Plantsforever,I've had my ric-rac for over 5 years and no luck getting it to bloom, they say then need to be pot bound and mine is and still no luck, maybe some one will come along and help getting them to bloom. Christmas cactus, I have over 30 plants and 3 Easter cactus that live out side all summer and don't come in until just before the first frost, by this time they have started to set buds,by thanks giving they will have started to bloom and will bloom until some time around the end of Jan, some years the have bloomed until early spring. I feed them year round so the blooms will last longer. epie's need to be pot bound and at least 2 years old before they will bloom, most years I have 30/40 epies hybrids in bloom, this year was not a good year for them here in New England because of all the rain but I still had a good showing of flowers, I feed them from mid spring to late Sept. or before it get to cold for the in the shade house, winter time I water very little and no food I let them rest to get ready for spring and to set buds, I grow them as a hobby and enjoy it a little to much I think, it took a few years to find what works best for me, little fussing and I find I enjoy them more. Bear

Shanna, I'm not really that knowledgeable about CC's except my own, and mine are outside all the time, which you may not be able to do. I know overwatering is bad-bad-bad, especially just after they bloom. Mine do better in clay pots, and they only bloom once a year, at Thanksgiving. If yours isn't blooming, maybe it will bloom later, like Christmas or in the spring. If you go back to the Cacti and Succulents Forum main page, click on the FAQ at the top, and it will take you to some questions, one of which is about how to get CC's to bloom. Also, if you go to the bottom of the page and enter "Christmas Cactus" in the search box, several postings will come up which might also have helpful information about CC's. Just my opinion...they seem to tolerate a lot of neglect, and a little care really makes a big difference. But I think you can "love 'em to death" also, if you know what I mean! LOL!

Thanks Maid :) I never slowed down on watering mine, and it didnt hurt it. Since I have gotten it I always water once a week. I also used MG right before it got buds and it didnt hurt it at all. I used the granulated that you put in water though. Since it didnt seem to have any neg effects the first time I just did it again yesterday. Another thing I did that I didnt know I wasnt supposed to, lol..was that I moved it around alot. Changed spots a few times, was turning it for equal light on all sides in front of the window. I didnt get any bud loss. The only prob I have had is that my cat keeps pulling off buds now as they form. Every day I see new buds, and the lil b****** pops em off. The ones he cant get to are still blooming nicely. He's even been tearing pieces of segments off..must not taste good cuz he just leaves them on the counter like the buds. So why in the world does he keep doing it? lol. dumb cat. It is very exciting isnt it? I think yoursd will be fine and bloom nicely. Waiting for those buds to get big enough and bloom was like torture for me, lol. Good luck, and post pix when it blooms!! Daniella

We have two in our office. Someone brought them in 3 years ago at Xmas time. The one has never flowered again but the other has bloomed every year since and is now covered with gorgeous pink flowers. This plant is totally ignored and is only watered when the soil is bone dry. They both sit on the same shelf, in the same lighting conditions, so I don't know why one would bloom and not the other.