---
title: "a coworker just gave me this christmas cactus cutting and i have no…"
description: "a coworker just gave me this christmas cactus cutting and i have no clue what to do with it 😅 i have perlite, orchid bark and tropical soil at home to repot…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/65391ab88db4e0aa06bb1fc7"
community: "Anything about plants"
author: "brianna 🤍"
published: "2023-10-25T13:40:08.349Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/xbTKwtwVIXj7S1EJvtS5mGU6HB9GdcKgFgDEP_vP92I/a9b0cd77b53f4a37b08ba0f73bb00951.webp?size=large"
---

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# a coworker just gave me this christmas cactus cutting and i have no…

_Posted by brianna 🤍 on 2023-10-25_

a coworker just gave me this christmas cactus cutting and i have no clue what to do with it 😅 i have perlite, orchid bark and tropical soil at home to repot this but i would love any and all advice you have 🫶🏻 🪴

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/xbTKwtwVIXj7S1EJvtS5mGU6HB9GdcKgFgDEP_vP92I/a9b0cd77b53f4a37b08ba0f73bb00951.webp?size=large)

## 10 comments

### Women are Water commented on 2023-10-25

I think they’d prefer cactus mix or something similar that allows the water to drain right off. Tropical mix tends to retain water so that may be the last of the 3 options unless you can amend it to be more chunky

### Lindsay in PA commented on 2023-10-25

This particular cactus does like humidity. Stick each stem into the soil about half way down on the leaf. They will take root.

#### brianna 🤍 replied on 2023-10-25

i see you are in PA and so am i LOL 👀 what do you do to raise humidity in these cooler months?

#### Lindsay in PA replied on 2023-10-25

Currently I mist. But probably going to get a humidifier.

### Sunny commented on 2023-10-25

It’s a Thanksgiving cactus. You can tell by the very pointy Batman ears. They ‘normally’ bloom around November.

#### brianna 🤍 replied on 2023-10-25

thanks for letting me know ☺️

#### Lindsay in PA replied on 2023-10-26

Mine is a stinker. This is my one plant I sooooo badly want to do well, but it’s like a teenager and won’t listen. I’ve had mine for almost 10 years. It has bloomed once. I propagated some stems to try to thicken it up. I just keep trying.

#### Sunny replied on 2023-10-26

There are two processes for forcing blooms on this type of cactus: 1) dehydration and 2) total darkness at night.  
Dehydration is to hold back watering for a period to simulate a drought. Then, resume watering. The plant blooms out of desperation and drop seeds before the next drought. My Queen of the Night responds to this method.

The second method is to put the plant in total darkness for 12-14 hours each night for several weeks. There can be no light leaks or turning on room lights a minute or the clock restarts to the beginning of the entire process. You can put a box over the plant and a thick blanket or blackout curtains over the box to block all light. Google forcing blooms.

#### Lindsay in PA replied on 2023-10-26

I put a paper bag over it every night for weeks. It had a few blooms. It was too much work.

### Lilred10 commented on 2023-10-26

Looks like it’s loving the water to me I go by roots and they look good to me!

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