Mistletoe Cactus

Botanically rhipsalis is a true cactus — the only one naturally occurring outside the Americas. Instead of blazing desert sun it grows epiphytically in the branch forks of shady rainforests. The best-known species is Rhipsalis baccifera, the mistletoe cactus, whose white berries really do recall mistletoe; alongside it are bushier species such as Rhipsalis cereuscula or the flat-stemmed Rhipsalis elliptica.

Its origin practically writes the care instructions: bright to semi-shaded without midday sun, evenly and lightly moist, ideally with higher humidity. Unlike desert cacti its root ball must never sit bone-dry for weeks — the shoots go limp and drop segments. It tolerates waterlogging just as poorly, though.

Its big stage is the hanging basket or a high shelf: over the years the shoots trail half a metre and more, forming a dense, softly falling curtain. It feels especially at home in a bathroom window with its high humidity — one of the few cacti for which that is true.

The flowers are modest but charming: many small cream-white stars along the shoots, usually in winter or early spring, followed by translucent white to pink berries. A slightly cooler, brighter winter position encourages bud set.

In the workshop we like combining rhipsalis with other humidity-loving plants such as calathea, or using it as trailing greenery above plant groupings. It propagates effortlessly from shoot sections stuck into loose substrate after a short drying period.