowers, which have sort of a “spiky” appearance.
Luckily, no matter which name you see online or on a tag, all of these plants have the same care requirements and all of them can be triggered to bloom in the same way.
Learn how to care for your holiday cactus in my guide here, and how to get your Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus to bloom a second time in winter!
Holiday Cactus Comparison Chart
| Thanksgiving cactus | Christmas cactus | Easter cactus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloom time | Between early November and early December | Between late November and early February | Between March and May |
| Leaf shape | Square-shaped with pointy edges | Teardrop-shaped with scalloped edges | More oval-shaped with rounded edges |
| Growth habit | Stems grow upright before bending over in an arch | Stems hang down like a pendant, giving more of a droopy appearance | Stems tend to stay compact and upright |
| Flower shape | Elongated and tubular | Elongated and tubular | Star-shaped with a “spiky” appearance |
