Non-blooming Christmas cactus - why?

A friend came to me, the garden writer 'expert', and asked why her Christmas cactus hadn't bloomed in several years, after a single season of bloom. She assured me it was in a dark room in the fall, although next to a window where a streetlight shown in. Another cactus on the other side of the room does fine and blooms. Would that much light affect it? Would repotting this spring help? Any other ideas?

I have about 7 or 8 Christmas Cactus that I've had for a few years now. I've always heard that they need a certain number of hours of complete darkness to bloom but I don't agree with that. My plants stay out on my screened deck year round and I have a little decorative light that is on a timer and stays on all night ... the plants sitting right under that light still bloom every year as do the ones on another darker area of the deck. I do remember a few years ago my plants stopped blooming for awhile and in the spring I repotted them in the same pots, using fresh soil. Later that year they began blooming again, so maybe you've got something there regarding her needing to repot the one that hasn't bloomed. I am a bad plant mom when it comes to a regular feeding schedule but every once in awhile I also put a little plant food in the water.

I think you should post your question over on the Orchid Cactus Forum and see what some of the experts over there have to say. I think some of them grow the the holiday cactus too. Very knowledgeable folks over there who would probably have some good advice.

Tell her to leave the plant outside in bright indirect light after last frost through early fall. In the fall with cooler temps and shorter days it will form flower buds. Leave it out until temps are down into the mid forties for a few weeks.

Also tell her to feed the plant every other watering with a half strength mix of say Miracle grow or any 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 food.

My Mother has a Christmas Catus, and it went years and years and years without blooming, then all of a sudden, after 15 years, it started blooming. the plant always sat on the window sill, and never moved.

it was almost as if it had to reach a certain age before it would bloom, but it bloomed every year after that - until she had new windows put it and left it out side and forgot about it,until it was a brown dead mess!!!!!

I do believe that you almost have to shock them into blooming mine bloom atleast 3 times a year and they seem to bloom right after a period of neglect(not alot of water) they have been in the same window for years.

As you can see, everyone here is in a different zone. Tommy is probably closest to your conditions. What works for me may not work for you at all. I have a half dozen of these plants. After all the hype about drying, dark closets, etc....mine are in a variety of places, including an orchid room and baths with skylights. They bloom best for me outside the orchid room, in lower humidity, in East windows and allowed to dry between waterings (slightly) in Fall. They then start to bud in early to late Nov., at which time I feed them lightly. They usually bloom twice between Dec. and April (I have several in second bloom now). When they stop putting out new leaves/growth, I slow watering and fertilizer. That being said, I joke that I have Thanksgiving, Christmas, St Patties, Hannukah, and Easter cactus as the are wont to do their own thing >).