4 years I tell you since I've seen flowers on this Christmas cactus! I loved the way it looked when I bought it. It was just lovely, all abloom with those delicate flowers it puts out. Then they dropped off, and no matter what I did.....nuthin'! No more blooms. It didn't even look like it was growing either...maybe a new leaf bud here and there, but basically it seemed like it just went dormant. Didn't die, didn't grow, just sort of sat there. I was tempted to get rid of it more than once, but I just can't seem to let go of any plant that looks like it has any life at all left in it. Finally I moved it over to Ed's house....my boyfriend. I'm not aware of the conditions changing all that much...it seems like it has just as much light, it's not near a vent, I'm not watering it on any different schedule. No obvious changes. But it must just like him more than me or something, because within a month it's started to put out buds!!! I guess it's a bit hard to see in the photos, but when I go back over there I'll be sure to shoot some more...I imagine they're even more evident now. Anyone else gone this long before their Christmas cactus bloomed again?
Well Ronni it looks as though your plant has decided that a change of scenery is what it needed. Let's hope it goes on to bloom for you now for many years to come.
Ronnie, they need several hours of darkness each day for a few weeks before they will bloom. Keeping them in light (sun or artificial) all the time will prevent them being able to set buds. Those buds were forming before you moved them to the new location, so the change really had nothing to do with it. Mine are in north windows that get natural bright light half the day and darkness half the day. They don't rebloom like many plants, once they have a flush of blooms that's it for another year so nothing you do will change that. They like to be crowded, the ones you have should stay in their pots for many years before having to be transplanted....and transplanting can affect their blooming schedule. They are slow growers too, that's normal. Even though it's a Christmas cactus, it doesn't know when that is so sometimes their bloom schedule gets changed...mine have changed from Dec to February blooming.
Toni, thanks SO much for giving me all that info. I had no idea. Trying to remember where they were before I moved them over....I actually moved a bunch of plants to his house over a few weeks. Question: When you say they need several hours of darkness, you don't mean that literally do you? Like nighttime darkness? I have three more, as well as this one, all of which haven't rebloomed though I've had them all for two or more years, so now I'm trying to figure out where to put them to encourage new blooms.
When I got my first one I had read that starting in early November they should be placed in a closet or someplace else that stays dark all the time (or at least most of the time) for about 6 weeks, then taken out just before Christmas and they would start blooming. But I did not have such a closet, the few I have are stuffed full people needs with no empty space for a plant or two. That first one I kept on the bathroom window sill between the window and the curtain. It got morning sun everyday and when night came it was in the dark with the curtain keeping the indoor light off of it. That was everyday, not just for 6 weeks before Christmas. It bloomed like crazy that first year. The ones I have now are in front of a north window that is shaded by a huge Pecan tree but they get bright light during the day and complete darkness at night. They don't bloom as much or even every year now but part of that is because I recently had to up pot them so the roots are not happy being in larger pots yet.....maybe next year they will be happier.
So exciting! Glad you'll see some flowers soon! It's not complete darkness that's needed, just more hours of dark than light for a few weeks. Being in a room where lights are on after it gets dark outside seems to be what causes most re-bloom fails. If you have a spare bedroom, that can be ideal. It's explained well here: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/indoor/flowering/hgic1554.html
I almost gave my first plant away when I read those instructions years ago, just way too much to remember since at the time I was a new 'older' Mom and had precious few brain cells left for worrying about how to handle plants. Mine have done pretty good on the same schedule of light as nature gives them naturally so I haven't worried about putting them in the closet in 25 years.
Exactly! The complicated rituals are totally unnecessary. Mother nature provides the darkness, but when lights are turned on, it can affect the plants' abilities to form buds.
Ah.....ok. I think I'm getting the idea. I realize now, looking back, that my christmas cacti didn't get the requisite amount of dark. When I lived with Lee which is when I first got them, they were in the living room, where a lamp burned all night. And here, living with my daughter, they're in the kitchen, where once again a small light over the stove burns all night, so there's been no complete darkness in their history at all. At Ed's house however, the plants are in his living room, and though he, or we if I'm over there, turn on the lamps in the evening, they're turned off at bedtime so for the first time in their lives, those cacti are in complete darkness every night till the sun comes up the next morning! It's not the change of the amount of sun they get, or from what exposure, or whatever. It's the darkness thing. Who knew???? See? THIS is one of the many reasons I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Such a wealth of information, just for the asking. Thank you guys!
I just thought I'd update with another photo of my pretty Christmas Cactus. I'm reveling in the blooms it's putting out...it hasn't looked this pretty in 4 years, not since I first bought it when it was in full bloom. I'm really tickled!! And also a question....is it normal that it has two different colored blooms?
Those are very pretty, I love the shape of the blooms. It's common for growers to put stems from different color plants in the same pot to attract the attention of buyers. I have seen them at garden centers before and that's most likely what you have.
