Thanksgiving cactus stem segments have two to four sharp points on each side, giving the stem a jagged-appearing edge. The stem segments on a Christmas cactus have more rounded teardrop indentations.

The Christmas cactus can be confused with the Thanksgiving cactus. This is because each flower around the same time of year and they look very similar, says Nastya Vasylchyshyna, a resident botany ...

The Christmas cactus, Schlumgera bridgesii, produces pink, red, white, purple, or orange flowers, and the stem pads aren’t spikey but have rounder edges and the flowers are tubular.

Surprisingly, a “Christmas cactus” can be one of three different species. Schlumbergera truncata blooms earlier, usually in November, and is more accurately called the Thanksgiving cactus.

If you put a Christmas cactus in a south-facing window, protect it from the intense light with a sheer curtain. (Mostly by luck, this is how my plant is situated.) Christmas cacti thrive on humidity.

Christmas cactus is a hybrid that was created by crossing two closely related species, Schlumbergera truncata (the Thanksgiving cactus) and Schlumbergera russelliana, which are both native to Brazil.

The true Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) was developed 175 years ago in England. A separate species (S. truncata) flowers about six weeks earlier than the Christmas cactus.

The species frequently is mistaken for Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), because of the close proximity of their bloom dates. In actuality, many of the Christmas cacti sold each year ...

Christmas cactus plants are also called holiday cactus to encompass Thanksgiving cactus and Easter cactus, which are related species that thrive in the same growing conditions.

Your cactus in the photo has the rounded stems of a true Christmas cactus. Most modern holiday cactus sold are Thanksgiving cacti, although they might be mistakenly labeled as Christmas.

Color Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti also have different flowers. “The Thanksgiving cactus blooms with red, pink, orange, or white flowers,” says Vasylchyshyna.