39 Best Flowering Cactus Plants

Sherin Woods is a California-based DIY enthusiast and garden design aficionado. With a background in Environmental Science, she combines creativity and sustainability in all her projects. A Pinterest favorite, Sherin is committed to eco-friendly solutions and has contributed to various home and garden publications. Her areas of expertise include DIY project planning, sustainable garden design, and content creation.
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Easy to grow, weird-looking cacti are not just thorny and prickly–There are some Flowering Cactus Plants that grow most beautiful blossoms!

Cacti are always going to be in trend, thanks to their ease of growing nature, plus the awesome range of color, size, and shapes they come in. But wait, if you thought that cacti are just green and thorny, then you are wrong! There are many amazing flowering cactus plants that can throw strong competition to your other flowering shrubs and plants!

Check out our DIY cactus garden ideas here


Best Flowering Cactus Plants

1. Spiny Pincushion Cactus

Best Flowering Cactus Plants

Botanical Name: Mammillaria spinosissima

Flowering Time: Spring

Native to Mexico, it forms a cluster of columnar or spherical stems and develops funnel-shaped bright pink blooms. The central spines are red-brown or yellow in color.

2. Spider Cactus

Botanical Name: Gymnocalycium oehnanthemum x horstii

Flowering Time: Summer

This flowering cactus variety is stumpy with long and unique curly spines. It produces large pink flowers and is one of the best flowering cactus plants on the list!

3. Lincoln Gem Cactus

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Botanical Name: Chamaelobivia ‘Lincoln Gem’

Flowering Time: Summer and Winter

It is a fast-growing flowering cactus variety that produces clumps of columnar long stems, and beautiful bright yellow flowers.

4. Claret Cup Cactus

Botanical Name: Echinocereus triglochidiatus

Flowering Time: Summer

It produces charmingly bright, orange-colored blooms atop green spiny cactus. The fruits of this cacti are juicy and taste like strawberries.

5. Mammillaria Cactus

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Botanical Name: Mammillaria guelzowiana

Flowering Time: Summer

The globe-shaped cactus is covered with spines and produces bell-shaped, fragrant bright pink-purple flowers.

6. Powder Puff Cactus

Botanical Name: Parodia nivosa

Flowering Time: Summer

Powder Puff is a small cactus coated with long white spines. This attractive specimen offers bright red-orange flowers.

7. Rosy Pincushion Cactus

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Botanical Name: Mammillaria zeilmanniana

Flowering Time: Summer

Rosy Pincushion Cactus got its common name due to the prolific pretty pink flowers that appear, on and off, during the entire year.

8. Schlosser Cactus

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Botanical Name: Parodia schlosseri

Flowering Time: Summer

Also known as ‘Notocactus Schlosseri’, this spherical variety has coppery-spines and produces lemon-yellow flowers.

9. Twin-Spine Cactus

Botanical Name: Mammillaria geminispina

Flowering Time: Summer

Twin-Spine is a rounded and mounding variety, covered with silver spines. The plant grows attractive pink flowers. It is one of the best flowering cactus plants on the list!

10. Dwarf Turk’s Cap Cactus

Botanical Name: Melocactus matanzanus

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

Native to Cuba, this cactus type is endangered in the wild. It is a tiny variety and slow grower, crowned by copper-hued spines and pink blossoms.

11. Sulcorebutia Cactus

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Botanical Name: Sulcorebutia albissima

Flowering Time: Late Spring

The small, rounded, cold-tolerant compact plant has a mass of tightly crisscross spines and grows abundant, vivid pink flowers!

12. Balloon Cactus

Botanical Name: Notocactus magnificus

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

Spines and wool fill the ribs of the unique globes of this cactus. Place it outside for the development of its sulfur-yellow flowers.

13. Bishop’s Hat Cactus

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Botanical Name: Astrophytum myriostigma

Flowering Time: Summer

Contrary to other cacti, it doesn’t have any spines that make it a pain-less handling experience. It offers yellow flowers and sometimes features a red center.

14. Monk’s Hood Cactus

Botanical Name: Astrophytum ornatum

Flowering Time: Summer

Native to the canyons and limestone cliffs of Mexico, this easy-to-grow, fast-growing cacti features white flakes on its ribbed stem and produces pretty yellow flowers.

15. Mammillaria dasyacantha Cactus

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Botanical Name: Mammillaria laui v. dasyacantha

Flowering Time: Summer

Coated in wool-like, white-spines, it produces striking pink flowers with a yellow center. Give it the right growing condition and see it covered in pink!

16. Aylostera Cactus

Botanical Name: Rebutia narvaecensis

Flowering Time: Spring

Large, pink flowers on small spherical plant look eye-catching! It seeds freely to form charming, clumping groups. It is one of the best flowering cactus plants on the list!

17. Aylostera narvaecensis Cactus

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Botanical Name: Rebutia heliosa

Flowering Time: Spring

This small cactus is native to Bolivia and has dark green foliage contrasting with white spines. The daisy-like blooms open in stunning orange color.

