Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: Cactus flower drop, 0 by suzidownunder

suzidownunder wrote:
Hi

We have what I think is an Echinopsis (shickendanzii) from photos on your site. It is approx. half a metre tall and is in a pot on a balcony, sheltered by glass balcony panels. It is North facing and gets the sun for most of the day. Very light watering once a week
We have had it for approx. 6-8 years and this year it showed signs of flowering for the first time.
A fluffy protuberance at the top gave way to a spiral of green (which I presume were the leaves)
And it grew over several days to about the size of a large walnut.
Sadly, last night it fell off leaving a small scar on the cactus
Do you have any idea what could have happened and when (if) it is likely to flower again?
Also, should it receive liquid fertilizer and should I be watering more often. Very disappointed this has happened and would like to avoid it happening again.
Thank you in advance for any advice



This message was edited Dec 28, 2013 3:51 PM