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Home » Gardening How To » Tips & Tricks

How Warm Does My Christmas Cactus Need to Be? (4 Tips)

Last Modified: Dec 26, 2022 by Mary Ward · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

How Warm Does My Christmas Cactus Need to Be? pinterest image.
How Warm Does My Christmas Cactus Need to Be? pinterest image.
How Warm Does My Christmas Cactus Need to Be? pinterest image.
How Warm Does My Christmas Cactus Need to Be? pinterest image.
A lovely blooming Christmas cactus.
What is the best temperature for your Christmas cactus? What is the best temperature for blossoming?

Temperature is very important to successfully growing—and blooming—Christmas cactuses. Do you know the right temperature to keep your Christmas cactus at? Do you know the right temperature to make it bloom? The right temperature to help it hold its blooms? The right temperature for general good living?

Jump to:
  • Christmas Cactus Bloom Success: The Right Temperature to Trigger Blooming
  • Blooming and General Care: Christmas Cactuses are Warm When You Are
  • Provide Heat That Isn’t Too Hot or Too Direct
  • Christmas Cactus Can Take a Range, But NEVER Freezing

Christmas Cactus Bloom Success: The Right Temperature to Trigger Blooming

Plentiful buds on a Christmas cactus.
Buds are triggered by fall-like rainforest conditions.

Sometimes when Christmas cactuses don’t bloom, it is because their care and environment are a little too steady. Christmas cactuses are short-day plants. They take their cue from Mother Nature in the wild, and they form buds when the days get short, and the temperature drops a bit.

If it is nearing the time you expect your Christmas cactus to bloom, you’ll do well to move it to a cooler room for a week or two. A move to a cooler room in the range of 60 to 65 F (15 to 18 C) is a good way to recreate life in the wild.

Blooming and General Care: Christmas Cactuses are Warm When You Are

A comfortable home living room where Christmas cactuses are kept.
If you are comfortable in your home, odds are your Christmas cactus will be, too.

When your Christmas cactus has set buds, or when you are not trying to force it, and you are just giving it good general care, normal homeroom temperatures will do your Christmas cactus just fine. A good rule of thumb is that if you are comfortable, your cactus will be, too.

A typical good temperature range for a Christmas cactus is around 70 degrees (F) or 21 (C). If you like to keep your home a little warmer or cooler, that is okay, too; at that point, consistency will be more key.

Provide Heat That Isn’t Too Hot or Too Direct

A woman’s feet warming by a fire in a fireplace.
A roaring fire or a hot heating unit can be a bit too much for a Christmas cactus if kept too close.

A good, steady temperature is fine. If you like your home on the warmer side, just be sure your plant doesn’t get too dried out. Also, make sure that it is not in the line of direct heat. A bit of distance from your heating unit will keep the temperature steady and not too hot. This is good advice even if you keep a cooler home because hot blasts can still happen at lower room temperatures when heating units turn on.

Keep in mind that warmer temps and close proximity are factors in faster water consumption, low humidity, and quicker drying out of plant soil. Always let your plant be your guide for watering your Christmas cactus.

Related Reading  Hardening Off Garden Transplants: Steps, Benefits, and How to Do it

Christmas Cactus Can Take a Range, But NEVER Freezing

A blooming Christmas cactus hanging in a bright window in winter.
As long as you protect your Christmas cactus from very low temperatures and never let it freeze, it will live, thrive, and survive for many years.

As mentioned, Christmas cactuses are pretty good at acclimating to a range of temperatures and, within reason, will do well if kept at reasonably steady temperatures. During the rest of the year, you can even give your Christmas cactus a home outdoors during the warmer months.

Just make sure that you never let your Christmas cactus experience freezing temperatures. They will kill the plant. It’s best never to keep the plant at a temperature below 50 F (10 C).

With these few exceptions, keeping Christmas cactuses in the right temperature range is easy. Your plants will respond with long life and beautiful blooms for many years to come (a lifetime, in fact!).

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Comments

  1. MONA

    December 26, 2022 at 10:59 pm

    My Christmas cactus just bloomed a couple blooms this year then list them but has alot of buds still waiting to pop out! I'm hoping that's a good thing!

    Reply
    • Mary Ward

      December 27, 2022 at 11:31 am

      Yes, sounds like it is just getting going. Buds are a very good sign! This is the time to keep an eye on the watering and humidity and make sure it has bright, indirect light. Then, it should explode!

      Reply
    • Beth Green

      December 29, 2022 at 7:03 pm

      My catucs was given to me Christmas and it had blooms on it. Now it has no blooms and all. thelittle buds have dried.up. What do you think?0

      Reply
  2. Beth Green

    December 29, 2022 at 7:05 pm

    My catucs was given to me Christmas and it had blooms on it. Now it has no blooms and all. thelittle buds have dried.up. What do you think?0

    Reply
    • Mary Ward

      December 30, 2022 at 11:42 pm

      If they bloomed fully and fell off it is just their cycle and the end of their bloom period. If they fell before opening, it's a watering/moisture issue. Could be overwatering, but more likely it was too dry or the air was too dry. Misting might help. This article might help: https://gardening.org/how-to-water-christmas-cactus/
      Or troubleshoot with this piece: https://gardening.org/why-wont-my-christmas-cactus-bloom/

      Reply

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