I cant get me christmas cactus to bloom

[DSDNYC]

I had a christmas cactus that was twenty-five years old. It' bloomed every year, until it finally split in half from it's own weight. That cactus lived in an east window (here in new york). I think the onset of cool fall temps are required for blooming along with less daylight. Beyond that....the plant required little care, infrequent watering, and very little fertilizer.

[johnblagg]

Christmas cacti are short day bloomers and need a cool down as well ...often the cool down will trigger bloom by itself ....when I lived in houston My neighbor left heres out side on the porch and threw a sheet over it if she thought it was going to get really cold ...for houston that is.Hers bloomed like mad,My sister has one here and hers stays outside sometimes buried in leaves untill I usually carry it in after Halloween blooms so so ,but she puts it in the kitchen with lights on all the time........

LONG DAYS= no blooms usually for these

[RJSquirrel]

there are very interesting plants I have now discovered..
Epiphyllum = Schlumbergera.
The Easter Cactus = Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri...and only blooms around april and according to some sources, difficult to grow unlike the Schlumbergeras which bloom twice each year, between October and February, then again between March and May.

The true "Christmas Cactus" is Schlumbergera x buckleyi produced in 1840..So these true xmas cactus are technically clones of a 170+ year old plant ..

Thanksgiving Cactus = Schlumbergera truncata and they bloom about a full month or more before the true Christmas cactus...soooo

Zygocactus is now part of Schlumbergera.

these are as confuddling as orchids

[Daethen]

Mine is tagless.

[ronaldhanko]

The shorter days and cooler temps seem to be the factor in causing ours to bloom - it blooms faithfully every year. It's in an east window and doesn't get much supplemental light or heat.

[RJSquirrel]

at night before I go to work I'll put it in a closet..should be dark enough in there .
dont have anywhere to hang it outside so the east window would be good for the daytime .. we see if we can get this alleged EASY blooming plant blooming again..

I should take a step back when I see EASY to grow and bloom..They are talking to you all and not me

Mine is tagless

Christmas cacti have flattened leaves with scallop-edged margins that are smooth and spineless with tubular 3 inch flowers.

Thanksgiving cactus which has sharply toothed edges with two large teeth at the end of the last joint on each branch and shorter tubular flowers with spreading pointed petals.

The Easter cactus grows more upright, has fibrous hairs at the joints and produces different flowers.

within a Few genes you should be able to figure out what you have

[RosieC]

The Easter cactus is quite unusual over here. My Mum has had once since I was a kid (assuming the same common name), but we have never seen them anywhere else. She was given it by a New Zealand relative.

It is similar shape to the Christmas one, but thinner sections, held more upright (as you describe) and I do remember those hairs in the joints. As I remember the flowers were similar but smaller and the petals tighter held, rather than opening as wide as the Christmas one does.

[Daethen]

Thanks for the info. I will take a good look and see for sure what it is.

[Hedge]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

The Easter Cactus = Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri...and only blooms around april and according to some sources, difficult to grow unlike the Schlumbergeras which bloom twice each year, between October and February, then again between March and May.

These are very resilient - last year, in the winter, mine was completely frosted to the point of dehydration as my greenhouse suffered a spell below freezing. Fortunately I hadn't watered it for two months, so it survived. In April it still looked pretty dead, so I bought a new one. That seemed to spur it on. The following month it had all turned green and was in full flower, the best ever

The flowers will open fully if the plant is in a bright warm place, will even take direct sun morning and evening

[johnblagg]

They are very sensitve to day lenght and short days are very important but a chill can often trigger bloom even with long days but usually much sparser than what they can do with realy good light control and a cool spell.Ofte they will bloom out of season and Im sure they have been hybridizer with that in mind since some of the older cultivars were realy difficult if day lenght wasnt right and a few hours of light after dark would keep them from bloomig.