Types of Indoor Cactus (With Care Tips)

Not every cactus is a good houseplant. Desert cacti such as barrels and pincushions need the brightest window in the house, ideally direct sun for several hours a day, and they rot fast if watered like a pothos. Jungle cacti such as Christmas cactus and fishbone cactus grow on trees in tropical forests, prefer bright indirect light and want more water and humidity than their desert cousins. Choosing a cactus that matches the light you actually have is the single biggest factor in keeping it alive. Below are 16 cacti that grow well indoors, grouped by light needs, with the care basics for each.

Part of our Houseplants & Container Gardening guide →

In this guide

1. Desert vs Jungle Cacti
2. Desert Cacti for Sunny Windows
3. Jungle Cacti for Bright Indirect Light
4. Which Cactus for Which Window
5. Plants Sold as Cacti That Aren’t
6. Care Basics for All Indoor Cacti
7. Frequently Asked Questions

Desert vs Jungle Cacti

Need	Desert cacti	Jungle (epiphytic) cacti
Light	Direct sun, 4–6+ hours	Bright indirect; morning sun OK
Water	When soil is fully dry; sparse in winter	When the top inch or two is dry
Soil	Gritty cactus mix	Chunky, airy mix with bark and perlite
Humidity	Low is fine	Average to moderate
Winter	Cool, dry rest (about 45–55°F if possible)	Cool nights and shorter days trigger buds
Examples	Bunny ears, barrel, Mammillaria, Astrophytum	Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, fishbone, Rhipsalis

All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. True cacti have areoles, small cushiony spots from which spines, branches and flowers grow. Our guide to succulents vs cacti explains the difference, and indoor succulents covers non-cactus options for lower light.

Desert Cacti for Sunny Windows

These need a south- or west-facing window with several hours of direct sun, or a full-spectrum grow light 6–12 inches above them for 12–14 hours a day. In weaker light they stretch, lean and lose color.

1. Bunny ears cactus (Opuntia microdasys)

Flat, oval pads in pairs that look like rabbit ears, covered in polka dots of fine golden or white glochids. It’s spineless in the usual sense, but the glochids detach on contact and lodge in skin, so handle it with tongs or folded newspaper. Grows 1–2 feet indoors. Needs strong sun and very little winter water. Our full bunny ear cactus care guide covers repotting safely.

2. Golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii)

A ribbed green globe covered in bright yellow spines. Slow-growing and long-lived; indoor specimens stay small for years. Needs the sunniest window you have and a shallow, wide pot with gritty mix. Rarely flowers indoors.

3. Pincushion cactus (Mammillaria)

A large genus of small, round or clustering cacti covered in raised bumps (tubercles) instead of ribs. Many species, such as M. elongata (ladyfinger), M. gracilis and M. hahniana (old lady cactus), produce a ring of small flowers around the crown in spring after a cool, dry winter. They’re among the best flowering cacti for a sunny windowsill.

4. Bishop’s cap and star cactus (Astrophytum)

Spineless or nearly spineless cacti with distinct ribs and white speckling. Bishop’s cap (A. myriostigma) has five ribs and looks like a miter; star cactus (A. asterias) is a flat, sand-dollar shape. Both produce large yellow flowers. They’re very sensitive to overwatering, so use an extra-gritty mix.

5. Old man cactus (Cephalocereus senilis)

A columnar cactus covered in long, shaggy white hairs that protect it from intense sun. Very slow-growing indoors. Needs full sun to keep the hair bright and the column straight. Don’t wet the hair; water the soil only.

6. Fairy castle cactus (Acanthocereus tetragonus ‘Fairy Castle’)

A cluster of slender, upright stems of different heights that resemble turrets. Grows slowly, tolerates average room conditions better than many desert cacti and adapts to a bright east window as well as a south one. Flowers are rare indoors.

7. Ball cactus (Parodia)

Small globe-shaped cacti, including P. magnifica (balloon cactus) and P. leninghausii (golden ball, which becomes columnar with age). Many bloom in yellow from the top of the plant. Parodias tolerate a little less sun than barrels and are good beginner cacti.

8. Easter lily cactus (Echinopsis)

Clustering, round to short-columnar cacti that surprise owners with huge, trumpet-shaped flowers, often white or pink and several inches long, that last a day or two. A cool, dry winter is the key to blooms. Easy and fast-offsetting.

9. Chin cactus (Gymnocalycium)

Compact, globe-shaped cacti with a characteristic chin-like bump beneath each areole. Gymnocalycium handle slightly less light than most desert cacti and are often recommended for bright east windows. They bloom readily in white, pink or red.

