I started growing epie cuttings in 2009, and I was about to throw in the towel and give up. These plants must have read my mind, get blooming or else! I've been finally rewarded with my first 2 epie blooms this week.

King Midas was the first to open on Monday.






Pele started to swell this morning, and opening this afternoon.

Lovely blooms! I think they are like that, takes about 3 to 4 years to be fully established to bloom. They look very happy.
Good growing! Congrats!

You must be awfully proud, Annette! Congrats
Love the Great color flower on the King!

Thank you tarev and Bev. This was certainly a lesson in patience for me, and I'm now glad that I didn't give up.


Annette

Epiphyllum Pele today,

They are beautiful!! I wish I could find some of this type with colorful blooms down here. I may have to have one fall into my friend's suitcase when she comes to visit

Thanks Jonna, I'm always happy to share

Congrats. I guess patience pays.

Annette,Any advice is welcome.I started mine from leaf cuttings 2 years ago and was thinking about repotting them.I had to repot my 'oxy' because it grew a stem (shoot) that with the plant sitting on a table mid calf on me is over my head (i'm 5'3).It has gotten a large leaf on the tip of the tall stem & it's top heavy.It was falling over so much,it's leaves had cracked/broken, from smacking the ground.I repotted in a short terra-cotta pot.I have been thinking of repotting them all.I have one that the roots are coming out of the top of it's pot from being heavy & weighed down by the plant.I have heard not to repot them,they will bloom when their root bound enough.But they are in the same pots they were rooted in.Also what do you fertilize with.
I must say your the first person i've seen in a while talking about growing them & having them bloom!!Good job
They are beautiful!!!

These 2 are the 'oxy' with all it's broken leaves from falling over


The Epi in the green pot is only a year old.Last summer i put them out in a flower bed & some animal bit it in half.The top that was bit off was left laying on the ground,i put it in a pot and it's doing really good.I have thought about planting them two plants together since they are really they same plant.

Dave, you are so right, and I'm glad I didn't give up on these plants.

Hi Jelinda, my GA neighbor, your plants look very healthy. When I started with the cuttings in 2009, I would put 1-2 cuttings per 4 inch pot, depending on the size of the cuttings, and if they were potted individually, once they rooted, I would combine them in a 6-8 inch pot, and none of the plants have been repotted since. For soil, I mix potting soil with a lot of perlite, composted manure, fine bark, and bone meal.

I have also read that they need to be root bound to bloom, but some say they don't have to be. I do use Neptunes fish fertilizer, 1-2 tbs per gallon, and I also add EB Stone's Ultra Bloom Plant Food. I make sure that the pots don't get too dry during the summer time, and they get limited water during the winter, when they've been moved into my basement.

I am notorious for breaking off parts of the plants, as I move them in and out of the house during fall and spring/summer, so I just let the pieces dry for a week or longer, before they get potted.

My. E. oxy also has crazy growth, it's such a flopper, so I placed the plastic pot into a clay pot to make it more stable. I want to hang it from the deck, since the foliage tends to have a downward growth.

Be sure to use slug bait, if you have your plants in the garden. My plants live in a semi-shaded part of my back deck during the summer, so the slugs aren't a problem for the plants.

Annette,thank you so much for the information.The ultra bloom is it's NPK 15-30-15 or something close to that.I haven't been using any bloom food because they haven't shown any sign's of blooming plus i was told it would be years.I got mine in a trade on-line,i have more than i started with because i also stick broken leaves into soil after drying them.
I don't know what bit that leaf in half but at least it didn't like it and left the top for me to root.I now put them up off the ground but there's some kind of small green worm i find on them from time to time.but thanks for the heads up about slugs.

I am going to have to look up the fish emulsion. I've never used it and really not familiar with what it has in it.We have had so much rain that i haven't been able to use any kind of fertilizer besides smart-release Osmocote in my beds.

I would love to get mine IDed.I only have an id for the oxy.Usually i'm told to wait until they bloom.
Please do keep sharing your great photo's.Do you grow 'rhipsalis' as well.

Hi Karen, you're welcome, and the Ultrabloom is 0-10-10. I started using it last year, the 3rd spring that I had these plants.

Yes, I do grow rhipsalidopsis, I have Gaertneri, which has bloomed several times, Rio,and Rainbow, the latter 2 which I haven't seen bloom yet. I also have echinopsis and other cacti. Some of the echinopsis also bloomed in June, but I missed Antares, and caught Nocturne, thank goodness. They were in the basement, and I totally had not been paying them any attention, and Antares had 2 blooms that I unfortunately didn't see. I also have hylocereus undatus, and that plant had a bud last year, that I stupidly, accidentally broke off with the hose as I was watering other plants. I hope it gets another bud this year.

Rhipsalidopsis Gaertneri


Echinopsis Nocturne

Spectacular, Annette!

