How Much Light Does a Christmas Cactus Need?

With their interesting leaves and spectacular floral displays, Christmas cacti are one of the most sought-after houseplants for the winter holiday season. These tropical wonders show off beautifully during the cooler months with bold blooms in shades of pink, white, red, purple, and sometimes yellow. 

Their flashy flowers, paired with their easygoing nature, make these succulents a must-have. They are perfect for any houseplant lover, from novice to expert. If you’ve recently acquired one or decided to bring your outdoor plant indoors for the season, you’re probably curious about its exposure needs. Let’s talk about how much light that pretty Christmas cactus needs and how to find the perfect spot!

The Long Answer

Any time you want to give a plant the ideal care, it’s good to know where it grows in the wild. If you understand where it grows without intervention, it’s easier to re-create that environment in your own space. 

Native Habitat

Christmas cacti are native to the rainforests of Brazil. These interesting succulents grow at high altitudes in cool, humid areas. They are epiphytes, which means they grow in trees without soil around their roots, similar to orchids. They can also be lithophytic, growing from rock crevices. 

From their position in the trees, they receive their sunlight filtered through the canopy overhead. As they get larger, their segmented branches become heavy and have a weeping or draped habit. They are long-lived plants, and as they age, the older parts of their branches become woody and tough.

Indoor Light Levels Explained

Before we get into the type of exposure that is best for your Christmas cactus, let’s briefly touch on indoor lighting. Recreating the exposure in a plant’s native habitat can be tricky inside the home. Let’s break it down to simplify the task. 

Low Light – Very few plants fall into this category, but there are a few. This includes areas that are a distance from windows, particularly north-facing windows. 

Medium Light – Still not directly near a window, but with a brightly lit window nearby. It can be far from the window as long as natural sunlight reaches it 

Bright Indirect or Filtered Light – Near to a bright window but away from direct sunlight. Sometimes filtered through a sheer curtain.

Direct Light – Directly in a window where sunlight hits the plant for a significant part of the day.

Best Light for Indoor Christmas Cacti

Since Christmas cacti grow in trees beneath a canopy of treetops, their ideal light exposure is dappled sun. Dappled is exactly as it sounds: the sunlight comes through the tree canopy through gaps in the foliage. 

The closest you can get to this type of exposure indoors is either bright, indirect or filtered light. These conditions will give your cactus what it needs. Because they also like significant humidity, a bathroom window with privacy glass or a sheer curtain is an ideal spot.

The intensity of sunlight changes throughout the course of the day. In the morning, it is cooler and, therefore, gentler on your plants. If your cactus receives some direct sun in the morning, it’s not likely to do any harm. Avoid exposing it to harsh, hot afternoon sun. 

Another consideration in terms of exposure is the season. In winter, there are fewer daylight hours, and indoor plants typically perform better if you move them a bit closer to the window. 

Signs Your Plant Needs More Light

Don’t let the word indirect fool you; Christmas cactus does need a fair amount of sun. If you keep it too far from the window, you’re likely to see negative effects within a month. That means that if you want to display it in a prime spot while it’s blooming, you’ll want to move it back and forth every so often. 

You may prefer to keep this plant on the dining room table, in an entryway, or in some other spot where you will enjoy it often. This is completely understandable; it’s a beautiful succulent! Because of its lower exposure requirements and the fact that it is dormant while blooming, you can do this. You can even do this if your dining room is not well-lit. 

I would recommend keeping it away from the window for no more than a few days at a time. The longer it is away from the sun, the less chlorophyll it produces. Understandably, this will manifest in pale, unhappy-looking foliage. Anemic is the word that comes to mind.  Droopy, pale foliage is a sign that your cactus needs more exposure. 

Make sure that if you’re putting it on display, you alternate similar periods of light and deprivation. Interestingly enough, your Christmas cactus requires an increase in dark hours to induce and grow flowers. A little extra darkness in the fall will help speed that process. 

Signs Your Plant Needs Less Light

Too much direct sun, too much cold, and not enough moisture will stress this plant. Christmas cacti like cool, but not cold, humid environments. For such a flamboyant plant, it likes to hide in the shower. 

Direct light can burn your Christmas cactus’ leaves, but this won’t look the way it does in your leafier houseplants. When monsteras or philodendrons get sunburned, they get white or brown patches. Your Christmas cactus will look quite pretty with a sunburn. You might even want to encourage one, to be honest. 

When this succulent gets too much sun, it does what many succulents do: it blushes. The leaves will take on a reddish or purple tint. Many people like this and even attempt to produce the effect. 

I encourage you to lean more towards cold exposure than too much sun. If you let this succulent stay outside for a few cold nights, it will have a similar effect. Just don’t take any chances with a frost, as this will kill the foliage and any flowers forming or in bloom.