Prickly pear and Christmas cactus are two trendy flowering cacti which may be sometimes grown as houseplants. And, whereas their leaves and kind look distinct from each other, the magenta-colored blooms would possibly confuse anyone attempting to recall which one is which.
That is what it’s a must to know in regards to the distinction between prickly pear versus Christmas cactus and the way one can decide each.
Prickly Pear vs. Christmas Cactus: Major Variations
On probably the most elementary stage, the excellence between prickly pear and Christmas cactus is that they’re utterly totally different crops. Every are members of the Cactaceae family, nevertheless prickly pear is a standard spiny cactus native to every North and South America, whereas Christmas cactus is a smooth-leafed cactus native to the Brazilian rain forest.
These two cacti moreover bloom at utterly totally different cases, have vastly utterly totally different appearances and improvement habits, they often thrive beneath utterly totally different circumstances.
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Look
Every prickly pear and Christmas cactus are sometimes inexperienced with pink blooms, nevertheless that’s the place the similarities end. Prickly pear has spiny, flat, club-shaped pads that seem like the form of cactus you sometimes contemplate throughout the desert.
That’s the form of cactus you don’t want to get too close to—till you might be prepared to start choosing barbs out of your clothes. When prickly pear blooms, it produces pink or yellow flowers which lastly flip into darkish pink fruit.
Christmas cactus, alternatively, has flat, segmented leaves that cascade spherical it like a waterfall. It produces blooms which may be pink, pink, white, purple or orange. These flowers will depart behind fruit.
Progress Conduct
Whenever you see a full grown prickly pear subsequent to a Christmas cactus, there’s no mistaking which is which. Prickly pears can soar to eight ft tall and huge when grown exterior. Within the meantime, Christmas cacti are relatively extra petite variety of cactus, maxing out at one foot tall and two ft huge.
Often, prickly pear will unfold in clumps, whereas Christmas cactus is a popular hanging plant as a result of finest approach its leaves spill over the facet of a container.
Flowering Time
Prickly pear and Christmas cactus bloom at reverse cases of 12 months, which is often a pleasant hack if in case you’ve gotten every in your home as houseplants and want flowers year-round.
Similar to you’ll rely on from its title, the Christmas cactus often blooms throughout the vacations. You can start to see blooms as early as November, they often’ll proceed through January.
Within the meantime, the prickly pear blooms late spring through early summer season.
Rising Requirements
Prickly pear is a desert plant that loves sunny, dry circumstances. Give it full photo voltaic or six hours of direct daylight every day. Correctly-draining sandy or gravelly soil is best for the prickly pear to thrive, and chances are you’ll want to restrict watering to as quickly as every two or three weeks. Make sure the soil dries out totally between watering and under no circumstances let the soil change into soaked with water.
On account of Christmas cactus is an area rainforest plant, it select 4 to six hours of indirect or filtered mild every day. It does correctly with acidic, sandy cactus mix soil or primary potting soil with perlite. It should even be allowed to dry out between watering.
Learn how to Decide a Prickly Pear
To acknowledge a prickly pear throughout the wild (or on the very least the greenhouse), seek for a cactus that has flat, club-shaped leaves with spines defending the leaves. Counting on the time of 12 months, it may need pink or yellow blooms, magenta fruit, or nothing previous the leaves themselves. Often, you’ll uncover it rising in a clump-like conduct.
When grown as a houseplant, it’s going to be a smaller plant nevertheless, throughout the desert, it would in all probability attain eight ft extreme.
Learn how to Decide a Christmas Cactus
Christmas cactus is an merely recognizable plant, considerably whenever you see it over the holidays. It has cascading flat inexperienced leaves which may be segmented from prime of the stem to bottom. It infrequently reaches a number of foot extreme and two ft huge, and, whenever you see it between November and January, it’s going to have its signature pink blooms.