There’s no denying it: Christmas cacti and poinsettias are the stars of the holiday season.
Everyone loves them, everyone wants them during the holidays, and of course they decorate our homes, bringing joy and color.
However, every year around this time, I swear I’m going to be the calm, collected plant person.
But every year, I end up making at least one silly mistake that makes my Christmas cactus wilt or my poinsettia drop leaves.
But this year I’ve decided that won’t happen. I’ve created this list of the most common and most important mistakes to avoid so that you can have perfect plants throughout the holiday season.
Watering on autopilot
This is the number one way to ruin both plants, just in different ways.
With Christmas cactus, too much water can make it soft and unhappy fast. With poinsettias, overwatering is the classic “why is it suddenly dropping leaves” situation.
And underwatering is also a problem, because poinsettias can go from fine to floppy in about five minutes.
What works better: stick a finger in the soil first. If the top inch feels dry, water. If it still feels damp, you should definitely wait!
It’s simple, boring, yet effective at the same time. And if the pot feels weirdly heavy, that’s usually a clue it doesn’t need more.
Leaving the decoration on
Holiday plants usually come in pretty foil wraps or sit inside cute decorative containers. Those things are adorable, but they are also sneaky.
Water collects at the bottom, and the roots basically sit in a puddle. That’s how you immediately destroy a plant.
So remember that you should keep the pot able to drain. If there’s a foil wrap, poke holes in it or remove it when watering.
If it’s inside a cover pot, water at the sink, let it drain fully, then put it back. It’s an extra step, yes. It’s also the step that saves the plant.
Putting them next to a heat vent or in a blast zone
This is one of those mistakes that feels harmless until it isn’t. A poinsettia sitting near a heater will dry out fast and start dropping leaves.
A Christmas cactus will get stressed and can drop buds. And once buds drop there’s no going back!
What works best for these holiday plants: a bright spot, stable temperatures, and being away from vents, radiators, fireplaces, and drafty doors.
Moving them around constantly
I get it. Sometimes the plant looks better on the table. Then better by the window. Then better in the photos in another room.
But both of these plants can be fussy about changes, especially when they’re budding or blooming. The Christmas cactus, in particular, can drop the buds if it’s too stressed so you risk missing out on many of those beautiful flowers.
The best thing to do, once it starts setting buds, is to pick a spot and leave it there. Rotate gently if you want even growth, but don’t move them around too often.
Giving them the wrong kind of light
Here’s another area where people accidentally do the opposite of what the plant wants.
Poinsettias like bright, indirect light. They can handle a sunny window, but not scorching midday sun pressed against glass.
Christmas cactus likes bright light too, but it’s not a desert cactus. It usually prefers gentler light, like near an east window, or set back from a hot south or west window.
So, for both opt for a bright room, filtered sun, and if the leaves look washed out or crispy, move them back a bit.
Treating Christmas cactus like a regular cactus
This one is so common. The name “cactus” tricks so many people!
A Christmas cactus is more of a rainforest type plant. It likes more consistent moisture than a desert cactus, and it likes humidity.
Once again, not swampy soil, but also don’t forget to water it for 3 weeks!
And I was saying, don’t be afraid of a little humidity. If the air is super dry, even setting it near other plants can help.
Missing the bloom setup phase
This is where both plants confuse people, because they don’t bloom just because it’s December and they feel festive.
Nobody tells you at the store, but both plants can bloom beautifully, but they do it because of a very specific combo of light, temperature, and routine.
Christmas cactus buds
It typically needs a stretch of cooler nights and longer darkness to set buds. If it’s in a room with lights on late every night, it may not get the cue.
What works better is giving the plant several weeks of cooler evenings and longer dark periods.
A consistent routine helps, and once buds appear, just stop messing with it.
Poinsettia color
With poinsettias, the “flowers” are actually the tiny yellow bits in the center. The red, pink, or white parts are bracts. And bracts only color up when the plant gets a strict light schedule in fall.
It’s interesing to know that poinsettias only “re color” when they get very long nights with no light at all. It’s basically like a strict bedtime routine.
In most homes, it’s a bit hard, but the best thing is about 12 to 14 hours of complete darkness for 2 months starting in fall. This way, you’ll have a bright red color for Christmas that will impress everyone.
If Christmas cactus care still feels a bit confusing, especially when it comes to watering and getting it to bloom on time, you can dive deeper in this complete Christmas cactus care guide.
And if poinsettias are the plant that always seem to drop leaves or lose color too fast, this detailed guide on poinsettia care and common mistakes goes into everything that usually goes wrong and how to fix it at home.