The Christmas Cactus that's Not...

Photo taken with  macro lens

Don't ask me how, but we managed to preserve our Christmas Cactus for ONE MORE YEAR.
It was blooming on Christmas Day.
We have 2 plants.
One plant has already bloomed, and was quite luscious!

The remaining plant sits on the kitchen counter in front of the window.
Some of the blooms are fading fast, but there are 4-5 more little buds that are popping out.

Pointed Lobes on Stem Segment

Honestly, lack of care, made this plant become "only-the-strong-cactus-survive".
Maybe this year, I'll pay more attention to how these beauties actually survive!.
Here is a site for caring for a Christmas Cactus ---> CARE FOR A CHRISTMAS CACTUS.
The miniature buds develop quickly into this:

One of the frustrating things that happened after the flower buds developed was 'BUD DROP'.
HAHAHAHA.... like this!

Bud drop is usually caused by over-watering.

Here is another close up of the flowering cactus!

One more minor FACT...
This is not a Christmas Cactus!
It is a Thanksgiving Cactus.
FOOLED ME!
The flattened stem segments of a Thanksgiving cactus have pointed lobes on the margins while the true Christmas cactus has rounded lobes.
The anthers, the pollen bearing structures in the flowers, are yellow in a Thanksgiving cactus and a PURPLE color in the Christmas cactus.
After reading the care instructions in the link above, I'll do my best to make these  Christmas Thanksgiving Cactus bloom at the correct time in 2017!