'ello all. It's been a while. It's easy to come back here though and feel at home. Speaking of home, I'm now living in Portland, Oregon in an apartment (no yard). It's a far cry from Cincinnati and my 1/2 acre yard. I did find a window in the new place and my Christmas Cactus loves it. It bloomed outstandingly this year. The flowers are wilting and soon will drop but I have lots of new buds waiting to bloom. My question is, should I tug the old flowers off to alow for more energy to get to the new buds, or do I wait till they fall on their own? What about watering requirements at this stage?
As always, thanks in advance for your help. Love this site!
-Bada

Bada, welcome back. Good to see you on here again. sorry to hear you have no yard.

As for the Christmas cactus-you could get as many answers to this question as there are people who grow them. My Christmas cactus has been blooming nicely this year, the first really good show it's made since I've had it.

I always just let the flowers fall off on their own, seems to work out well. If I happen to think of it I pull the wilted ones off, but mostly I don't remember to do it. I water it the same way all year long whether it's blooming or not, a good soaking once a week and a little fertilzer in the water once a month.

It's true...those zygo cactuses seem to be one of those plants that EVERYONE has an answer for.

Here's my $.02: I let the flowers drop (and compost them, of course!). I keep the pots in a bright sunny (but not direct) location. Once they start to bloom, [u]don't move it.[/u] Blooms will drop more quickly if you mess with its location! Mine bloom twice a year and they are a glorious show; well worth picking up on sale whenever you see them. I've gotten most of mine either at Home Depot after the holidays or on the last day of the county fair in the summer for a buck or two! For even more fun, combine two different-colored plants in one large pot and let 'em rip.