If it's too much sun, use an old screen or some netting to block out some of the sunlight so that the leaves do not sunburn.

Do you know if the fact that it is getting sun will prevent it from budding? I've read cold and dark, but I don't know how important the dark part of it is.

They need about 12 to 14 hours of darkness. Just make sure that they get no light after sundown until they set buds. Sunlight is no problem, as they days are getting shorter and there's less daylight hours. When it gets too cold outdoors or if frost threaten, I bring mine into the living room, which is usually not used at night. Be careful moving them after the buds set. Mark the side facing the sun and be sure that the direction it's facing in its new location. Otherwise they will turn toward the light source/sunlight and if it's in the opposite direction, the buds will fall off.

I had one bloom in the Summer one year, but I haven't been luck with winter time.

Good point about daylight being okay! Another thing that I have experienced but don't know how to have people duplicate it.
I have 4 pots of different types of these plants, and I bring them outside each year when it is warm enough. Even in part shade, outdoors they get far more sunlight/light than indoors, so when I bring them inside, they begin to set bloom, it doesn't matter if they are xmas, or easter and Thanksgiving types they all set buds and bloom. Also they are getting some light just a bit less than outdoors.
I'm thinking that giving them just a bit less light could stimulate budding, without needing to totally block them into darkness.
They do want to be very potbound.

I hope I can get this one to bloom, it was a gift and I don't know what colors it will be. I want to say either white or fuschia though.

I have white, pink and red. My white always blooms first. It is loaded with buds, but I don't see any on the pink or red one yet. Our winter was so mild last year, I never even brought them in, just put them in the corner of the patio and covered them with a frost blanket on the few nights it got into the thirties. I think the darkness plays a bigger part than colder temperatures for setting buds, because our nights are still pretty warm.

darkness appears to be more important than the chill needed for setting buds.

Hmm. I could stick it in our closet, it does get cooler in there than the rest of our apartment.

More hours of dark than light & temps below 85 are what causes buds to form.

I have repotted mine this summer and they are making buds. The last one I repotted about 3 weeks ago.

Years ago, for many years; I had a very old xmas cactus that was 3 feet across and bloomed every year. It owned my living room. No rearranging furniture unless it was good for this plant, no plant ever bumped it from it's prime real estate spot. I lost it, and it hurt my feeling so badly, I have never been able to bring another one home. These posts are making me consider if it is time to get over it. Beautiful plants all.

So sorry to hear that. I remember when it happened and saw the photos. It was so sad. Maybe it just died of old age, and there was nothing you could do, but start over. Hopefully you were able to save the tips to reroot.

That is sad Long time plants become members of the family, especially when they take up so much space/time

This one is making buds. I repotted it 2-3 weeks ago.

Hi I ordered a rare Schumbergera Enigma from EPRIC Foundation ( Netherlands ) I am glad l got this beautiful cactus. It needs a lot of TLC! I ordered in September 20, 2016 and came in November 17 2016. I heard EPRIC may not be sell to the United States because it takes a long time for delivery. I am happy to be patient for a rare cactus. Here is a picture of the segment. Next year maybe I can show a flower! P.S these cacti grow very slowly.

congrats it looks interesting!

I had a really old Thanksgiving cactus that did exactly the same thing. It belonged to my grandmother. I didn't even manage to get pieces to root. I have since learned that the life expectancy of a Thanksgiving cactus is 20 or so years. I think mine was at least that.

Since than, I have gotten more, including a red one (the color of the one I lost). Here is a photo of the one I lost in one of its last years:

Gorgeous, Daisy!

This pic has S. truncata buds, Callisia elegans, and Kalanchoe blossfeldiana buds.

I just looked through all the above posts and enjoyed the discussion on each and every Holiday cactus as well as the photos. Several years ago--I was really "into them"...

SO--I wanted to show you what the REAL Christmas Cactus looks like.

Some years ago--someone gave me a couple slips to start my own.
They rooted easily and in a year or so were already substantial plants.

We had a very active and fast learning group then on DG on all things Holiday and other cacti..
JB (Jacquie Berger) was our "teacher" for years. BOY! Did she know anything
and everything about Holiday Cactus. She had pages and pages of FACTS.
********************************************************************
--I would describe the True X-Mas cactus Cactus like this.

--Very dainty looking, slim leaves...
--Smooth edges on the leaves, with just the slightest touch of scalloping.
--The blooms hang straight down from the tips of the fronds.
This is one of the main differences. !!!

Here are some pictures I took of my True Christmas cactus--from 2014.





And here are some of the yellow ones--also from 2014.





I am NOT an expert--but I did keep pictures and names of every color that bloomed for me.
Now it is some years later and not all of them are doing so great.
*****************
Now--I have a question re my old Easter cactus.
My older Easter cactus is just dropping section left and right. They just fall off!
I try to root them without much success. WHY are they dropping like flies???
The small sections that drop off look plump and pretty healthy.
Today--the whole main section just came off. Will need to take the soil out and start with new mix. This plant was last re-potted in 2012. I do not over-water---just a dribble
when soil is bone dry.
Me thinks it is the soil. Maybe I need a clay pot? Some fresh Mix....etc.
I usually plant everything in Pro Mix.

Hope someone has some suggestions. Thank you, Gita

You can add to your list of attributes that the CC hybrid has pink pollen and the flowers only come in 1 color. The blooms are actinomorphic.

S. truncata plants have yellow pollen, come in many colors of bloom, and the blooms are zygomorphic.

Your EC sounds like it's getting too dry. Jungle epiphytes would never get "bone dry" in natural habitat. It's all about the soil type/texture. If one is using peaty potting soil, the risk of rotting the roots of any potted plant is higher than necessary. Letting plants dry to unnatural levels to avoid root rot is much more difficult than using a type of soil that has more air in it so roots do not rot when the soil is moist.