18. Golden Barrel Cactus

Botanical Name: Echinocactus grusonii

Flowering Time: Summer and Fall

Native to Mexico, it forms a globe-shaped structure and has bright green stems with spiked ribs. The contrasting yellow-colored areoles pair well with bright yellow blooms.

19. Old Lady Cactus

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Botanical Name: Mammillaria hahniana

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

Mammillaria genus is native to the desert areas of Mexico. It forms a cluster of columnar or spherical stems and carries beautiful funnel-shaped pink flowers.

20. Chin Cactus

Botanical Name: Gymnocalycium neuhuberi

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

It’s a round-shaped, blue-green cactus with slightly curved spines that show a rich amber shade when young, before fading to cream. It forms fragrant and fuchsia-colored blooms.

21. Mexican Fire Barrel Cactus

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Botanical Name: Ferocactus pilosus

Flowering Time: Summer and Fall

This beautiful variety is distinguished by red thick spines. At the initial stage, it has a globular shape and eventually grows tall. Grows red and yellow flowers.

22. Christmas Cactus

Botanical Name: Schlumbergera bridgesii

Flowering Time: Winter

Native to South America, this succulent produces flat, small rounded stem segments with minor notches on both sides. Beautiful pink and red flowers emerge from these ends.

23. Fairy Castle Cactus

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Botanical Name: Acanthocereus tetragonus

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

Each stem of this miniature columnar cactus has five sides, with short white spines growing along the ribs. It blooms white or yellow flowers.

24. Starfish Cactus

Botanical Name: Stapelia grandiflora

Flowering Time: Summer

Also known as a carrion flower, these soft-stemmed plants are spine-less and have thick skin. They produce beautiful five-petaled red to brown flowers.

25. Easter Cactus

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Botanical Name: Hatiora gaertneri

Flowering Time: Spring

This beautiful spring-flowering variety is popular for its bright red blooms that appear during the time of Easter, hence the name!

26. Dwarf Easter Cactus

Botanical Name: Hatiora rosea

Flowering Time: Spring

Related with ‘Hatiora gaertneri,’ this compact and bushy plant is native to Brazil. It grows abundant and aromatic rose-pink flowers.

27. Ladyfinger Cactus

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Botanical Name: Mammillaria elongata

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

Also known as gold lace cactus, this diminutive variety grows in a way that resembles ladyfinger, hence the name. It produces beautiful white flowers.

28. Beavertail Cactus

Botanical Name: Optunia basilaris

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

This prickly pear cactus, with blue-green pads, and grows glowing, dark cherry pink blooms that smell like watermelon.

29. Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus

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Botanical Name: Echinocereus engelmanii

Flowering Time: Summer

Also known as a purple torch and saint’s cactus, it has small free-branching erect stems, covered with ornamental spines. Produces tubular magenta to pale pink flowers.

30. Orchid Cactus

Botanical Name: Epiphyllum hybrids or Phyllocactus

Flowering Time: Summer

This variety is admired for striking 4-inch flowers available in pink, red, white, orange, and yellow shades. It’s primarily grown in hanging baskets.

31. Peanut Cactus

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Botanical Name: Chamaecereus silvestrii or Echinopsis chamaecereus

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

It’s a low-growing cylindrical cactus that features vase-shaped, bright red flowers. Looks great in small pots!

32. Rat Tail Cactus

Botanical Name: Aporocactus flagelliformis

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer 

This showy cactus has long trailing stems and blooms wide tubular violet-red flowers or sometimes in eccentric shades like pink and orange.

33. Moonlight Cactus

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Botanical Name: Selenicereus spinulosus

Flowering Time: Spring to Summer 

This creeping cactus has cylindrical blue-green stems with red flowers that open at night. Can be a great pick for windowsill!

34. Mammillaria Polyedra Cactus

Botanical Name: Mammillaria polyedra

Flowering Time: Summer and Winter

It starts as a single plant and grows into clusters. You can also grow it with other succulents where it’ll look great with its tiny flowers in red-pink colors!

35. Silver Torch Cactus

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Botanical Name: Cleistocactus strausii

Flowering Time: Spring and Summer

An award-winning variety, it forms slender erect columns in a gorgeous shade of white-silver and grows cute magenta-colored flowers.

36. Crested Twin Spined Cactus

Botanical Name: Mammillaria geminispina nobilis f. cristata

Flowering Time: Summer and Fall

One of the most famous cacti, popular for its display of dense white spines with very fine hair that gives it a feel of wool. Grows flowers in pink-red hues with dark midveins.

37. Mammillaria laui Cactus

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Botanical Name: Mammillaria laui dasyacantha

Flowering Time: Summer

A compact specimen, its slender central spines are soft to touch. The plant produces large flowers, when compared to its size, in deep pink color.

38. Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus

Botanical Name: Epiphyllum oxypetalum

Flowering Time: Summer

Popular for its exotic, white flowers, the dutchmen pipe blooms at night and that’s the main reason why it is also called the Queen of the Night!

39. Lobivia Cactus

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Botanical Name: Lobivia famatimensis

Flowering Time: Summer

A small variety but packs quite a punch when it comes to its canary yellow flowers! Grows in a globular to a cylindrical shape.

Check out our article on the 25 best indoor cactus plants for the home here

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