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Is now a good time to start the dark treatment? I thought it was a Thanksgiving cactus, but now I think it is a Christmas cactus.

What is dark treatment?

Christmas cactus need 12/14 hours of darkness at
night in order to get buds to develop. Also have to
cut down on watering to force dormancy and keep
the plant cool.

It is not a Christmas cactus , I was wrong. It is a Thanksgiving cactus. It looks like it is growing some, the serrations look like they are growing. Does anyone know where the new growth looks like?

I tried to get a good picture, but still have not mastered the at of taking close pictures. I can't tell if this is new growth or a flower bud. If someone could tell me I would appreciate it!

That looks like a new leaf. Flower buds are pointy and pod-like.

Can't tell just yet, but if we saw it in person we'd know. Do you know what color flower this cactus will have? If red, you'll likely see a very rosy cast to where the new growth joins the green cladode. Salmon or white, forget about it just yet. Second thing I'd look at is the fullness of the new bit. The new cladodes are still kind of flat, while the flower buds are a little cylindrical projection. The little tips, those thorny looking projections are on both the leaves/cladodes and the flower bud this early on.

Congratulations and many happy returns.

Ok, you were right, it is a new leaf, but hey at least it is growing, right? I am just thrilled about that, as for flowering, I will let it do what it wants, and bloom when it wants. Whenever it does, it will be pretty. The flowers on this cactus are red and white, it was blooming when I first got it. I will find a picture of the bloom and post it below this post.

Here is one of the flowers.

2 more new leaves coming on! I can't believe it is growing in the winter! I thought most plants were dormant in the wintertime except for Amaryllis.

I never give mine any dark treatment. They stay outside until the temp drops to around 40*F overnight then they come into the basement and stay under florescent lights 24/7. It gets chilly down there and the cold forces flowering.

Here are some pictures of my holiday cactus, I decided to just let it do what it wanted to when it wanted to do it. So I just leave it be, water it some when it gets dry and keeps it kind of cool, it seems to like it as you will see in this picture.