This feels like a silly thing to forget, but there it is.

My mother had the most amazing Christmas cactus. Every single year, that thing was a cascade of fuchsia blooms and the envy of many a family member. A lot of what I know about caring for Christmas cactuses and getting them to bloom I learned from my mom. 

Recently, I stumbled across one important thing she did every single year that ensured she had tons of flowers. 

I feel silly because I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it before in any of our articles about caring for Christmas cactuses. But this week, while looking through old photos, I saw a picture of her Christmas cactus and it was like getting hit in the head with a 2x4 - the missing piece to the puzzle.