When I first started growing AVs, I recall reading a similar thread. The wise people suggested that there different plants have different bloom cycles. Some, they contended, bloom only twice a year, each time sending a mass of upward blooms. Others tend to bloom every couple months for a month or two, then take a break. And, the rarest tend to bloom relatively continuously, taking short breaks now and again. These wise people suggested doing all the "right" things as the Stork article suggests and then just being patient. After a year or so, you'll know the cycle of the plants you have and will know what to expect. Xuan suggested changing the soil. Did you repot them when you received them? If there are too large of a pot, they might stop blooming to grow roots. Or, if they were not repotted at the time, it might be time for that, especially if they are still in the all peat (heavier than most of us use) soil mix that is often used by nurseries. So, you have many options to try! Good luck and hope you enjoy working with them even if they are not blooming yet.

Yes! I didn't think my plants would bloom at all this year, so it was exciting enough to see them spitting out the flower stalks, and now they're actually giving me flowers. I cheated a bit of course sometimes, for the Stapelia I chose one that had a little bud already xD

unless you have a good light source the plant will not fruit but you have a good start for this season. dan LET IT BURN

Becky, I just got back from Italy a week ago. I am attaching a picture of a roofless cathedral that reminds me of some of the ones in your pictures. I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation despite the airline/ luggage snafus. I apologize for Philadelphia's bad weather (my home town). Nice to see the picture of our skyline. I only had one hour fifteen minutes between flights in Frankfurt on the way home. Sounds like enough time but the flight from Rome to Frankfurt is on a regional airplane and they leave you off on the tarmac and load you onto a bus to get to the terminal. Well, the flight was full of Asians and Midwesterners returning from their tours. Man those people are s-l-o-w. No offense to the Midwest folks in our group, but you sure are not in a hurry. ;) I was sweating bullets as I weaved in and out among the slowest people on earth. Then I ran through the airport (including those people mover things) to get to my gate. Thank heavens boarding was delayed! I even had time to use the bathroom. I had awful jet lag for about three days. I also had the end of Daylight Savings twice -- once in Italy and a week later at home. My internal clock is totally screwed up, plus I completely missed October (was gone three weeks), so it feels like I went directly from late summer to winter. Anyway, my trip was awesome and it sounds like yours was,too. I'd love to see Ireland.