Gorgeous!!!

Amazing blooms Ursula

Interesting observation - referring back to the photo of Mary Betty on the kitchen table - That was a nice formed bloom that lasted for about three days. I was returning the pot to the greenhouse when the cutting fell out of the pot. There was no root at all. It was just the same as when I had planted it So the bloom had been produced purely from whatever life was in the cutting. The end was nice and sealed over, no rot, so how did it absorb moisture Will have to wait and see if the cutting now makes root.

Do you ever use rooting powder on the epis? Would you put it on the fresh cut and then let it heal over before planting?

Another pink NoID. It's coming from the old original pots that we had, but a different pot than the last NoID pink. Also in a much easier place to photograph.


This is the one from before. They don't look much different to me.
I think I'll repot them and compare them when they bloom again in two or three years. lol


What color would you call these two?

Fluorescent hot pink! You captured the color beautifully!

I do. I don't even let them dry. I have seen my Asian neighbors root them in water, or just stick a fresh cutting in a pot with others. They aren't that fussy. If I buy one of those little cuttings in a bag, I figure it's had time to callus. If I'm swaping cuttings with neighbors, I take stem cuttings and give them the same. A stem will root and bloom way faster than a leaf cutting. Dip in rootone, poke a hole in medium, insert cutting, and stake if it's a stem cutting. Don't water until roots form. If you're buying on line or at a show, you're not likely to get a stem cutting because a mature stem is more costly to ship, due to size. LOL! They don't fit in any USPS Priority Mail boxes. Add to that that any commercial grower wants to take as many cuttings as possible for profit. Basically they are a cactus/succulent, and root very easily.

I've never used rooting powder, not sure why, just haven't. I do let my cutting callus. I've had cuttings rot from beneath the soil line and figured I'd planted the cutting too early. I wish we could buy "cuttings in a bag". No growers market in Hawaii.

I really get torn in two directions - do I try to raise less plants, give more attention to fertilizer and potting mix quality to get bigger and better quality plants or mass produce like I do now. As I head towards senior years I think I will have to have less plants but better quality.

Mike, the bagged ones I've bought have been from the E. society members, at shows. They do have some interesting selections, but the quality of the cuttings isn't that great. I find it sad that they would discourage people from growing them by selling inferior cuttings. Paying $10-$15 for a four" or five " cutting that isn't from mature leaves is not encouraging new growers. The last one I bought a year ago is still in a 2 1/2" pot and just now starting to get a couple of new growths. I've got to wonder if I'll live long enough to see it bloom.
If there is no buyers market, what are you going to do with all those duplicates? When I trim mine the cuttings just go in the trash, unless someone else has asked for it. Of course, in my neighborhood, any thing that goes in the dumpster is fair game. I see my Rose 'Taboo' all over the park and the cutting grown ones look better that my grafted one.
Same with my pink Plumeria. I really should put tags on them before throwing them away. NOT!

I've just been planting any piece that breaks off. They are mostly older leaves. Some have bloomed already after only a couple of years. I plant them in pots that are left after trying to grow aril iris seeds and spuria iris seeds. Some of the seeds sprouted but none made it. I just poke a hole in the soil and plug the epi in.

A friend gave us a seedling that she grew. It was about 2" long when she gave it to us. Two years later it's about six" long. It's like Carol said "I've got to wonder if I'll live long enough to see it bloom."

I have a few from the old pots that I want to start. I think I'll take cuttings and try the rooting compound. Or I might just get out some leather gloves and try and unpot and repot them after I work them apart. Probably much easier said than done. If the stems grow faster, it might be worth it.

I have a ton of 1 gallon pots that I no longer use for iris. I make my own potting soil so that's not a problem. The problem will be where to put them.

I'm amazed that I still have quite a number of buds still to bloom. It has been a very good year for bloom. One of my starts has over a dozen small buds. And the piece that started itself in my fuchsia pot has a number of large buds. They will pop any day now.

The only thing left with buds here is the Ackermanii X. That will keep going for a while.

Carol, you make some interesting points. Stem cuttings vs. leaf cuttings. Would the stem cutting include the entire leaf? and the leaf cuttings are the cut up sections that are being sold and/or shared? I had no idea. And we newbies wonder why we're not seeing blooms. I am quite disappointed, to say the least.

The stem cuttings I've done include the entire leaf, but if part of the leaf was cut off it would still root faster I think. Then you would have to wait for new leaves to grow though.
Epis are not instant gratification in any case, and all seem to have their own personality when growing and blooming. I have seen rooted Epis for sale on E-Bay/ Amazon. They ship them with the roots wrapped in damp moss/paper. I don't trust either of those sites for plants though, unless I know the seller.

Are there some epis that grow in clumps and others that naturally branch from nodes on the leaves? For instance, E. Hookerii and E. Oxypetalum both put out branches from the leaves, but I don't think the E. Oxypetalum forms a clump (new leaves from the base of the cutting/plant). Am I right, or am I ?

Some start with multiple branches coming from the base, but most do branch from the leaves at some point.

I think that I prefer the ones that have the multiple branches from the base. The ones that mostly branch from the leaf just keep getting taller and taller and more unwieldy, and just do not do well in a hanging basket. The stems.leaves are too long and cumbersome, so they have to be tied up so that they don't take up too much room.

Too much room is relative. Mine are all in hanging baskets. They still take up lots of real estate. I know E. Oxypetalum is a rampant grower. In a large pot, it can be contained. I've never tried E. strictum, so I don't know about that one. Most of the hybrids are much tamer.

Its great reading these discussions. Hopefully some more newbies will get interested and expand our circle of growers, and of course there is always reinforcement of what we already know but forget and new things to learn.
Carol, you ask what shall I do with the duplicates. Its become an expanding hobby, I just love propagating plants, or have up until now, not just epis but all the tropical and bamboos I grow. They say the larger the house the more stuff you get well my yard is like that. Our lot is 38 acres of rainforest and we cleared two for house and garden. I then expanded by hand clearing trails into the forest. I reached my limit a couple of years ago. But Epis in a greenhouse is so easy and the blooms are amazing to right now not worried about having a few duplicates. My goal a couple of years ago was to have 1000 blooms. Last year I had 1001 so I made that goal. Now I will start cruising a bit and slowly reduce stock by attrition.

Deb - Strictum is a strong grower. More clumping but lots of branches from branches and will root in neighboring pots if left to wander along a bench.

Good discussion. I am learning a lot. Hanging baskets will be my next venture after breaking up my oldest pots.

I have one that I thought was going to be multiple branches from the bottom (the last white one I posted). This year the leaves have started branching and it is getting much bigger. I wonder why the change? My cultural process is different than what my sister did is my guess. More or less water, more or less light?

ctcarol said: I have seen rooted Epis for sale on E-Bay/ Amazon. They ship them with the roots wrapped in damp moss/paper. I don't trust either of those sites for plants though, unless I know the seller.

I bought a pint planted Epi Moloch from Ebay. The plant ship great bare root. It even had a bloom on it. When it bloomed it was the wrong color. Don (http://myworld.ebay.com/dcrava...) replaced it right away. So I am happy with my purchase. And can try and have the patients two wait another year for the root cuttings to even grow a little.