Returned to Bunny Ears Cactus after a difficult first attempt

My first attempt at Bunny Ears Cactus failed — spider mites in warm dry indoor conditions got hold of it and I didn't know what I was looking at until it was too late. I left it alone for a year before trying again.

The second attempt, with proper attention to protecting from frost below -5°C even for hardy varieties, has been completely different. It's now thriving in an outdoor container brought in for winter and spectacular but brief blooms that can appear overnight is on full display. rapid growth during the warm summer months this year was a genuine reward for starting again. If you failed first time, the plant isn't the problem — the conditions probably were.