The first two years I had mine it always bloomed about a week before
Christmas. Now it covers itself beautifully each Thanksgiving week.
Maybe the holidays got too stressful...sigh.







(Lee) wrote in message . com...
(Skirmishd) wrote in message ...

I am not sure which Holiday mine likes; I had a huge one for years and
just called it a Christmas Cactus. Lost it when I made a long move but
had given my daughter cuttings and in Nov of 2001 I pinched a tiny
tip from hers, took it to my new home and let it heal for a day then
stuck it in a cup of sandy loam. This year I put it on the table in a
covered patio with filtered sun from 3 O'clock until dark. it started
buding last week and every tip has a bud and they are popping open
daily and it is beautiful!!! I have never had one bloom so well. It
has been enjoying natural light and temperature changes of the out of
doors and i really hate to bring it in, but the night temp is
beginning to get close to 40 and i fear it will chill it too much.
What is the lowest it will survive??

i started treating it like any other suculent by letting the soil dry
out before watering it and using organic fertilizer on it regulary
during the growing season, and will let it rest this winter. Will have
to repot it come spring as it has grown so much.

So Does that sound about right to do? Its grand parent was grown in an
enclosed solarium and i really didn't know much about growing them. It
did well for a long time, but managed to nearly kill it with too much
water ( two people were watering it unknown by the other.. ) and when
I found it rotting, i washed all the rot off and plopped it in a clean
pan of water and never got around to repotting it and it did very
well, grew like a trouper for nearly 10 years, until the late fall of
2001 when i moved. But, if planted in soil, it needs to dry out in
between waterings.

leo/lee