Gabriell, in your zone 8 location, do you put your Cactus out of doors when spring sunshine and warm temperatures return. Or, do you just keep these plants strictly as houseplants? Christmas Cactus can be cared for either way but it is much preferred by many that the plant should go outside after all chance of frost has passed. Into a bright location where sunlight can reach them....but never, directly. Some exposures are preferable during their time out of doors. Western, southern and eastern sun can give to the C.C.'s what they prefer....strong growth. Northern sun locations are limited in their intensity; especially during late fall, through winter and early spring. Generally C.C.'s like to be alllowed a little nip of cool. In northern areas, low forties and high thirties are what will bring about buds. Before being touched by frost, they are then brought indoors to a sunny window.....sunny, being the sunniest window you can find. Southern, western esposures are preferred. Eastern exposure during fall days is not really sufficient to promote bloom. Northern exposure should be left out of the question entirely...its just not strong enough. So, give your Christmas Cactus the best sun you can arrange...south or west is best. If you cant give them such sun for one reason or another, try to raise them. Put them on a table or pedestal. If you must place them in an eastern exposure, then maybe think to give them extra light by way of artificial light. Don't even think about a northern exposure. In your zone 8 location, you may have a problem giving your C.C.'s such coolness during early autumn in order to set buds. But, do try to give them as much coolness as you can arrange. Sunlight during late fall shouldn't be a worry...even if they were to be placed directly in such sun. The intensity of such sun shouldn't bother them a bit...but use some discretion about just how much sun you give them. The end all of this question is: You are not giving yuor Christmas Cactus enough light. They depend on light to make them bloom. Whether you feel you should fertilize is up to you. If you feel you have not fed the plants enough, then give them some 10/10/10 at 1/2 rate...not sufficient to promote growth but enough to keep their health. With the low sun values, promoting growth at this time is not in the best interest of the plant. Txmom, wilting is a condition the plant may show signs of too much sun or heat, too much or not enough water, or a poor growing location. Try moving your plant to a better exposure. Western or southern sun is best for plants at this time. Always water til drainage is seen in the saucer below, then dump what excess is in the saucer. Then allow the plant to dry down between waterings and when you water, again water to drainage and dump the excess. You cant give your plants too much sun at this time of season. If your plant is in direct path of heat from a heat vent, then it should be moved. Such heat can change the temperature of the soil too quickly leading to increased watering which may be not needed at the roots. Water sitting at roots can increase the chance of rotting. If your plant is wilting due to underwatering, then when you water to drainage, it should perk up in a short time. If it doesn't then you know the problem wasn't due to watering. You cant over water a plant that has been overwatered. Like you cant give a cold to a person who has a cold. You just have to hold off any further watering until the plant dries down normally. Plastic pots hold water longer than clay pots. Clay pots absorb water and may contribute to increased amounts of watering. When fertilizing any houseplant, water it first, then use liquid fertilizer.

Hi John, If you'll pls. click over to the Cactus & Succulent forum next door (from the top of this page), you can then do a search for this topic abt which much has been written. For those who can't put their plants out (like me) there are other suggestions.

I have a related question. I bought a Christmas Cactus that's in full bloom around Christmas for my mom. she over watered it and all flowers fell right away, but the plant is okay. I asked my mom to keep it in a bright place but away from direct sun light and keep it dry. We are in chicago and it's still very cold. I wonder when can we expect it to bloom again. Will it bloom twice a year, and how long does the bloom usually last? Am I doing the right thing to promote the next round of blooming?

Thank you, Pirate Girl and Norma, for your very helpful responses! You are surely right about one thing, I have learned a Lot by reading over the past week--first, this forum's FAQ and archived Christmas cactus threads; then some other excellent information sites on the web. These other sites originated from botany and horticulture departments of various universities. It's hard to know where to start, so I'll just hit points as they fit. Plant wrappings are no problem; I generally remove them soon after getting a plant. Also in the process of elimination is the notion that normal movement, without significant temp change, is detrimental. After all, every one of my Christmas cacti was Moved in the process of its being presented to me--some for quite some distance on trucks or through the mail! All came in bud or in bloom, and none lost any significant number of buds. Having tried to ferret out the reason for bud drop for some time, I am aware from experience that these plants do not want to be household warm when they move into the blooming mode. Mine live, all year, where it is coolest in winter (diurnal range of 55 to 68 F.) in good bright light, but shielded from direct sun. This plant's need for uniform cool winter temps is what originally prompted me to use only cold water, but you surely have a point, Pirate Girl. Cold water in a temperate climate is a far cry from Cool water in the subtropics. It is entirely possible that this watering temp has been shocking these budded plants--even though the same temp water was used for weeks leading up to the actual bud drop. When Norma 2006 wrote: 'In nature they grow high in trees have fast drainage,...' she gave me an 'AHA! moment'. For some reason I had never read and never realized that Christmas cacti were EPIPHYTES! No wonder my poor CCs struggle to bloom! Heavy watering (saturation of pot) can smother roots in close or compacted media; and pot saturation in cool temps can promote root rot. Either way, bud blast will result. This was born out in at least two information sources I read, Clemson University and the U. of North Dakota (live link below). Finally, Pirate Girl wrote: 'Don't know where got your idea abt maybe water being trapped in the bottom of the pot & the paper towel business, don't think this is true or a problem. Pls. forget that completely & stop blotting the plant like that.' This principle (for which I cannot take credit, by the way) was first explained to me in a post by Al a.k.a. 'tapla,' a soil and Bonsai specialist who frequently posts on GW forums. (The principle is explained, again, in one of tapla's recent posts noted, below, after my signature.) This principle concerns the percentage of water which never drains from a pot and how it becomes detrimental to potted plants. It made immediate good sense to me. Wicking away this water ("the paper towel business") is my short term solution to water retention problems. As said at the beginning of this post, I've learned a lot over the past week. Norma's revelation (to me) that these plants were epiphytes in the wild pointed me to the primary cause of my plants' bud blast. I was suffocating them. While it is possible that cold water was also a contributing factor, that will remain to be seen next blooming season. My plan of contrition is to repot my Christmas cacti into loose media more befitting housebound epiphytes, and to avoid media saturation for the duration of their bloom period and, except for flushing, thereafter. As a test, I plan to separate out two of the five CCs and treat them exactly the same as the other three, except for watering them with cold water, instead of room temp. Norma and Pirate Girl (and Al!), thank you very much for your time and help in thinking this through. Here's hoping for persistent CC buds next blooming season! Sweetcicely ~ tapla Post: 'Be a plant P.I. (very long post)' paragraph 15 which begins, 'Let us take a moment to consider the cultural effects of growing in a poor soil as opposed to a good soil.' This is located at the following URL: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/houseplt/msg1215043526101.html?32 Here is a link that might be useful: Christmas Cactus saturation and Bud Drop