Origin

Schlumbergera truncata, known as a False Christmas Cactus, is the parent plant of the Christmas Cactus. It can be told apart from its counterpart by the claw-like appendages it has on its flat stems. These give the plant its alternative common names Crab Cactus or Crab's Claw Cactus. Other common names for this plant are also Zygocactus and Thanksgiving cactus.

Unlike other cacti, the False Christmas Cactus is actually a tropical plant native to the coastal mountains of Brazil. Their natural habitat has quite a small range - occurring on higher altitude trees and rocks in Rio de Janeiro.

This species was first described by the American botanist Reid Venable Moran in 1953.

Care

Despite being a cactus, the False Christmas Cactus won't do well in hot and dry conditions like other cacti. Instead, they're suited to the humid Brazilian coastal rainforests and, as such, they have higher water and moisture needs than a typical cactus. They love bright bathrooms, as they'll enjoy the steam coming from your shower.

Throughout the growing season, you should try to keep your False Christmas Cactus moist. You can allow the top layer of the soil to become dry between waterings - adding more water when it is still wet can lead to overwatering. On the other hand, soil that is too dry can cause your False Christmas Cactus to droop, and it may potentially also begin to drop its leaves and flowers.

Blooming

They can adapt well to lower light conditions, however, note that if you want yours to bloom it is more likely to do so if it has a long period with access to a good amount of light throughout most of the year. Blooming is mainly induced by long nights. The plant requires 12 to 14 hours of continuous, absolute darkness each night. Even a short burst of light (like a street light or a room light being turned on) can interrupt the cycle and prevent bud formation. This long-night period needs to be maintained for about 6 to 8 continuous weeks to ensure complete flower bud set.

They still need a good amount of light during the day. Two alternatives if you want to induce blooming at a certain time, is to either move the plant to a dark room, for example a closet in the evening, and move it back out in the light in the morning again. Alternatively you can also keep it in a dark room and give it a grow light set on a timer to be on for 10 h/day.

Slightly cooler night temperatures will also help it bloom more easily. Ideal temperatures to induce blooming are about 55°F to 65°F (13°C to 18°C) at night and 65°F to 70°F (18°C to 21°C) during the day. While cooler temps can help, the day length is the most important factor for buds to form.

Other

The False Christmas Cactus can produce pretty flowers that range in colorful shades of white, pink, peach, red, golden, purple and multicolored.

Did you know that the "leaves" of this plant actually are stem sections? There are a couple of similar cacti making leaf like stem sections called phylloclades.

These cacti are easy to propagate both in water and directly in porous soil from single stem sections.