I have been growing both Christmas and Easter cacti for as long as I can remember. My grandfather had a greenhouse and always had something growing in it. I learned from him to get both Christmas and Easter cacti blooming together you simply leave them outside under a tree or on the deck with an overhang on it until about the third week of October. This year was a little different for me as I live in Michigan and the weather had turned colder than normal more quickly. I brought them in about two weeks ago and all of my cacti have buds on them. The trick I learned from my grandfather is the cooler nights bring on flowers and blooms. The plant thinks it needs to produce offspring (seeds) for the next generation so it forces them to think it's going to freeze. Anyway, I have researched it and found that the Easter cacti will bloom in the spring because the days are getting longer and that is what it needs to promote flowers. The Christmas cacti needs longer cooler nights to promote blooms. I find that both of them with the cooler nights bring on flowers. I think my grandfather was right in saying that the cooler nights trick the plant into thinking they needs to produce offspring to carry on their species. Here is a link that might be useful: Saginaw Rose & Garden Society, Michigan

I do not have any mums, but what you described seems typical of what a lot of us are seeing. It will be interesting to see, as long as you keep cutting them back and feeding them, if they will bloom again in their normal Fall bloom slot. In northeastern OK the days certainly have seemed to be more like one would expect to see in the early part of the Fall. I am sure that your area is the same, that is what has so confused your mums. My Tuscarora crapemyrtles are not blooming yet. They froze over Easter and I had to dig them up, cut them back and pot them up. They have put all their efforts into regrowing. I am glad they have done such a good job regenerating. No matter how long it takes for them to begin to bloom this summer, I plan on not pruning off the spent blooms to help the trees porduce more blooms. That way they should have more time to harden off their new growth enough so they can better avoid the winter kill which thin new trunks often encounter with our winters. My double trunked chaste tree which I also had to cut back, but did not dig up and pot, has regrown. I pruned out all but the two best trunks, and they are now only 18 inches tall, but are currently in full bloom. My single trunked Chaste tree, died back half way, so I did not prune it down to the rootball a few months ago. Instead, I cut the main trunk down to about 2 feet tall. Now it is attempting to regrow, but has not begun to bloom as of yet. I am glad that my 'Blue Satin' rose of sharon which I am training into a tree form has only yesterday produced one bloom. Instead of blooming, it has focused its efforts into growing taller, and now has nearly doubled in height. The Biggest benefit this weather has cause for me is to extend the life of my pansies. In drier years with less daily clouds, they would have dried up weeks ago. Now instead, they are still going strong. I have some begonias which I got to replace them, but it seems a shame to give up on the pansies, when they seem to be still doing so well.

So nice to see buds! Sometimes I just enjoy the leaves and forget about the bonus around the corner. Love the new growth on Cristen Aurea Variegata, looks like she had her nails painted. Madame butterfly is in the lead with the largest bud of all my TC's. I have another hanging basket very similar in size just starting to bloom too. -Nancy

I got my 'antique' Christmas cactus cuts from a wonderful lady on the cactus forum. 2 years back. MY original 200 yo one, that was in my family for almost the entire 200 years. Died about 15yrs ago. It about killed me. It was passed onto me when I was around 5yo in Conn. After my great-grandmother died, so it died on my watch! The Fla. heat, a mail man knocking it over when he delivered phone books,recall those?, and then a hurricane, finally killed the last of it. I massively huge plant. So I am TRYING to leave behind another plant to go down in the family, after I am gone. I doubt anyone will give a damn, but it will be my legacy. These 'new' cuts are from a 150yo. plant I got the background on its life, and it traces it all the way back the the mid 1800's from Ohio. They wanted like $25-50 for tiny little 3in cuttings on E-Bay for them. I'd be dead before they bloomed. This lady understood the importance of a family legacy. So her family story and its history are written down and go with the plant, tell about its new life here in Fla. with me, someone might take care of it after me.