Jodi, I must confess that I normally don't have much trouble with my "houseplants" so that I don't really know the "scientific measures" behind taking care of them. They just grow for me! I figure it all has something to do with the planting medium and the climate. I plant my CC in a soil-less medium, tree fern to be exact, and I water them whenever I water other plants. I leave my orchids, succulents etc. in a shade house to keep from too much rain/dew and sun and feed them once a month with NPK slow released fertilizer. Occasionally I foliage feed them too. In other words, I don't have special treatment for special species as I don't live where my plants are all the time and it's not practical to "train" my neighbors to care for my plants for me while I'm not there! I've read somewhere (Cacti&Succulent forum) that CC needs a difference in day & night temperature to set buds. Perhaps when you leave yours inside all the time, the temperature's constant so it doesn't bloom? Can you move it outside somewhere, like on your porch/patio? When I was in Calif before, I saw people left their CC outside, no watering at all or maybe very little watering, and the poor things looked so stressed, they dropped their segments, etc. But around Nov/Dec they bloomed! Of course, they didn't bloom as profusely as mine but they did bloom, I saw it! So may I suggest that you change the planting medium (soil-less) and leave the plant outside whenever you can? Hope your CC will grow well for you. At the mean time, enjoy mine. Here's a pic of one of mine with more buds open. (My living room is full of CC this week!) Xuan

Thanks for the compliments, everybody! Thanks to God, good luck, the generosity of other gardeners and YOUR advice, I'm seeing some success, and I had very little to do with it. :-) Barb, I'm happy to put your name on some pink poppy seeds. Which pink did you mean? The purply-pink singles or the salmon-pink peony-type? Debbie, I hear you about the cactus. I've never been a fan of "unfriendly plants" with thorns or spines, but I make an exception for roses, berries, and these little cactus that don't really hurt and have a beautiful bloom. Hope your granddaughter is enjoying hers, and I hope she chose one that had a bud on it! Tina, I never got your e-mail! PLEASE resend? I'm SO glad to hear some poppies survived. I probably don't have to tell you this, but remember to let the seed pod mature and you'll have LOTS of poppies next year. :-) BTW, my luffa is growing, and I've located a good spot for it to live. I've done a little research on how to harvest the luffa, and I'm looking forward to using them! (Everybody on my Christmas list is getting luffa products next year!)

The original may have just corked on the bottom? or are you sure it was actually rotting - was it soft? The plant used for rootstock could be hylocereus - pitaya, dragonfruit; it looks like it with those aerial roots. You could let it grow as is on old base or detach and grow separately. These plants send out aerial roots that usually 'search' for more nutrients. You could actually cut them off. The plant grows quite large, usually better if on a trellis, and when mature & large enough it will bloom and may have fruit. For that, it needs longer period of good temps. Good drainage is important as with any succulents. Do not overwater.

NW.... Was thinking about ya after seeing Mac's in a tough love plant siting. I heart for you and your quest for Macs and the Pot Mover as well ;-) Walked down a fairly commercial avenue the other day 2 lanes each way, lotsa commercial buildings, big rigs zoom by, streetside cleaning is not done, close to the water so lotsa sand and rocks from a 2 miles over... Typical 2 feet concrete sidewalk if not some areas, no concrete but blacktop strip, with a 20" dirt hellstrip along some of the blocks of plantings . No irrigation, nada. Planted in Full Day Sun Siting. I observed a couple of compact macs in bloom, with nobody giving them TLC. Just Mother Nature and whomever who dug the dirt to plant them.