They will bloom twice after they reach a certain size. Last year the one showed bloomed twice. I repotted it two years ago, so that’s probably why it started blooming twice a year.
I have one that I’ve had for at least 15 years, and it was given to me by a friend whose father died (it was the father’s plant). No telling how old it is. It blooms twice a year–once around Thanksgiving (it has many buds on it now, and a few which are opened), then again in the spring. It is HUGE. I’ve taken several shoots from it (and they also bloom twice per year), and right now it’s in a pot that is several gallons. It spends summer on my front porch, growing and growing, then I bring it in during the winter.
Mine is starting to bloom, too. Yay! Although, I’m very concerned about it because unbeknownst to me until recently, it’s had a crack in its plastic pot for some time now, so it hasn’t been getting much water at all. It is starting to bud and bloom, but it’s also looking kind of shriveled and dull in color. I want to repot it, but now that it’s blooming I think it might be a bad time. Anyone have advice?
Duct tape the crack and drop it in a larger pot that hides the tape. in spring when the flowering is done pot up a size.
Schlumbergias respond to the short day length of the winter season. They are generally covered every day in a greenhosue to ensure proper blooming for the sell date. By tucking one in a closet every day for 14 hours, it is possible to have an Independence Day Cactus if you are willing to devote a couple of weeks to it.
Ah, thanks. Off to find the duct tape now. Hopefully this perks it up pretty quickly; it’s looking awfully sad at the moment.
Sometimes when the soil gets too dry, water starts to channel through it rather than soaking in, and becoming evenly moist. You might consider soaking the whole pot in a larger container of water, or the sink, overnight to be sure the rootball has re-moistened.
Both my grandmothers always warned me not to water my Thanksgiving cactus after it had set blooms because the blooms would drop off before opening. I forgot and watered them one year after the blooms had set and, sure enough, they all dropped. Maybe it was coincidental but I wait to water them now.
I’ve heard not to fertilize after the first signs of buds, and to not rotate the pot lest it drop its buds. I dunno. Seems like if its old & happy, you can hardly stop it.
I have had my hoya vines drop their buds because I moved the pot.