Barbara, your package arrived Tuesday, thank you!!! And that baby butterfly bush was a big surprise! Thanks! I'm going to be tackling George (yes, I named the cereus plant, he's too big to not have a name) tonight, repotting and taking cuttings. I'll have yours out in tomorrows mail. Lady_6 and Retsec, you've got yourselves a trade! E-mail me for my address and we'll do some swapping! Everyone have a great day! -Dan

Did you ever get it to bloom? Mine blooms year round,..,starts about in June, and goes through Oct. It blooms off and on. I have mine in FULL SUN in south Fla. it is HOT I keep it dry. Frankly it looks sickly most of the time, But it blooms all year nearly. i dont feed it, I keep it root bound, and by the end of each year, when it looks next to dead, it puts out big new leaves, i cut them off and start all over. And it blooms the next spring/summer again. I feed it a few times. Then it gets the hot treatment! It makes the plant look horrible, BUT once I see buds starting, I soak it daily. It drains fast, so it is never wet. So...I dont have a nice old plant that gets dozens of blooms at a time, I get 1-3 blooms each month after June or so, till Oct-Nov. I suppose if i fed it and gave it more shade it would be a big old plant. BUT i dont know if it would bloom. So..you are way up north. Give it lots of direct sun, if you dont already, if you MUST feed it, give it bloom booster fertilizer, and get it potbound. Thats my 2 cents. Hope it works for you. I know it works for me. I got a variety called 'Mark Twain' a year ago, it is now just putting out the long long stiff stems, it is suppose to have an extra set of floral petals in the bloom, making it look like a double bloom. I saw the picture, and a tiny cutting cost me like $15! So I am hoping this spring/summer will give me blooms. It is just getting potbound now. If it does bloom with the 'double blooms' i will post the pictures of it, and make back my investment ! :) Hope this helps you. Sun/potbound/dry and keep it hungry. it works for mine, it has for over 30 years.

This plant thrives on neglect. They bloom best when they are rootbound in the pot. So if you are being kind to the plant and not seeing any blooms it is possible that you are treating it too well. The only thing you really NEED to do for this plant is let it get slightly dry between waterings, keep it away from frost, and if you really MUST fertilize it use a balanced fertilizer with a low nitrogen content. I think one website recommends a 0-10-10. Here is a link that might be useful: ehow

I throw cuttings away every year - I can send cuttings to you if you send me your address. Here are some that I have too many of: I just took cuttings from the yellow one a couple of days ago, and the cuttings can last two weeks before rooting. The yellow one is quite leggy, and I now have it in a hanging basket. I also have Queen of the Night, but it blooms only at night: These are very fragrant (unlike the others), but the flowers open only at night and close up before sunrise.