I'm not familiar w/ these brands of mixes, but mostly soil doesn't seem the best idea (like the 2/3 you're suggesting). I see you've collected others, so if it's working for you ... But pls. consider that in nature, these grow in crotches of tree branches, rather than soil, they're in leaf litter & debris, wastes & whatever else blows their way. So bark makes more sense that way, it's much lighter & more airy. (Indoors) I've mostly used soil w/ perlite myself thru the yrs. & have recently added a good portion of bark to my own holiday cacti. Am happy to report I've been able to keep an EC alive for a few months now in just bark & it's doing well. I've often struggled w/ECs 'til now. I've been using Repti Bark, from a pet store. Smaller (than Orchid bark mix), evenly sized pieces, nice. Perhaps try using that in place of your potting soil. So it'd be: bark, perlite & Cactus mix. Reviewing this old thread reminds me of Josh's point that bark mixes allow the copious watering these plants often get in nature.

Ian - Indeed that is wet haydite. I should snap a pic of it dry for comparison. I find it quite attractive in my mix and have used it for top-dressing on a couple of "dressed up" plants that I know have sharp draining soil below. I used to use Turface, which is also an excellent grit, just not as attractive. NY - Trying to ship 40lb sacks might get expensive. I suggest that you let your fingers do the walking! Start with your local parks and recreation dept. Get a number for the dept. that maintains the ballfields. Where you find baseball, you will find turface or haydite. Also, haydite has a website that will assist you in finding the closest retail dealer. Here's a couple of addys to read up on it. www.haydite.com www.youkoubonsai.com/haydite.htm SnB gave you the reason why these type products are so desirable in soil mixes: "this type of top dressing tends to suck up the water more than straight grit. This may make it easier to see when there is still moisture in the soil, which can be handy with winter growers. It will also make the soil dry out faster since there will be continual evaporation from the surface instead of it drying out and trapping moisture." And what it does as top dressing it does throughout the soil when used in your mix. It's smooth and uniform, allowing for quick drainage but holds a tad of moisture for the plant to draw on. It dries quickly and is very is to "read", though as Ian pointed out, it is not 'the soil' that needs water but 'the plant'. HTH - Jo

Yes to both questions. I prune the foliage regularly, and I prune the roots when re-potting. CC's will often make many new branches from a single cut. Judicious pruning will get your CC bushy in one season. Low but consistent doses of fertilizer really helps, too. I would ditch the self-watering container. These plants appreciate a fast-draining mix of bark, with a bit of Perlite and a pinch of AV soil or Orchid Mix as an afterthought. Here's a Thread I put together when I re-potted my Christmas Cactus this Autumn: Christmas Cactus re-potted Josh This post was edited by greenman28 on Sun, Jan 6, 13 at 20:04

Hello all, I was taking a look back through my old posts and saw this and just wanted to share some newer pictures (February). My TC responded phenomenally to the bark mix and is looking great. Unfortunately, I misunderstood and used coarse orchid fir bark instead of fine, but when I repot next I will break what I have to smaller chunks. Live and learn! Josh, I think you mentioned 2 years to repot in this mix? If anyone reading this is curious, here is a link to Josh's repot post that Laura mentioned above ("CC Repot"). It is a great read and there's a ton of good information. Anyway, here it is (and yes that is a ton of snow in the background--almost all melted now): This 'little' one consisted of one 2-segment cutting and one 3-segment y-shaped cutting when I originally started this thread. I can't believe how much it has grown in the last nine-ish months! This is still in peaty mix, I'm going to repot it this spring. It's the one on the right! :-) Just out of curiosity, does anyone have thoughts on why the larger plant is cascading more while the cuttings are growing more upright? Most of the pictures I've seen on the forum tend to be more upright before cascading. Also, I'm thinking about turning the pot with the cuttings into a mixed container. Any suggestions for plants that may be compatible with TC or this soil mix? If they're ok with a slightly more water retentive mix, I'm thinking a cascading sedum (burro's tail) or senecio (string of pearls) along with a kalanchoe (paddle plant). Looking forward to another year of growth! Nathan