Don't over water, do not allow them to dry out...Place them in well draining soil... Blah, blah, blah,...... I purchased a couple two years ago and as usual they still remain a mystery to care for.

In December of 2011 my white cactus bloomed, the pink one did not.

When I moved to a new apartment the following year I placed them at the window with my other sun loving plants as I did in my last apartment..

That December, neither bloomed.......I assumed it was the change and like the other plants... they needed to get acclimated...

I changed their soil and pots over and over again...Some dried them out to quickly like the clay pots...Others like ceramics, would keep them appearing healthy for a while but then they would stop growing.

This year the only thing I've done differently was to change the pots again!. I purchased two cheap little plastic pots from the dollar store and forgot to place holes in the bottom, however, when I watered them... I allowed them to dry out between watering...and did not bother to punch holes in the bottom because they seem fine..

I than decided this month to place them on the balcony where they receive indirect light... And guess what...They began to bud!

I still can't figure this out...What did I do right/wrong? They are blooming in May??

are they not Christmas cactuses?.

is the best way for me to kill off the stumps if I cut them down? Any other ideas? Also, I have a very invasive grapevine killing off my evergreens, how do I kill the grapevine once and for all? I had a tree trimming/yard clean-up crew come in about 4 years ago but it's a jungle again, the grapevine survived, and spending another $800.00 is out of the question. Please help! Any advise would be great!!! Thanks :)

the ground is very hard and compact. I would like to stay with organic matter.

everywhere and grow very quickly. Most of them we are able to manage by mowing over them but the ones that are a problem are the ones that pop up under the large trees. There are some saplings that have popped up around them that are just too big to mow and I don't want to use any type of weed killer. Any suggestions for our out of control "Poppin Jack"?