Potted Cactus Plants

Christmas Cactus

• Christmas cactus is named so because it is typically given during the holiday season. Despite being tolerant of heat, this variety produces better blossoms when kept in a cool place. It's best kept away from drafts, fireplaces and other hot-air sources. If not, blossoms may drop before they open. Being a tropical plant, it also needs relatively moist soil.

  Keep your potted Christmas cactus in a sunny location indoors during the winter, and provide it with shade if you take it outside during the summer months. This variety branches off when pruned back. The cactus needs about 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness for 6 to 8 weeks to bloom. These treatments are most effective starting in the middle of October. The plant doesn't need this treatment if it lives in 50- to 55-degree weather. The plants blossom during the holiday season.

Night Blooming Cereus

• This member of the cactus family is an unimpressive looking vining plant. Its ornament lies in its large blossom that only opens up late at night. The stems grow quickly and vigorously. It includes two varieties. The Hylocereus has skinny, ribbed stems that are yellow to light green in color. Its blossoms are funnel-shaped, grow to 1 foot or more wide and grow all along the stems. Selenicereus originates from the Caribbean and starts with green stems, turning purple as it matures. It's also known as "Queen of the Night."

  Both varieties aren't normally found in nurseries, so most come from cuttings. This potted plant likes to be indoors during the fall and winter months and outside during the summer. It should be placed under a shady tree for filtered light and no direct sun in the afternoon. It does prefer well-drained soil with organic matter like sand and potting soil. Its buds are ready to blossom in the middle of the summer. When the bud is large enough, it will begin to blossom around 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. The bud will open completely by midnight, and you can literally watch it slowly blossom. It's also very fragrant, but the bloom only lasts one night, so you have to watch carefully.

Turk's Cap Cactus

• Turk's Cap Cactus, not to be confused with the Turk's Cap plant, includes several varieties of cacti. All are globe-shaped or oblong. The Echinocactus horizonthalonus is native to Mexico and other parts of the southwestern United States. It's not sold in nurseries very often because of its slow growth. It also has a tendency to rot if given too much water for a long period of time. This variety produces a large, brilliantly colored blossom on its head that resembles a large, cup-shaped daisy. The Melocactus intortus has a cylindrical cap with a pincushion of tiny, stiff blossoms.