It could be a combination of light and feeding. I bought two of them two Thanksgiving's ago, and they are in two totally different areas. The one that gets tons of bright, direct light and regular watering is about ten times the size of the one that gets a few hours of bright light each day and semi-regular watering. Baring that, my next guess would be soil. A plant can't grow if it doesn't have a good foundation.

You stated: another Thanksgiving Cactus I had last year exploded by the same time last year.

Do you still have this one now ? As you mentioned HAD

Any holiday cactus will lose it's buds it it's environment is changed, especially light and temperature.

lenle,
I think you have given me an idea. I'm afraid it might not be getting enough light. Unfortunately we are in an apartment with just a patio so I don't have many "areas" outside to place it right now. The one I had last year actually bleached from being placed in direct sun (however, it was happy in the sense that it still exploded and has since bloomed). I am not sure it is a soil issue (I don't have Al's mix, mind you) so I believe you are right about the lighting.

mrlike2u,
Yes, I had it, I gave it to my Mother-in-law the end of last year. I found this one that I liked a little more (different colored flowers). I am attempting to not bleach this one as I bleached the one I had last year from too much direct sun.

Ron,
Thanks for your input, I'm not sure if it was losing its buds from a change in environment though as it began blooming about a month after I moved it outside and haven't moved it since.

Thank you all for your input, I'm probably still being impatient but I believe I know why it's not growing.

Planto

Planto,

Not sure what type of patio you have, but if it has railings you can always get one of those planter units that hook on the railing and hang over it. Or a shelving unit that might fit in a corner or something equally space saving. Just remember to acclimate it gradually to the light so you don't shock it by throwing it into full sun all at once.

Best of luck to you!

Jeni

Jeni,
Thanks a lot! I do have railings. This is perhaps a silly question, but can you place TCs in direct sun (I'm not trying to sound as if I am questioning you, I just thought that when I bleached mine last year I did something wrong by giving it direct sun, perhaps it was just too many hours or I didn't acclimate it properly)? How many hours of direct sun do you recommend as a maximum?

Planto

Planto:

According to information I've found (and personal experience), holiday cacti like bright light but not direct sun.

When outdoors I place my TC under other plants so they are always shaded. My Easter Cactus stays inside on a South-facing window shelf under an overhang.

Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: Might Be Helpful

Planto,

I've never put one outdoors as of yet, but I do have one in front of a sliding patio door (western exposure) that gets a great deal of bright light. It's not direct light, however, so I would probably caution against that. I'm going to side with Linda and say that bright light is good, but I think I would avoid direct light.

Jeni

Linda and Jeni:
Thank you both for your information! I think I'll have to find the "right" spot for my TC then (enough light but not direct sun). Living in an apartment with limited areas to place plants can be frustrating sometimes. Thanks again for your help!

Planto

Hey, Planto:

My apartment solution for hanging plants was an old wooden ladder. The kind you lean against something; not the folding ones.

Hung it on chains (three on each side). That way I could move plants closer or further away from the window.

You could make one from PVC, I imagine, to fit any window. Mine was for the sliding glass doors. I'm only 5'2" so bumping my head wasn't a problem. :-)

In our house, DH did these as a birthday present. Click to make larger and go directly to my WebShots albums.

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Linda

Linda,
Oh wow, that's a nice set up you have! Thanks for sharing! Unfortunately the only windows I have that I could put plants near are right next to our bed and the dog tends to... crawl on things (she's a cat in a dog's body I swear). She managed to crawl up onto our kitchen table one day and consume a handful of chocolates! -_-

Planto

Old trick is double-sided sticky tape. Great for cats but works with counter surfering/climbing canines, too. :-) You have to leave the tape for a couple of weeks and check to see if it remains sticky.

A client got some particularly strong tape and his Great Dane got her chin stuck! Never counter surfed again. Of course, owners were home when it happened; they closed off the kitchen when they left.

You can also place a mouse trap in the middle of a couple of layers of newspaper. Touching the paper sets the trap off. Never had a dog get hurt.

Linda

Linda,
You are full of great ideas! You've got my brain thinking again...

Planto

Planto:

Learned the newspaper trick from a friend who used it to keep his daughter's goat off the car!!! It was either that or goat stew for July 4 family reunion. ;-)

Linda

Linda,
Haha! Good thing for the goat that someone thought of the newspaper trick.

Planto

Great news, I moved my Thanksgiving Cactus to a somewhat brighter location a couple days ago and BAM! two new leaves! Thanks for the help!

My thanksgiving cactus is root bound but is putting out new leaves. No buds. Should I report it ?

Yes, file a report.