10. Moon cactus (grafted Gymnocalycium mihanovichii)

The bright red, orange or yellow ball is a chlorophyll-free mutant of chin cactus that can’t photosynthesize, so it’s grafted onto a green rootstock, usually Hylocereus. Moon cactus needs bright indirect light rather than harsh sun, which can scorch the colored top. Grafted plants often live a few years; see our moon cactus care guide.

11. Rat tail cactus (Aporocactus flagelliformis)

Long, trailing, pencil-thin stems covered in short golden spines, ideal for a hanging basket in a sunny window. It produces bright magenta tubular flowers in spring. It tolerates more water in summer than most desert types.

Jungle Cacti for Bright Indirect Light

These cacti grow on trees in Central and South American forests. They want bright, filtered light, such as an east window or a few feet back from a south or west window, and more frequent watering than desert cacti.

12. Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera × buckleyi)

Flat, segmented stems with rounded, scalloped edges and pink, red, white or purple flowers in winter. Buds form when nights are long and cool, around 50–60°F, in fall. Water when the top inch of soil is dry. Our Christmas cactus care guide covers getting it to rebloom.

13. Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata)

Often sold as Christmas cactus, but its stem segments have pointed, claw-like teeth and it blooms in November. Care is the same. Most “Christmas cacti” sold in stores today are actually this species.

14. Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis or Hatiora gaertneri)

Rounded stem segments with bristly edges and star-shaped flowers in spring. It needs a cool rest in winter, roughly 50–55°F, to set buds, and is a little fussier about overwatering than Christmas cactus.

15. Fishbone or ric rac cactus (Disocactus anguliger)

Long, flat, zigzag stems that look like a fish skeleton, spilling from a hanging pot. Grows quickly in bright indirect light and moderate humidity, and may produce fragrant white night-blooming flowers. See our fishbone cactus care guide.

16. Mistletoe cactus (Rhipsalis)

Cascading clusters of thin, spineless stems, some species with tiny white berries. The most shade-tolerant cactus on this list; it handles medium light, such as a north window or several feet from an east window. Water when the top inch dries out and mist in dry winter air.

Which Cactus for Which Window

Your light	Good choices	Avoid
South or west window, unobstructed	Golden barrel, Mammillaria, Astrophytum, old man, bunny ears, Echinopsis, rat tail	Moon cactus right against the glass in summer
East window or bright spot near a south window	Gymnocalycium, Parodia, fairy castle, moon cactus, Christmas and Easter cactus	Golden barrel, old man cactus
North window or medium light	Rhipsalis, Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus, fishbone cactus	All desert cacti, unless you add a grow light
Basement or windowless room	Any cactus under a full-spectrum grow light for 12–14 hours	Relying on room lighting alone

Light through glass is weaker than outdoor light, and it falls off quickly with distance: a cactus three or four feet back from a window gets far less than one on the sill. Sheer curtains, screens, roof overhangs and trees outside all cut it further. If your plant is growing but losing its compact shape, it’s telling you to move it closer or add a light.

Plants Sold as Cacti That Aren’t

A few popular houseplants carry “cactus” in their common name but aren’t true cacti. Pencil cactus is a Euphorbia with irritating milky sap; African milk tree, crown of thorns and many columnar “cacti” at big-box stores are also euphorbias. They need similar bright light and dry soil, but handle them with gloves and keep them away from pets.

Care Basics for All Indoor Cacti

Light

Match the plant to your window. A cactus that leans hard toward the glass or grows thin, pale tips needs more light. Rotate pots a quarter turn every week or two. When moving a cactus from low light to strong sun, or outside for summer, do it gradually over one to two weeks to avoid sunburn.

Soil and pots

Use a gritty cactus mix, improved with extra perlite or pumice for desert types, and a chunkier, bark-based mix for jungle cacti. Always use pots with drainage holes. Unglazed terracotta helps soil dry faster. Our roundup of the best cactus soil compares bagged mixes.

Watering

Water desert cacti thoroughly, until water drains out the bottom, then wait until the soil is completely dry before watering again. In spring and summer, that’s often every 2–3 weeks indoors; in winter, once a month or less for plants kept cool. Jungle cacti need water when the top inch or two is dry, typically every 1–2 weeks in growth. Empty saucers after watering.

Feeding

Feed with a diluted cactus or low-nitrogen fertilizer once a month in spring and summer. Stop feeding in fall and winter.

Getting cacti to flower

Most desert cacti bloom only after a winter rest: cooler temperatures, ideally 45–55°F, very little water and bright light. A cactus kept warm and watered year-round on a dim shelf rarely flowers. See why your cactus isn’t flowering for a full checklist, and our houseplants and containers guide for more indoor plant care.