I, like Jojoe, am just wetting my toes in Epi world. I had heard 2 years to bloom, but 4???? I will be sooo ollllddd, lol ....

Thanks for the info on watering - that is my biggest problem, and knowing that they can be allowed to get dry (drier?) in the winter is good information. How long do you allow them to stay dry?

I just received some great cuttings from C. Sue, and she said she doesn't feed at all. As best as I can tell, getting enough sun seems to be a big factor in blooms. But I'm so open to any other advice!

Hi Sheryl, welcome to 'epi world'. In the winter months, my plants may get watered every 1- 1 1/2 months, lightly so that the leaves don't become shriveled, or the soil too dry, but not soaking wet. Some people don't water them at all during the winter. I don't really pay them much attention, once I've brought them inside

I do fertilize the plants after about 6 months. I'm happy to hear that C. Sue doesn't fertilize. I may try that with some new cuttings to see if they bloom any faster If you do plan on fertilizing, stop in the fall, when plant growth slows down. An excellent discussion of fertilzation can also be found at http://mattslandscape.com. This is the main source where I get my epi and cacti cuttings, and he gives a lot of useful information about cacti and epiphyllum care. Promise not to look at all the lovely blooms, or all of the cuttings he has for sale

Be careful about growing the plants in full sun. The leaves can burn, and on some plants, they will turn red with too much sun expsure.

Happy Growing!

I read that Epi's like their soil a little on the acidic side.Does the bone meal & fish fertilizer help raise the acid level? I know Foods like MG azalea,camellia,rhododendron are for acid loving plants but i read it's important to get the levels correct.

I was researching the plants last night and came across this article: http://mattslandscape.com/ph_l...

Honestly i wasn't sure exactly what your plants were, I wasn't familiar with most of your plants or their names. I had seen the name rhipsalidopsis but couldn't remember exactly what they were.After a little refresher research i remembered some and learned some.I have some Rhipsalis,2 easter cactus & many C cactus and the 5 epi's.

You have an absolutely BEAUTIFUL collection of beautifully flowering plants I envy you such a beautiful collection of these types of plants (what my kids call funny & weird).Do you grow any other types of plants? I will go look at your plant list strictly out of curiosity.I know who to go to for advice on these types of plants.You do an amazing job with those beauties.I am even more looking forward to mine blooming now.My hubby was even impressed at your pictures & usually when i show him flower pictures he says uhhuh & nods his head. He actually commented on how big,pretty & brightly colored your flowers were.

We cross posted well actually i had my 5 yr old grandson & 15mth. old granddaughter last night and started my post last night & finished it this morning. I love them but a hand full by myself !! :hearts:

I'm with Sheryl on the watering and the lack of in the winter months.I have been watering a little less in winter but still watering.
Sheryl, you also keep us posted on your Epi progress please!! Inquiring minds want to know.

Annette,you mentioned Mattslandscape.com,i also go their for info because it's hard to find that much info collected in one place.I have never bought anything from there.I may have to buy something hey my B-day is Fri. Have to leave it open so the hubby will see it.

I am actually thinking i need to bring mine inside.Going to check them today,we have had so much rain record setting for the year & the leading news story on-line yesterday was: June rain in csra sets record since records started being kept 140 years ago!!! WE ARE WET!!!

Annette,are yall getting all this rain? Clarks Hill is 2 feet above pool and 330 is sea level were at 332!! How are your temp's, i noticed your in zone 7,so your a little cooler than us but personally GA. is hot.Nice to talk to someone close,what are you about 2 & half hours away.I live in Thomson,if your not familiar it's 45 minutes from Augusta.

One more thing ( sorry i'm long winded ) it's a southern thing i say.Anyway any advice on watering or sun tolerance of Rhipsalis ?This 1st picture was labeled R.'ewaldiana' But i believe it may be. R.teres f. 'capilliformis'

R. 'cereuscula' rooted many pieces a few years ago after friend shaped hers up & left lots of small piece's. I don't toss anything healthy.

R. 'sulcata'

Thank you again for all of the great info! Sounds like I have years to perfect the growing conditions, lol....

Hi Jelinda and Sheryl, you both have better weather conditions for growing epies than I do.

Jelinda, I don't know if the fertilizers I use would increase the soil acidity. The bone meal reportedly may help with rooting. However, some report it has no effect on this. It provides phosphorus and calcium for the plants.

I also have some Schlumbergera ( Christmas cacti), and other cacti, but I would have to go check the tags to get the specific names for the ones not mentioned above.

Yes, we are getting a lot of rain, and are >14 inches above normal for this time of year. We've gone from drout for 5 years, to floating away in 1 summer. I am thankful for the rain, I've had to do very little watering this summer.

Your Rhipsalis is huge, I haven't grown this plant before. Maybe the cacti and succulent experts can help with the growing info for this plant. I would love to see pictures of your plant when it blooms.

Annette

Here is some good info on Rhipsalis

http://www.cssainc.org/index.p...