My Rhipsalis sulcata was left in a corner in the living room that didn't get any sun. I thought they liked bright light so i put it (sulcata) & capilliformis in a bright window & then outside.It seemed to go down hill even more & that's when the spots started showing up on it (sulcata),leaving me thinking it was sunburn.They are both now living in a sunny window inside.
Now the capilliformis has the spots and the sulcata really looks bad I'm loosing it.Since it went from one plant to the other maybe it's an insect problem. I've never dealt with scale wondering if that's what it is since i don't see any bugs.The tips are drying up and dying not getting mushy like a fungus or mold.


Here's the sulcata, i hope it's clear enough it is almost a silvery color on the stems

Sorry about fuzzy pictures!! MS keeps my hands from slightly to tightly balded up!

here's the capilliformis


it doesn't go all the way around the stem, i tried scratching it off,it damages the stem but will come off.


This plant is a quarter of it's original size.Should i take cuttings & start rooting?

thank you for any help!!! Hope i wasn't to long winded!!!!

Hi , I hope it's okay Im new but I want to help. I have looked up the scaling and if this is truley what it is then the picture may help, as well to rid this plant of this is to use a wasp, or Chemical sprays. However if nothing you wll lose your plant as this insect does suck the sap from your plant. This is what I found.
"The shell or scale protects the older insects from insecticides, so spraying is more effective against the newly hatched nymphs. With scales on outdoor plants there is usually one generation a year and in most species the eggs hatch in late June to July."
I hope this all helps, I will stop back in to see how your plant is doing. You are on the right track. If were me I to would change the potting soil and pot and clean around the area the plants are... Good luck. I wish only the best... Lori

Hi, JoJoe, Just finding this thread late and was wondering if Lorimar's post was what you had.

I have a lot of rhipsalis and generally do not see much in the way of scale infections. It is, however, common to get some tan/gray areas on some stems of some varieties. Not sure what causes it, but it does seem to be related to misting or not having the plants exposed to rain to flush away buildup of crud. My first reaction was in agreement that you had some sunburn.

Post back or dmail me for followup. Do you have better pics at this point?

[quote="twitcher"]Hi, JoJoe, Just finding this thread late and was wondering if Lorimar's post was what you had.
I have a lot of rhipsalis and generally do not see much in the way of scale infections. It is, however, common to get some tan/gray areas on some stems of some varieties. Not sure what causes it, but it does seem to be related to misting or not having the plants exposed to rain to flush away buildup of crud. My first reaction was in agreement that you had some sunburn. [quote]

I agree. I have those areas on some of the stems of some of my rhipsalis. They've never caused any problems. Scale is a different matter. I use a Q-tip dipped in alcohol to kill them.

Since this was first posted believe it or not i lost this plant.It kept going down hill.When i finally pulled it out of it's pot it had root mealies,this is probably unrelated to the places on the plant itself.But i had never even heard of root mealies until i seen them & had them IDed.

I have since gotten another plant to replace the one i lost & she's absolutely happy with the old man that keeps her company ( a link cactus) can't remember the botanical name right now.I was woke up by my 7 month old granddaughter & got on computer to just take a look.Will be more alert in the morning!!!

I have been trying to find someone that has these plants & could give me some advice on them when needed.Do you know what night temp.They can tolerate or at what temp do they need to be brought in?? (for starters) I love these plants, they are so unusual looking.My husband says(they're so ugly it's a face only a mother can love) This is my new baby after getting some bright & only bright light no direct sun!



the last one is her buddy (the old man)

Hi, JoJoe,

I never have had a problem with root mealies, but hear that they can be a problem in some areas.

I have a collection of about 30 Rhipsalis, many of them still small. In the spring, I can send you some small cuttings of some of them if you would like to try some other varieties. Many are very hard to ID. The one you show in the first pic of the last post looks to be R. sulcata although frequently sold as R. ewaldiana. They are two distinct varieties (species) that can be hard to tell apart. Sulcata does white fruit, while ewaldiana does dark pink fruit. I'll try to dig up and post some pics of the ones I have.

Have to run right now, short on time at the moment.

BTW, they do not tolerate freezing and don't like cold temps. Bring them inside before they spend much time below 40 degrees.

I must be in one of those areas that has root mealies and yes, the plant begins to fail with no rhyme or reason. That is why you hear many recommend to pull it out of the pot and see what might be going on 'down under'.

Pretty plants by the way. Do these have stickers like the cacti?

pod, Most of them do not have spines that "stick" you. There are a few exceptions but even then, they are not too bad. Lepismium members tend to be more spiny, IMO, then the Rhipsalis. I have occasionally been stuck by R. pilocarpa, but it is mostly soft spined.

These are epiphytic cactus. Besides Rhipsalis, you have close relatives Lepismium, Hatoria and Schlumbergia. The "experts" and scientists sometimes move plant species from one family to the other. This group of plants is a mess. Many of the species are poorly defined, so there is some minor controversy. Fortunately, there are a couple of places doing research on them, and progress is being made.

