Forcing out of dormancy. Can it be done?

[Pompom]

I have this mammillaria, which has been mostly dry for 6 months now. I believe it's dormant since new growth hasn't appeared.(?)
I wanted it to stay dry and dormant till temperatures outside rise above 0 and it can get a short period of coldness to encourage flowering. That means the plant has to stay dry for at least 2 months.
I'm really sorry, you can read this too many times in my posts but I'm super clumsy so the plant haven't been untouchable whole winter and has been pushed accidentally every now and then. One day a friend of mine stretched and accidentally hit the plant with a hand (I'm not sure who I'm feeling sorry more: my friend or my cactus). Now it's wobbly and not firmly attached to the soil.

What should I do? I'd like to check the roots if they are broken. If the roots have been broken, it's surely not a good idea to give it any water while dormant since it can't recover broken roots and dies due rot. I've read when most cacti start flowering, they've surely become out of dormancy and can be watered. This one probably won't flower without cold period, so how can I tell it has woken up? It has been with me so short time, I can't tell what is new growth and what is old-new growth before going to dormancy. I've also read it's not a good idea to take the plant out of the soil 'cause again, it can't recover from root damage if dormant.
I don't want this plant ending up to be a mummy. Not yet. Can I force it out of dormancy somehow without water? Is it too harsh to put it in a refrigerator or something? It has been on a room temperature whole winter. Or should I just patiently wait? I'd appreciate if given any kind of help.

Sorry if I'm asking something stupid, cacti growing isn't so obvious to me yet and I'm still learning.
Thanks in advance!

[esp_imaging]

Dormancy is mostly related to temperature. If it's cool it will not grow significantly and will not need much water - i.e. it will be dormant.
If it is warm, it will want try grow, and will need water and good light.

If grown in a greenhouse or on a cool windowsill, they will normally go dormant naturally in the autumn, and start growing and like water in about April, when temperatues are increasing such that overnight temperatures are well above zero C and daytime temps may often be in the 15-25 C range.

If you have concerns about the roots, it's best to check them and replant the cactus. If the plant (and the roots / compost) are dry this is not a risky process.

[DaveW]

Not just temperature, but often it's photoperiod, the amount of daylight compared to dark or night, also known as day length. In commercial propagation to get plants to flower out of season they modify the day length, either by supplementary lighting to extend it, or covering the plants to extend the dark period, depending on whether they are short or long day plants, as well as controlling the temperature.

http://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dic ... period.htm

As ESP says if you have troubles with a plants roots you can un-pot it at any time of the year. However leave it lying around for a week or so dry root for any damaged roots to heal before repotting. Repot into dry soil and in the growing season wait a couple of weeks before watering, but if repotted in the dormant season do not water until the start of the growing season. Unlike "normal" plants cacti can stay dry for months on end, but cannot stand being in wet soil at the wrong time.

One way to tell if your cacti have started growing is to look for new spines at the crown. These are usually more brightly coloured than the previous years spines which have now faded. They are thicker and more conical since they have not dried out yet and become hard. The "New Spines" picture in this link below shows what I mean. Compare the thick red new spines with the dried out thin brown/yellow ones below. The sight of new spines in the crown is often a good guide as to when to start watering at the start of the growing season. Of course the new spines are not red on all cacti, but always more highly coloured than the old ones,

http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/ECHINO ... _SB426.htm

http://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dic ... spines.htm

The so called Holiday Cactus, which is often sold as being the genuine Christmas Cactus, is often manipulated using day length and temperature to flower for the Christmas market. Those who buy them and grow them normally then often wonder why it does not flower at that time the next year. How Schlumbergera's can be manipulated to flower out of season can be read in this article under "Controlled Flowering" if you scroll down:-

https://ag.umass.edu/greenhouse-floricu ... iday-cacti

This is how the Dutch grow them commercially and automatically prune and plant them as the link above says:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhU99wSSVwo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGE69FbxD_g

As to your plant, just grow it conventionally in normal daylight and when temperatures and day length are correct it will start into growth and flower at it's normal time.

[DesertSun]

Thank you for all the interesting info DaveW, you are so right, and it happened to me. I purchased both a Hatiora gaertneri and a Schlumbergera, both had been forced to flower, so next, lots of waiting for them to readjust their cycle. Not to mention the stress of a flowering plant to change environment, get into a new place, with totally different conditions. Not good.

[greenknight]

Somewhere in my old Master Gardener stuff I have a table which shows the exact combination of temperature and night length required for a Christmas Cactus to set buds (the variety wasn't specified, Schlumbergera x buckleyi maybe). The higher the temperature, the longer the night length needed. Too warm (above 75*f/ 21*c), no amount of darkness would induce bud set.

[esp_imaging]

I did an interesting accidental experiment on my Christmas cacti this winter. I brought one plant inside in October from a gloomy spot in my garden, I brought another plant of the same clone inside from a brighter spot in the garden in November (it had probably had light frosts by then). The plant I brought in earlier flowered from around Christmas until late january. The other flowered from late January and still has a couple of flowers.

[ElieEstephane]

I did an interesting accidental experiment on my Christmas cacti this winter. I brought one plant inside in October from a gloomy spot in my garden, I brought another plant of the same clone inside from a brighter spot in the garden in November (it had probably had light frosts by then). The plant I brought in earlier flowered from around Christmas until late january. The other flowered from late January and still has a couple of flowers.

Almost the same happened to me. I've had one in my summer house in the mountains and night temperatures started dipping below 10 since early september. By late september, i brought it to my coastal house where night temps were above 18-20 and a little time later it started flowering more than i have ever seen before. It had more than 4-5 buds per segment. The ones that spent the summer at the coast bloomed much later with less buds