Thanks for the info Toni! I've got a picture of my plant in bloom last year somewhere - I'll see if I can find it. It's a plant that was given to my parents right before I was born (I'm giving away my age, LOL!) from a plant that is probably around 100 yrs old now if it's still alive.

When my dad was alive, he was the caretaker of all the plants, and it did very well. After he passed away, my mom took over, and well.....she has a black thumb! It was doing poorly, so she gave it to me. I'm trying to get it to flourish, but we're not there yet. It's in a plastic pot, the soil holds way too much moisture. I get a little nervous about doing anything that may cause it harm.

Oh, and it's in a plant stand that's propped on the ground. Not many squirrels in my front yard at all, so that hasn't been a concern. And I've kept a close eye out for other pests too - I don't want any unwanted guests in my house when I bring it back in.

Thanks again for the advice!~

Maureen

My mom had one that used to belong to my grandmother - I think it was about 60 years old when it finally died. However, she'd propagated it several years earlier, and now the "baby" is huge. It's one of the really old-fashioned hanging ones with big pink flowers. I've got three - a pink one that grows like crazy but doesn't bloom much, and a coral-colored one and an apricot one I bought last year. Not sure how they're going to do blooming, but they've grown like crazy outside this summer.

I have an old book by a lady named Thalassa Cruso and she recommends keeping Christmas cacti completely dry for the month of October to encourage bloom, as well as keeping them in a room that isn't lit at night. I don't know if you'd want to go to that extreme, but keeping it drier than usual might promote flowering, too.

I lost my 100+ CC this year, I was devastated to say the least!
I don't know if it died from complications of old age, or I over-watered it. Or, maybe trying to wash off all the perlite that was stuck to the roots was a VERY bad idea.

I managed to save enough cutting's to root into two 4" pots in straight perlite. Later with plenty of healthy white roots, I moved them into soil with plenty of perlite added (same size pots) and later they started to rot.
I quickly took them out of their pots and pinched off the bottom rotted ends and put them back into straight perlite, but it was too late, un-seen rot must have gotten up into the stems/segments and I lost them all:>(

When the temps start to go below 50 I'd bring it into the garage, although I think they are ok down to around, 35-40 degrees without any harm, but why push it? Then in the morning I'd put it back out for lots of buds to form, weather permitting of course. Watch for frost warnings if you leave it out.

Billy Rae

Billy, oh God you lost your CC?? It was a beautiful plant. After all the yrs it's been around..geesh..It's ashame you couldn't root cuttings. Nothing was left? I'm so sorry, Billy, I remember how proud you were of your CC.
Billy, why did you wash Perlite off roots?
This past summer I've talked to ppl who after buying a new plant and prepare to repot, they wash away all soil..I don't understand the logic..And more times than not, they lose the plant..I don't think it's a good idea. Adding new soil is fine when repotting, but there's no reason to wash away ALL old soil.

Maureen, was your mom in charge of the CC after your dad passed away? If so, maybe she had a brown thumb..LOL..a step up anyway..
Do you know where the original plant is now? Yes, please send pics when you have time..
I know what you mean about bringing unwanted visitors indoors when plants come inside. My biggest fear is spiders..Not mites, I can deal those those buggers, but house spiders..those thick-black-legged creepy arachnids.
Page, I've also read placing a CC in a dark place at night promotes flowering, but it's a LOT of work..LOL..One book states, plants like CC, Poinsettia, Kalanchoes need to be set in a dark room the exact time every day..it also said, if you're 1 min late this can upset buds..lol..I don't think it's that extreme, but I've never tried the dark treatment so don't know for sure. It's much easier keeping them out in the cold until blooms form. It also says one should keep a CC dry during the month of Oct..the problem is, when we bring CC indoors after they form buds, and our homes are warm, they tend to bloom earlier than we want..in other words, my CC blooms in Nov, not at Christmas..same w/Kalanchoes.

Soon, it'll be time to bring plants back indoors..can't believe how fast summer went..Toni

Toni,
It was awful losing that CC, but there was nothing more I could do once the cuttings started to take a nose-dive when moved from perlite to soil! The soil had plenty of perlite so I don;t understand why they rotted. I didn't keep them wet, in fact I let the soil dry between watering. I washed off the perlite on the cuttings roots before placing in soil because the perlite was all over the roots like 1/2 thick and stuck on like it was heavily glued to the entire length of the roots, but now I regret taking it off and should have just left it be.
It's different with soil rooted plants though, I would never wash old soil off of anything, just place the whole root-ball into another slightly wider pot.

Billy Rae

Billy, again I'm so sorry..if only you could have saved one cutting..I remember how big it was..and packed w/flowers.
Where did you root the cuttings? In or outside?

What about your fern? Do you still have that huge Boston Fern?

Billy, I sent an email via GW about the COT's cuttings..did you not get it? Toni

Toni,

Thanks,
I wish I could have saved one cutting but I didn't, believe me I tried! The cuttings were rooted inside in a west window, that's where I should have left them! You wouldn't believe how healthy and plump those cuttings were (two 4" pots in perlite)
I only wish I took cuttings earlier when it was still big because I thought the leaves were starting to look a bit thinner than normal, like maybe it was getting too old and showing it's age, or maybe something else was going on, but I waited until it was almost too late, then the cuttings later up and died. Sure wish I could do that day over and just leave them alone in the perlite!

