You get more spikes if you don't divide. Winter Wonderland can bloom more than once a year, likelier if you keep the plant together. OTOH, plants can get too big to handle easily. So ya pays ya money and takes ya choice. About the old bulbs, keep them on the plant. Even without leaves they contribute to the plant. I think I might be tempted to repot, but if you do, make sure your new pot isn't too *deep*. Once plants get that big, a pot wide enough for all the pbs is often way too deep, and tons of wet medium with no roots accumulates on the bottom. Some people use bulb pans (wide and flat) for big oncids to avoid this problem. Otherwise, put about 1/3 of styrofoam peanuts in the bottom of the bigger pot to lessen the amount of dead, rootless medium. New roots form off the new growths, so repotting before those new roots appear makes sense. This is a good time of year for it, too, with light increasing in duration and intensity each day. If you repot, watch out for the Klutz Factor-- don't want to accidentally break the plant up or knock off the new shoots, both of which I have done a few times. Makes you want to cry, tho.

LOL! Thanks! well... no, not hard. but i was concerned about getting the chunk off without destroying all of the roots. Turned out to be surprisingly easy with a bit of patience.

OK, Ed. Now you're freaking me out: I shaved off parts of the bottom of the trunk because it was the only way I could expose any raw flesh that would offer a possibility of rooting. This was not only unnecessary, but dangerous. I'm assuming you mean the side of the trunk, not the bottom. Did you water after you did this? Any open wound allows entry of fungus. This can kill the plant. Please, take it out of the container, remove any soil, and inspect very carefully. Any softness means trouble. Fungal infections move slowly upwards through the plants vascular system. The only way to cure this is to transect the stem above the infection. You can see this as dark colored tissue in your cross-sections. Cut upwards in 1/4-1/2 inch increments with a clean knife dipped in rubbing alcohol until the section is clean, free of dark colored vascular bundles. Then you let it sit around in the air for a few days to callous over. Then, place it into a container with dry growing media and wait for roots. It will take a long time with a stump that big. One month per inch is something I've read, but I think it's better to simply say that bigger stumps need more time to root than small cuttings that can root in days. New growth means it's time to start watering again. There are a couple of ideas that all succulent growers come to understand. They are: Benign neglect: leaving a plant alone unless the plant's health will suffer. Don't fuss over it. Don't water too much. Give it the right amount of light, not too much not too little. It's a simple idea, but one sometimes hard to practice. If in doubt, DON'T! It means just what it says, and applies to any action you take. Don't water if you are not certain the soil is dry, top to bottom. Know your plants normal growth pattern. Many succulents are dormant in the winter and watering then can kill them. Others are dormant in the summer, and want no water even though it may be 100F and dry dry dry. Succulents are better able to withstand long dry periods, but will not tolerate more than a few days with wet feet. I guess that's enough for now. Go save your plant :-) Brad

I know I'm a little late..but I'd re-pot them right now, trust me they'll love it, and will appreciate you for it..What I found best that works for these cacti, is perlite mixed with cactus soil (if you put in just cactus soil made by MG it just floods then finally drains, which isn't good) also thanks to Josh pure orchid bark works wonders! but you have to water more often (which isn't an issue) my plants I've had for a good amount of years, and they've always rewarded me, I never wanted them to get overly big, and the more I prune back, they more new growth they put out =) I fertilize mine from about March all the way through August. When it comes to fertilizer, less is always more; you don't want to burn their roots. Good luck with both your cacti! =D Last note, the Easter Cactus grows exactly the same as any holiday cactus, so don't buy into all the negative hype; that's just an over blown rumor that got started because people don't know what they're doing ;)