Need a answer about my Thanksgiving cactus, went to the gardening area here, but no one has been

[a kennedy]

there for awhile, and I need an answer pretty soon. My Thanksgiving cactus doesn't have any buds yet..... I bought it last year around Christmas and it was beautiful, found out it actually IS a Thanksgiving cactus, and should be budding now, but my plant isn't. I did re-pot it in early Summer and it took off with tons of new leaf growth, and now, when it should be budding for Thanksgiving there's no activity. Will it bloom this year?? Thank you.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. we've found great variability season to season with both TG and Xmas cacti -

internal temperatures, where they are in the house (which window they face), how much sun they are getting. Our best results seem to be on a room with an east facing window and relatively cool room temperatures in the fall into winter.

[a kennedy]

2. Yah, it's facing a East window, have read about how many hours of darkness it needs.....

something like between 8 and 10 hours of darkness for bulb production, so we have been putting the plant in the a dark closet and the temp is around 65 - 66 at night. Other TG cactus that friends have are saying their plants are all in bulb mode. They've said that they haven't done anything like move the plant into a dark closet or room for that many hours of darkness. I just don't get it, and hope it does bloom this year. Do you think transplanting it might have been a mistake??

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. Transplanting is never a bad thing, but perhaps the plant is still adjusting to its new environment.

We don't move our plants at all - just leave them where they are, all year - just the dark of night and longer nights/shorter days are sufficient to move them to budding mode.

[a kennedy]

4. Well, thank you for your input.....I'll just wait it out and hope for the best.

When in bloom it is so beautiful, and I will miss it if it doesn't get there.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

5. When you transplanted --

how far up did you go in new pot size? If you went too far up (more than one pot size, say 6" grow pot to 8&quot that could be a problem. Also the closet thing -- I don't think that is necessary. East facing window, well-watered (underwatered plants will not bloom), a little food -- that should do the trick.

[a kennedy]

7. I only went up one pot size...

Did feed it once since the transplant, it is in a east facing window and am not watering to much as I think the soil is already pretty moist. So.....gonna just wait and see how it comes along. Thanks for your thoughts.

[pscot]

6. You've proabably been over stimulating

the poor thing. Put it down low where it'll get really cool at night; 60 degrees or so. It starts them flowering.

[a kennedy]

8. I could put it in our basement......

Gets pretty cool down there....and in a East facing window too eh?

[pscot]

9. It should like that

If they're happy they'll bloom as long as they get cool nights. They are easy keepers and you can make more any time you want, by breaking off a branch and putting it in water or damp medium.