Identifying many of these plants is challenging for experts and hence difficult for hobbyists. It is therefore important, if you want to know the true ID of your Rhipsalis, to get good pictures of flowers and resulting fruit if opportunity presents. However, on the positive side, there are a number of Rhipsalis that are distinctive and easy to ID, among these R. pilocarpa, R. horridia, R. paradoxa, R. cerescula, R. catenulata, R. ceroides, and R. mesembryanthemoides. Be very careful of the ID's on plants available commercially in the big box stores. More than half the time, they are not correctly ID'd, but hopefully that is getting better. Many of the plants sold there are R. baccifera, a very common Rhipsalis that comes in many different forms. It is one of the areas of research. The baccifera's may eventually be sorted out into different species or subspecies.

JoJoe, can you post some more pics of your "old man" Rhipsalis? I'd like to make an attempt to ID it, if possible, for you.

Twitcher,I don't know how we haven't met in the succulent forums,especially the semp's forum.I am just starting to grow them & have a ton of questions.I took it upon myself to look at your profile and the picture's you have posted.You have some absolutely beautiful succulents.What zone do you live in?? Just wondering if you grow outside or if like me you have to haul them inside.

The plant i call "the old man" is a Rhipsalis teres f. capilliformis I believe? That's what it was labeled & yes i have purchased a lot of plants labeled wrong.I do try to double check any labels when i get plants but these plants are the hardest to ID.The plant i lost i thought was a R. Sulcata and then i found the one i have now which was labeled R.ewaldiana but it is to my eyes the same plant as the one i lost.

I would love to get some sites from you to help me with getting them to bloom and understanding a little more about what's going on with them.They got a beautiful red color to them this summer that i guess was caused by the sun?
I just changed computers and haven't moved all my pictures from my old lap top to this one,so this picture is of the ends of the plant.I will be posting on the succulent,semps,sedums, if you are over there watch for me.I'm full of questions and very new at succulents.I would love some cuttings,i will try to get my plant list updated & if there's anything you would like to have to trade seen me a private message whenever you want.

Jelinda, I think we may have crossed paths before, but don't recall for sure. I always have problems deciding where to post about Rhipsalis and family, as they don't always fit in an easy category. Used to be on DG, but could not afford to renew this time, so not there anymore.

I spend a lot of time on rhipsalis.com, studying the data there. Ken and Derek have done a great job of compiling the available information regarding identifying Rhipsalis. They are friendly and helpful as well, but , as we know, it is difficult to ID these plants. It can be very frustrating.

I spent more than a year tracking my sulcata and ewaldiana, trying to ID them. The sulcata was purchased as "Rhipsalis sp", in other words a no-id. The ewaldiana came from Ken, whole told me that ewaldiana was not normally available commercially. His ewaldiana looked vegetatively different from my sulcata, but as the plant grew under my conditions, it looked identical to the sulcata in the new growth. To add to the confusion, the plants in the stores, seen occasionally, started to be labeled "ewaldiana"

I eventually decided that sulcata was sulcata, due to the way the short stems grow on the longer stems (hard to describe properly, but after looking at them awhile you can see the pattern) which is different from sulcata. Finally, this summer, both sulcata and ewaldiana bloomed and set fruit. That was the distinguishing factor that confirmed the ID's.

An additional confusion at this point is recent plants in the stores have the label of R. ewaldiana, but I have trouble when I see them deciding if they are sulcata or ewaldiana. Could be either until you see the fruit or see them grow for awhile.

Here's a pic of R. ewaldiana with a young red fruit. The fruits end up being more round and less elongated as they mature.


Here's fruit of R. sulcata, which remain white.


Want to talk some about your second plant. Have some issues with the name, but that's another complicated one. Let's talk about that one in another post?

I spend most of my time in the summer with the small fruits, veggies and sempervivum/heuffelii's. During the winter, my attention goes to the Rhipsalis, due in part to the effort of keeping them going indoors. They go out for the summer, where I just water them and try to grab pictures. Have to bring them in and find places for them during the fall, which is always more difficult as they grow bigger each year.

-t

[Edited to fix a mistake in the original post. Ewaldiana fruit are pinkish while R. sulcata fruit are white. This is the easiest way to tell them apart. To date, I have not run into anything suggesting fruit color varies in either species, so the color of the fruit you get is the easiest way to separate these two species.]

OK twitcher, i really want to continue this conversation about rhipsalis!! I know next to nothing about caring for mine,i guess i have just gotten lucky so far.I know some,a few things i have read but i haven't found much about them.t's really ashame how some plants you can find so much information on then some are like a mystery.I have let my plant tell me what they like! They both doubled in size over the summer and now that i have them in the house i am going to need some information. I need to start some serious research I don't want to loose another one especially with them looking so fabulous at the moment.

