For the past several years my Christmas Cactus has had three buds on almost every leaf, and almost always at least two. The first two photos are of the cactus last year. It was too leggy, so I trimmed it back, and now I don't have any three-bud leaves, but most are two. What causes the difference, anyone know?

Plus, up to this year, it always bloomed at Thanksgiving, but now it looks as if it will be a true Christmas Bloomer.

Here is the whole thing

I wonder if it takes a year or two for it to get back to where it will put out more buds? Maybe it disturbed it, for lack of better words...

Yours Christmas Cactus is beautiful. I have a Thanksgiving Cactus - purple flowers - and an Easter Cactus - red- that blooms in March or April. I've heard that you can change blooming time by changing when you WITHHOLD water and/or put it in a dark closet. I NEVER move mine, so I haven't tried the dark closet bit. Don't know anything about doubling blooms. When I get back to CT, I'll take a picture of mine when it's blooming. Both were started from stubs - the purple one from a friend whose plant is 50 years old; the red one from a stub that fell off a gift I was giving to another friend! They're amazing plants. You just about CAN'T kill them!

Wow, you have lots of flowers on it. It is beautiful. I over watered my Thanksgiving cactus so It dropped a lot of branches and I only had one bud this year and it fell off before it opened. I usually don't have a problem but I certainly did something wrong this year.
Yours is gorgeous.

Did you maybe skip a fertilizing?

have you ever tried to pot up the little cuttings to start a new plant? my aunt always did that very successfully. now that i've posted in here, where do i follow for an answer? duh :?:

That might be it. I didn't fertilize it at all this summer.

Yes, I have started new plants from one that my grandmother had given me 48 years ago, when my daughter was born.
I read to stop watering and fertilizing by Labor Day and keep the cactus outdoors until the temperature dropped to about 45 degrees at night, that would cause the cactus to set its buds. And then water when the buds have set.

Our plants are outside all year long, only brought in when it freezes. But when I first got it, it was indoors all the time. Mom's is gorgeous and she NEVER feeds or waters hers. All it gets is rain. So..... there's been no rhyme or reason to our plants, LOL!!