Flowering Cacti

[Suzannew]

I have a bog standard cacti bought from a garden centre, the round short type, had it for about three years, a little fluffy thing appeared on one of the plants, within a week this has started to grow into a stem, then a large bud formed and today a beautiful white flower bloomed but has now closed and looks like it has finished!  Why did this happen after all this time and will it happen again!

[gen2]

Yes it will happen again. Given the right conditons cacti can flower every year.  They seem to thrive on neglect.  After a long period of drought, they usually respond to watering/fertiliser by flowering. but they need a lot of sunlight.  The flowers are usually very short lasting and highly scented.  Mine were long pink trumpets of the echinopsis species until I neglected them too much and they died.:-(

Many web sites will offer advice.  Here is one to get you started on this link 

[Suzannew]

Thanks gen, that's very interesting.  The flower is very much dead today!