Hiya Cyirra and all, Congrats on the blooms! They're really, really lovely! I don't have any of the yellow/gold types so it's really fun to see yours. What conditions are you growing yours in? I still have the one in these older pics ('Dark Marie')--it's in my den right now and is budding up nicely (and making a couple of early blooms each week too). Here's a pic of one of the early blooms from this week, it will make its larger flush in a month or three. I've gone a bit overboard with Christmas cacti over the last couple of years, but they're so durable, and they love it here (indoors) and they bloom regularly for me (although often not until mid to late winter) so why not, right?? Here's a pic of a small rescue plant I got two years ago as an utterly wilted MESS with only five segments. Some bright light and occasional water have helped it revive. Happy gardening indoors and out everyone, and tomato, please post pics of yours when they bloom! Grant

Hi! So I'm a newbie to the cacti parenting world and was hoping someone may be able to tell me if I'm doing this right? I picked these cuties up from Home depot a couple months ago. The yellow one had this great flower bud looking like it might bloom soon but now it looks like I killed it. When I first got them they didn't have the little...bulbs? on the side of them or on top (like my red one.) I thought this was a sign I was doing well with them but now I'm worried I might be doing the same to the cacti that I did to the flower and I of course don't want that! So what I've been doing is checking the soil every week to feel if it feels like it's completely dry. Usually by the end of the week it feels that way. so I take them out of the decorative pots (cause they don't have drainage holes) and water them thoroughly with a slow but steady sink stream. Once the soil seems to have sufficient water, I allow the extra water to drain into the sink before putting them back into their decorative pots and putting them back on the windowsill for direct sunlight. I read that in winter you shouldn't water them as much (like once a month?) but we are still in fall her in NC. Am I doing this right or just being an idiot? I'm kinda bummed I lost the little flower but if I can encourage them to grow more I want to try! But mostly I want to be a good cacti parent.

That is amazing Weeper, I wonder if it is the same variety of cactus. I also find the some of the other native plants around here (link below) very interesting - especially sagebush, silverberry, prairie crocus and brown eyed susan I see in the coulees... And of course, the wild roses are lovely, amazing fragrance. Good point Marcia on the cactus dying in wet areas, now that I think of it I might spread a few around to some dry areas closer to the house. Where they are now has a risk of water sitting in the spring. Better to spread them out and not have all eggs in one basket. http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex146

Tommy/Manuel, I find that is also true here in the U.K. Sellers don't know what they're selling these days, and they probably wouldn't appreciate being told they've got it so wrong! I think a lot of the UK's confusion is mainly due to the fact that we don't celebrate Thanksgiving as no doubt you're aware, so here they get called CC's by default. To be honest, before I joined the forum I'd never come across the term Thanksgiving cactus as I too had been brainwashed into thinking there were just the CC, EC and the even lesser known RoseEC. types. My oldest plant that I've had for an age, was according to me a CC, but now I know better! Gill