If you know any good sites with info that will help me know how much to water,how much sun,etc... I would appreciate it.If you have any advice about over wintering them i am listening & taking notes.The concern you had about one of my ID's i would love to get it straightened out and see what you think about another one i have that i'm not sure of the ID & i can't get it to grow.




The 1st. two pictures were ID'ed as Rhipsalis 'cereuscula' it was given to me as a bunch of cuttings,i rooting all those pieces & then planted them in this pot they've been in almost 2 year's & it's barely grown at all.

the other 3 picture's were labeled R.'ewaldiana'

This one was labeled R.capilliformis

Agree with ID on R. cereuscula, it is one of the more distinctive ones. Hard to describe the growth pattern and the description would make it sound similar to others, so I won't try here. After a time, you will be able to ID it when you see it. Cereuscula like water. Cuttings start easy and will also start in water. When actively growing, be sure to keep soil moist. This one seems to respond well to gentle root fertilization, as well as foliar, but don't overdo it. If its not growing well for you consider fertilizing or transplanting, but based on the pics you posted, I don't think it needs replanting.

I am about 80% sure your "R. ewaldiana" is actually R. sulcata. The distinguishing factor between the two is how the stems grow and fill out. Look carefully at the longer stems. You should notice that the longer stems tend to have a bunch of shorter, terminating stems, maybe two or three inches long on them. This is seen in your third picture of that plant above. [the growth pattern can be compared with that seen with R. mesembryanthemoides, although that one does not look at all similar to sulcata or ewaldiana. The terminating stems on mesembryanthemoides are much shorter and more densely packed together.] Ewaldiana does not do that.

Capiliiformis is one that I have seen over the years be mis-ID'd frequently to the extent that I am no longer sure which one that is. Angel Plants grows a "trailing Rhipsalis" that sometimes bears this name, I have another one from a different source that also has that name, but is different in growing vegetatively. There is also one labeled "mophead" that is one of my favorite Rhipsalis that may be a form of the "trailing rhipsalis" grown differently. Stem sizes are very similar between the two, but one branches frequently while the other sends out stems two or three feet without branching. I seem to be unable to keep the "mophead" one alive more than about 5 years. Mine slowly decline, perhaps because of low humidity during the winter.

Rhipsalis.com is the best site out there for Rhipsalis information. The descriptions on that site are direct quotes from the scientific literature and they (Ken and Derek) a serious effort to keep up on changes and keep accurate pics. Unfortunately, they are funded out of their own pockets, so do not have the funds to post bigger pics or keep a larger site. But that is where I go when trying to ID a Rhipsalis, Lepismium or close relative.

Can you get some more pics of your capilliformis? With Rhipsalis, closeups of flowers, fruit and stems are needed, as well as pics of the whole plant. Always get pics showing flower structures and fruit when opportunity presents. Where you can, put a medium blue cloth behind the flowers for pics. This helps show the true colors.

I'll try to post some pics on this thread in the next day or two.

I have never had a plant flower or have fruit.This may be because of the fact i've only been growing them about 2 yrs. but i said the same thing about my Hoya's and i couldn't believe it when my DS-70 got loaded with blooms & my H.chelsea,compacta,polyneura, & rubra or K.P. (krimson princess) gave it a try,they have between 2-4 penduncles on each that haven't grown much but they tried

What time of year do Rhipsalis bloom ? I will have to do some research to see what the right conditions are for blooms & fruit ? With the Hoya's each plant had different conditions that were just right for blooming are the different Rhipsalis from different parts of the world or will they all be happy in the same conditions? I have a lot of research ahead of me and i will get more close-ups of my old man.

I must tell you the reason we call it that. When i first bought it,there wasn't anything hanging over the pot except about 3 long stems with nothing on them and i found them amusing and every time i got near it i could help but playing with the long bare stems and my daughter said she thought i was stroking it's ego because it had bald stems and called it my other old man (besides my husband) he has been my old man ever since. This is the only picture i could find and i think it's posted further up this thread,it's of the ends of the stems this summer on the R.capilliformis

Jelinda, Rhipsalis generally bloom either in the spring or fall and some of them do both. However, they tend to bloom when they want to. On WWW.RHIPSALIS.COM, you will find more information regarding bloom times. I know that R. pilocarpa blooms reliably for me in the fall. When they are growing rapidly, try cutting back on temperature and water for a month and see if buds develop. Mine bloom after taking them out into the spring/summer weather or just after bringing them inside when the temps are dropping and the days getting shorter.

Please try to get some better pics of the "old man" Rhipsalis. The ones so far are just not clear enough to help much with an ID. I'm leaning towards one of the R. baccifera's as it does not look much like the so-called cappiliforma's that I've seen. Baccifera's have a small flower that is easily missed.

Be patient with the blooming. It will happen. I've never had so many blooms as in the past two years. don't be afraid to let them chill a bit (but never freeze or frost), dry out a bit (stems will shrink and wrinkle when they are really thirsty) or reduce lighting for a month or so. That can help trigger blooming. Be sure to check them regularly as flowers do not last long and are not large.