What better plant to commence a plant-based Advent Calendar than the Christmas cactus. This succulent from Brazil has the ability to outshine the most expensive Christmas decorations and for a fraction of the price.

When in full flower, a Christmas cactus deserves pride of place in the house. It’s one of those plants to show off as a table centrepiece, such is its tremendous show of flowers.

The plants are really easy to grow too. Even the most seasoned houseplant killers will struggle to coax this plant to an early grave. Just give them a well-lit windowsill (an east-facing one is perfect) in a room that isn’t too warm – a temperature of 16-20C is perfect. Make sure they are kept in a room where lights are switched off at night, because darkness is needed for flower bud formation.

Water these plants sparingly through the year, placing a saucer under its pot, and pouring a small amount of room temperature water into the saucer. Check the plant for watering every week or so but only water sparingly. Increase the watering slightly in autumn when the plant is producing flower buds.

Confusingly there is also a ‘thanksgiving cactus’, which blooms around one month earlier than the Christmas cactus. These are from the species Schlumbergera truncate, while the Christmas cactus blooms later and the ones sold in garden centres are hybrids of Schlumbergera x buckleyi. The way to tell the plants apart when they are not in flower is that the Thanksgiving cactus has leaves with pointed teeth, while the Christmas cactus doesn’t.