The Christmas Cactus (latin name Schlumbergera) is one of my favourite house plants as it brings a little colour into my home when there isn’t much around. I find that mine tends to flower a bit before Christmas in fact, which suits nicely as there are always plenty of decorations around during the festive season.In fact, in America they are often known as the Thanksgiving Cactus and the timing of the flowering may well be more suited to this name (if my plant is typical). Another name for them is the Crab Cactus because the ends of the stems look a bit like the claws of a crab.