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

miguel, so your hypothesis is that it is not so simple as merely a longer warmer growing season that allows rebloom but specific light/nutrient/water conditions..? hmmm well right now, i only have one data point to give you - ramona from her post bloom haircut last year. i gave her a very severe 2/3 haircut last year and that could have some impact. i do not recall fertilizing with pellets/compost/liquid after pruning. i watered whenever it didn't rain for 2 weeks. ramona is planted right next to one of my multiblues, SSE facing with afternoon shade btw 1-4pm due to some big trees in our neighbor's yard, possibly in the fall they get less sun due to the angle of the sun.. also cultivar could very well be a consideration. ramona typically blooms at least 2-3 weeks later than my other group 2s... so i just pruned my multiblue today by 1/2 to see if it will rebloom this year. although the summer was late by 2-3 weeks this year so again that can throw the results. wow, this isn't going to be a very scientifically sound experiment - too many variables really. but sounds like fun nonetheless! entling and eden, i'm so excited you're going to do this with me! eden i don't think it is possible for you to plant too deep.. and i know what you're saying about wanting them to finish blooming. when i pruned nelly and multiblue this weekend, i clipped off a few flowers/pompoms that were still in bloom in my rush to clean up the plants.. it almost feels as if my OCCD (obsessive compulsive clematis disorder) is wearing off a little..

Had them reseeding here for many years. Ones coming up in better soil grew big, soft and floppy. If your whole garden is shaded you may see effects of that, definitely not a shade plant. Speaking of rocky slopes, probably the one place I have most often seen these growing wild here in recent years is a steep barren slope along I-5 in Seattle, where there was a scattering of them for some time. Here these have a pansy-like cycle, with germination and growth occurring fall-winter and bloom starting in spring or early summer - and attractive presentation, with compact display of closely spaced flowers not necessarily lasting through the hot time of the year - dry season conditions may even bring on foliage mildew. Nevertheless, some individuals may hang on for more than one year.

The only variety that I haven't seen any seed pods on is my Gypsy Bride. Of course this is the one that I most want seeds from. lol If I don't get any pods by the time the temps drop I'm going to winter it over inside. Hopefully it will do ok. My Moonvine flowered beautifully throughout the winter under HID lights. Karyn