Hi Ann, You might read or re-read the FAQs on Holiday Cactus, the link was provided recently. Sorry, I don't know how to provide it. Perhaps I can clarify for you, holiday cacti, all of them are tropical & jungle cacti (that is to say, Thanksgiving, Christmas &/or Easter). As such, they do need water & fast draining mix. Desert or arid land cactus are the dry cactus that we think of in the desert w/ high temps & little or no rain. While I don't grow Easter, I do grow Thanksgiving cc & have grown Xmas cc. I have them in AV type soil w/ extra pumice or perlite. I grow these in plastic pots, snugly & water about every 7-10 days. When I water, I water well, no little sips. Pls. make sure you water 'til water comes out the bottom of the pot. I keep them on a pebble tray to help w/ the humidity. The pebble tray is a plastic lid into which I put small stones, then water the plant to overflow, allowing the overflow onto the small rocks while the planted pot sits ON TOP OF, not in, the wet pebbles. Sorry to hear your search didn't work, but appreciate that you tried searching for the info. yourself.

Thanks Courtney. First of all, I'm not a professional arborist, so anything I've picked up over the years has either come from my own trial and error or from posts on GW and other places. Regarding mulching, I think it's a good idea to mulch all young trees if for no other reason that to help them become established. It's much easier on the trees when they can grow roots in cool, damp soil rather than in hard, baked soil. So typically when planting a new tree, either a seedling, container-grown or b&b tree, I'll mulch it. Case in point. We have large gardens bed filled with various flowers, trees and shrubs. We have them covered with 2 to 3" of pine bark mulch. Even in the middle of summer the soil under the mulch stays fairly damp and cool, perfect for roots. However, our lawn surrounding the mulched beds is mostly yellow or brown in summer and the soil is extremely hard and dry. I'd never try and plant anything in dried soil like that. We rarely water our mulched garden beds and everything seems to grow well. What type of mulch you use is a matter of personal taste, but pine bark chunks last longer and break down much slower than the fine hardwood mulch. Hardwood mulch is cheaper but you will need to reapply it every year or two as it breaks down quickly. For mature trees, mulching is a matter of aesthetics. We mulch our mature trees to make them "blend in" to our landscape, but that is strictly personal choice. Established trees typically do not need to be mulched but it does cut down on weeds which, in turn, reduces weed trimming and pulling and so forth. Your maples would benefit from mulch and probably establish roots quicker, but again that is up to you. If you want to know how dry the soil is, simply dig a small hole near the trees about 8 to 12" deep. If the soil down there is dry, then you know the maple roots will be dry as well. If the soil is damp and cool, then the roots may be OK and not need as much watering. Much also depends on what type of soil you have and how fast it drains. When watering, remember that occasional deep watering is better than frequent shallow watering. Shallow watering will benefit lawns but typically doesn't get down deep in the soil where the tree roots are. Fertilizing is a difficult subject as everyone has their own opinions on the topic. You can use the spikes if you wish or you can use a general "balanced" garden fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 and apply a couple times per year. If you want to go the organic route you can skip the fertilizers and apply a top dressing of composted manure either in the spring or late fall. Both ways have worked in my experience. Again, just personal taste. HTH Dave

If you're not planting them out soon - and at your zone, I assume you are not - I think you want to pot them up. They look like they have grown out of their starting cells. I think you will see improvement when they are in larger containers.

Too much water/not enough drainage/ill-suited soil, but I think there's enough light, so if you change the other three, you'll have some nice Kalanchoes (?) soon.