➡I accidentally bought Balut eggs: 2 live ducks! Now a Chat Thread!

I am trying to wait patiently for this Christmas Cactus start to bloom.
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What soil mix are you using for your Christmas cactus?
I have several in different mixes I'm trying to find the best one to use. I treat mine like I would Jade plant and Kalanchoe.
 
What soil mix are you using for your Christmas cactus?
I have several in different mixes I'm trying to find the best one to use. I treat mine like I would Jade plant and Kalanchoe.
I cheat. I live on a sand dune. I have been adding organic material to my garden for many years but it is still mostly sand. I just went out and dug up my garden soil (sand) for my potting mix.
 
I cheat. I live on a sand dune. I have been adding organic material to my garden for many years but it is still mostly sand. I just went out and dug up my garden soil (sand) for my potting mix.
Good call.
Did you limit daylight hours (13 to 16 hours) and use any mild fertilizer to encourage your bloom?
 
Good call.
Did you limit daylight hours (13 to 16 hours) and use any mild fertilizer to encourage your bloom?
Nope, I was amazed that its first sign of growth is a flower bud. None of the other starts have a bud, just new leaf growth.

The mature plant is kept in a north facing small bay window in the kitchen. It normally has two main blooms, Thanksgiving and Easter, but is in a state of bloom usually from October through May. I have had a blossom as late as July and as early as the end of August.

In my experience it takes a combination of cool temperatures and short hours of daylight to get the best blooms. My mother had one that would bloom from fall through spring. It was kept in a west facing bay window that had the curtains closed from sundown to dawn. My sister-in-law had one that never bloomed for her. She gave it to my mother to see if it would bloom for her. My mother kept that one in her kitchen where it was always really warm from her near constant cooking and baking and also brightly lit for most of the day and evening. It did not bloom for my mother either.

When I first bought this place, I had one in my living room in front of the south facing windows. It was where my wood stove was and I kept the room good and warm so it could help heat the rest of the house. That one never bloomed under those conditions. I moved it to a closed up bedroom with the curtains kept closed and the thermostat turned off. It began blooming within a month.
 

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