Rhizo & Toni , it was interesting to hear your opinions on this. The last 3 years I have grown my Schlumbergeras ( Thanksgiving Cacti and Christmas Cacti ) "as you grow house plants" rather than "as you grow cacti". So I have potted them up every year and also fertilized in summer ! This has resulted in a lot of growth and also a lot of flowers. Because I read "here and there" that these plants are supposed to be "potbound" , I'm sort of waiting for things to go wrong , because of the way I grow them ... What I can say for sure is that potting up has not reduced flowering ! New plants Fall -05 bloomed again for Easter -06 after beeing potted up in February. A 2 1/2 years old Christmas Cactus ( from single segment cuttings Summer -04 ) potted up in July -06 are now full of flower buds. I had not expected any flowers at all since I potted it up so late ( had first decided not to , because of this "potbound-thing" but changed my mind because the plant had grown so much ). Now the "all-over-effect" / the "general health" of the plant in the long run , when growing them "more intensivly" , that I can not be sure of ... So far it looks good , but it would be interesting to hear more about what you all think about this. To me this is THE QUESTION , when it comes to Schlumbergera !

I am not sure what kind of cactus you have, but I don't know of any that would like that kind of pot and those conditions. Those pots are meant for African Violets and other things that like constant moisture. Cactus don't! I would transplant and then follow the direction on the cactus foood. I use the Schultz stuff but I hardly ever fertilize and they are fine without. Most don't require a lot of food. If you are going to keep it in that pot to see if it will survive, I guess you could put the fertilizer solution in the pot every 3-4 months and let it leach in like the reg. water does. A lot of the nutrients may get trapped in the ceramic though. Another options would be to get those house plant fert. sticks, cut them in thirds and put 1/3 in every 3-4 months. That way your not pouring water into it that can't get out. I still think your plant won't survive long in a pot like this.

They also don't like to be near doors that open, or drafts, it likes cooler night temperatures 50F and fertilizer in Ausgust. Give adequate water to maintain bud set. Do not place them near unvented heaters, or rouch handling. Night temps, above 70F may stop bud setting. These plants need total darkness at night. The plants flower with temps of 55-60F. and cool long nights, for a 6 week period. There are many causes of bud drop. Keep it away from heating ducts, or near the fireplace of drafty areas. It also need 50-60% humidity. Let it rest after flowring for a month in a cool room , providing limited water at this time do not prune at this time, new growth begins in Feb.-march or early April then you prune or shape by pinching and it may flower more than once during the year. This information was provided by the Cactus and Succulent Organization of America. This was not the complete article and was not written word for word. The reason I prune back the roots is so I can put fresh organic decomposed matter at the bottm for the plant to grow on for the next year and return it to the same size pot. I am only telling you how I take care of my plants, your plants you may do what ever you want. Each of us will do what we think is best for our growing conditions. I live in a hot arid zone. I also put pots of water under my benches to raise the humidity. I use plastic pots so they don't dry out, my humidity has been 5% I do not grow mine in the house and they are setting buds at this time. Norma

Just put it in a windowsill where it can receive natural light. Don't over water. It sounds like that's what you're tempted to do. Most people are. Most end up killing their plants because of this. Water when the top of the soil feels dry. Don't let it completely dry though. Even though it's called a cactus, it's not really. Dont wanter every x amount of days, water when it needs it. Water so 10-15% comes out of the bottom drain holes. Discard the water that collects in the saucer. Never let the pot sit in standing water. Dont fertailize again till its actively growing, not flowering. I'm confused by your one hour of natural light statement. Do you only give it one hour of light per day? What's the light source? It can't be natural as it wouldn't burn in a windowsill. I have one that's in a southern windowsill and its actively growing. I don't care if it flowers as that's usually stress induced.