The Old Girl is going to bloom. I thought she may have gotten too cold, but in order for these to bloom they need to have a cold period. I put her outside early in April since it was so warm and then we got cold weather instead of warmer.......I was sure she was going to pass this year. Her babies were blooming before she got around to it. What a happy day for me.

me too !

Not only did the "old girl" bloom her heart out for weeks this past Spring, but today I noticed she has given me a beautiful flower to start my day. Thank you "old girl" I need this today. My heart is breaking for those people on the Island (Seaside Park and Heights) who have again suffered the loss of their properties and businesses. This beauty has brightened my day for sure.

This is today's bloom:


This was what she looked like three months ago. 6/13/2013.



This is what she looked like when those buds opened about ten days later in June, 2013

She is so big I have no clue where I am going to put her over the winter. She will stay outside until it gets really cold and then she will come in for the winter.

Awsome!!

I really love your pictures!

Thank you David. You are very kind.

This is a gorgeous plant, you grew and flowered it very well!!

I assume you mean Disocactus x hybridus 'Ackermannii'. I see you are in zone 6b, just like me. I have an unheated but well insulated garage, and comes Fall - I leave this one (and similar Epi hybrids) in front of the garage until night temps go into the forties F, then move it into the garage but leave the door open at day time. Once it gets too cold to leave the garage door open during the day, I simply close the door, done. Temps go down into the forties in the garage and there is just a little bit light. I slow down on watering and let the plant go dormant. Comes Spring I reverse the process.
I know that many Germans ( in my time years ago) simply used to overwinter 'Ackermannii' and similar in their Potato cellars, pretty much in the dark.
What I am trying to say, if you have no space in the house for it, letting it sleep through the Winter is actually a good thing for this one. I keep the space in the house for the Epiphyllum species, they don't do that well for me being treated like that.
Hopefully I am not saying anything you knew already, if yes, just ignore me...

(I had several large plants of this one some years ago, right now I am again growing a small pot of start ups.)

Thank you for your nice comments. I will send you what I received from the cactusguide people who were kind enough to identify this plant for me when I first got it. I hope you can read it. They are wonderful and know their cactus so I am hoping they have it correctly identified. If you can not read this please let me know. I would like you to be able to go to those links and see the Mother and the Father of my old girl. It is amazing how these things grow and how tricky it is to keep them happy. Please let me hear from you after you open the link.

Yes, I can read it very nicely and this is exactly what I thought you have here, your seller identified it perfectly.:
Nopalxochia (or Disocactus) phyllanthoides (aka Deutsche Kaiserin) X Heliocereus (Disocactus) speciosus. and I wrote it correctly -
Disocactus x hybridus 'Ackermannii'

There is also a species called Disocactus ackermannii ( lower case "a") as your paper reads. The Stigma lobes on your flowers are white, that rules out the species. ( the species ackermannii would have red Stigma lobes, which is the main characteristic to identify the species)

If you feel like reading, here is a bit more background on your wonderful plant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...



Ursula

I sell it on eBay and I never mention 'Ackermannii' in the name of it because so many people do not realize it is not a true Ackermanni and I know many people that use the Ackermanni name really do not have the true ackermanni. I can not bring myself around to misleading people in my stores. This plant was given to me by a friend who had it for years. It was twice the size when i got it and they had to cut it to get it into the house. I took the cuttings and gave it to my neighbor who has a country market and greenhouses and they propagated it and sold it in hanging baskets. It was beautiful the way they had them displayed. We trade plants and since I have mostly jasmine, Christmas cactus and a few tender perennials and I sell online only I have only one small greenhouse so I give them everything I do not have room for and they in return give me whatever I want. It is a wonderful arrangement. I keep them supplied with some of the jasmine the suppliers around here to not raise.

I am 85 and really not as full of energy that I once was, but I still keep on propagating and enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Thank you so much for your conversation. I appreciate all comments and suggestions. Have a great day, what is left of it.

Gorgeous flowers!! And wow at all the blooms!!! Thank you for sharing!!!

Do you have any cuttings for sale or trade?? I'd love to have some.

JB, I went to both links in your signature and didn't see any of these listed. Please let me know if you by chance have any cuttings. I'd love to purchase or trade with you. Thank you for your time!

Hi Audrie, I have them listed on both as of yesterday, please check again and if they are not there let me know. Thanks for your interest. If you decide you want to order, please send me a treemail and let me know so i give you the ATP discount. Thanks.

Hello Jacquie,
Tree mail sent! Thank you so very much!!

Audrie, I like the color on your avatar semps!

And Jacquie, thanks for sharing a little of your "goings-on" with us! Interesting it is..

Beautiful Cactus! I had one, what happen to it? ... after giving everyone a piece