Yep, still have the big fern. I thought I might lose that one at first because when it was being carried to the truck,
many stems fractured/broke at the pots rim line, I guess from bouncing a lot as it was being carried through the friends parking lot, but thank goodness it looks good again now, not as long or as large, but still a whopper, lol.
I was told by the lady who gave it to me that it was over 80 yrs old but you would never know it because it's putting out lot's of new growth. I guess this one will be taking the place of the CC.
It sure can be hard to lose certain plants and I know you know that more than anyone.
I remmeber when your GH lost it's power for heat during the winter. But I'm sure you more than made up for all the plants you lost, lol, right?

I don't know if I got received an email from you or not, I'm going to go ck that right now.

Billy Rae

Toni,

I just checked and I didn't get any emails from you, what the &^%)^%##???
I made sure I had checked that I would received emails from ALL on GW and your not on the block list, so I don't know what's going on, plus, I sent you an email today and just found out it was sent back to me, so it was never delivered to you!!!!
Even though you have the same screen name, did you change your provider?
I'll try again, this time thru GW.

Billy Rae

My CC's stay out in the fall where longer nights and cooler temps set the flower buds. When the temps start getting down to 40-45 and the flower buds are plump I bring them in. No water during this period either. Never fails me.

Tom

hallgall, I'm a few hours south of you, and usually wait for a frost forecast, so for me that is sometime in mid to late october, sometimes later....maybe sooner up where you are. I bring them in just before.

Last year my plants already were in bud when I brought them in, so once that happens, you can move them inside.

Thank you everyone, for all the answers and info. I'll be looking at my weather forecast for the first frost, and bring it in before that. I only got 2 blooms last year, so I'm hoping for more this year.

Billy Rae - that is just terrible about your cactus. I know I'll be sad if anything similar happens to this one!

Thanks again~Maureen

Maureen, maybe I should have been more specific. You should bring indoors when you see tiny buds..So, if you start seeing buds in Sept, get ready to bring indoors..If they bud in Oct, bring them inside then..There were times mine came in as late as early Nov..but IL weather is weird..never know what to expect.
I also wait until buds are a certain size. At least 1/4". Becuase your home is going to be much warmer than outside, the best thing to do is place in the coolest, sunny spot. Otherwise they tend to bloom fast...Toni

my CC is loaded with buds, but now I want to bring it inside now that our over night temperatures are dropping to around 35 & the sun is scarce as well, If I put it in my kitchen window beside my tropical bonsai it will get any morning & afternoon bright light & any sun that may come out, both my plants are approx. 3 years old & close to 10" tall, 1 is half pink - half lavender, the other is all white and a little smaller, it's only 2. The white is also full of buds.
my back room where they are is a unheated built in porch, but I lost a large CC last year so I want these inside for winter.

My Christmas Cactus is still outside, and was rained on for the past two days (2-inches of rain for northern California!). Last night, the temp dipped to 39F, but the plants are all fine. Soon, however, I will be bringing it in. For a proper bloom, the plant simply needs a change in light...and to be healthy enough to bloom in the first place.

As others mentioned, do not re-pot after the bloom. That is actually when the plant is in its least active phase, and will take the longest to recuperate from the re-potting. Wait to re-pot until late Spring or Summer when the plant is vital and growing well again.

I recommend a bark-based mix for excellent drainage. These plants thrive in bark, regularly watered and fertilized during the prime growing season.

Josh

I leave my Thanksgiving cactus outdoors for as long as possible. When the nighttime temps get too chilly, I just move it into my garage overnight. I place it back outside in full sunlight throughout the day. I don't worry about sunburn because the Sun has moved down into the Southern Hemisphere for the winter, so any direct sunlight is more angled and not as intense as it would be during the summer months. I do this until the daytime climate is no longer warm enough. Then, I just keep it indoors fulltime. During this time, my TC is slowly transitioned into its winter home. So, it isn't just moved from outdoors to indoors in just one night, and then left to adjust to its new location. It's done gradually, over the course of many nights. With all this bright sunlight, my Thanksgiving cactus is budding like crazy. I can't wait to see it when it's finally in full bloom. :)

I leave Thanksgiving Cactus out until 1st-2nd frost.
Buds are usually formed by then.
After inside, TC are placed in a cool, bright area.

If air temp is hot, buds can drop or grow too quickly...the quicker flowers grow, the faster they fade. Before Thanksgiving.
Which makes them Hallow-Giving Plants. lol.

Living in the south, the Savannah Georgia area, I inherited by material grandmothers Christmas cactus' in 1979, so today I have had them for 36 years. I have been able to clip and re-root pieces from the original two CC every year, in doing so passing a new cutting to a family member each year. My grandmother had them for years so, I would guess the two CC are about 50 years old. Things to remember.......always plant in a clay pot. Clay pots tend to let the roots breath better and helps the water drain better. What I have done for the last 36 years under the advise of my grandmothers sister, give the CC Castor Oil twice a year, this tends to give the CC nourishment and you can actually see the branches stand up more and look healthier. I have always kept my CC out on the front porch until the first frost, in the South that can be anytime between Oct 1st- 15th. When brought inside, I put my CC in a corner of the room were it can get some light but not direct light, a foyer or living room which lighting at night is deem, make sure not to place near a heater or vent where the heat from the heater will directly hit the CC. Water very light ( once a week, small cup) the months of October and November, you should usually start seeing buds in November or first weeks of December. Good Luck! Lawrence Garnto, Pooler, Ga.

Laura, again pls. -- ask the question in a complete sentence so we can TRY to figure out what you mean.

Is the Christmas cacuts okay inside the houes

Yes, absolutely, why wouldn't it be?