The Best $6 You’ll Spend at Trader Joe’s This Week Is in the Plant Section (Yes, That’s Right)

Nicoletta Richardson
Nicoletta RichardsonEntertainment Editor
In her spare time, Nicoletta loves marathoning the latest Netflix show, doing at-home workouts, and nurturing her plant babies. Her work has appeared in Women’s Health, AFAR, Tasting Table, and Travel + Leisure, among others. A graduate from Fairfield University, Nicoletta majored in English and minored in Art History and Anthropology, and she not-so-secretly dreams of exploring her family lineage in Greece one day.
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updated Mar 5, 2020
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When you walk into a Trader Joe’s, you don’t know what wonderful discoveries await in the plant section. Yes, I said plant section. Not the freezer section, not the produce section, the plant section. The plant section at Trader Joe’s is always a mystery — there are the seasonal items that you see every year, but sometimes you walk in and wham! — there’s a wine bottle filled with succulents. And now, there’s a spring cactus making its way into stores and we’re pretty darn excited about it.

Also known as the zygocactus, this succulent is selling for just $5.99 in a store possibly near you. The small houseplant comes in a glazed ceramic planter and from the looks of the buds, you can pick either yellow or red. 

Credit: Nicoletta Richardson

Zygocactus is often referred to as the holiday cactus, but there are different types that bloom during different types of the year. For example, in the wintertime you might see the zygocactus referred to as the “Thanksgiving Cactus” or “Christmas Tree Cactus,” but its springtime variation is known as the “Easter Cactus.” 

The main difference is the time of the year in which they flourish and — hinted at by its name — the spring cactus usually thrives in the months of April and May. It can also be identified by the bristles on the end of each leaf, which is the only holiday cactus that has this characteristic. 

The spring cactus likes indirect sunlight and needs to be watered when the top two inches of soil feels dry. Make sure you wait until then so you don’t overwater — sitting in water could lead to rotting from being waterlogged. And if the leaves start turning yellow, that might mean they’re getting too much sunlight.

You can mist the plant from time to time to help increase humidity. Also, the plant is nontoxic, so your spring cactus and furry friend can live in harmony. It’s time to ring your local TJ’s and ring in the spring season!

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Trader Joe’s Is Selling Colorful Spring Cacti for Under $6