I agree with your observation fixpix...my faucarias also looked pathetic all summer long..so maybe it is their dormant time and once it begins to feel the fall weather up and down it is time to increase the watering a bit. Trying to remember how it was these past few weeks, a week ago it got cool here then this week it went warmer again, and I remember giving it some more water. Then saw the bloom...will observe the other faucarias I have around if they will follow suit.
If you look closely on the plant with the bloom, the outer leaves seems ready to dry up with yellowish color as well, shows how glum it was during summer, but it still managed to bloom. Oh I hope it is not a death bloom of sorts...how some plants exert one more attempt of a bloom before it eventually dies away.
