Author Topic: Epic Epi (Read 4298 times)

miguynmkoi · « **on:** May 15, 2013, 04:47:48 PM »

I've had 2 colors of Epiphyllum cacti growing in my garden for the longest time. Two years ago I went to the local Spring Garden Show and came across a long table of Epi leaf cuttings of a variety of colors and shapes and forms. They were expensive even with multiple leaf bundles. So I bought a package of 8 plus a couple more "special" breeds. They all had names written on each leaf, now lost in the baskets they are growing in. Sort of a blur in my head now and basically forgotten until now...

Most of them are Blllooooommmmiiinnnggg!!!!!! I hope you enjoy these blooms as much as I do!

First 2 are my first in the garden...

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #1 on:** May 15, 2013, 04:51:50 PM »

I also traded with a fellow AP member and he gave me 3 cuttings of Epi's. I think they are a different variety from mine but still really nice. The white spiky flower in the 2 photos below may be from him. You can thank the opossums digging around in my "hanging" pots and mixing everything up.

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #2 on:** May 15, 2013, 04:52:47 PM »

More beauties...

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #3 on:** May 15, 2013, 04:53:40 PM »

Last one.........for now!

SueSTx · « **Reply #4 on:** May 15, 2013, 06:36:03 PM »

Beautiful

LynneNY · « **Reply #5 on:** May 16, 2013, 07:54:32 AM »

Gorgeous! Sooooo jealous here!

I have a few cuttings indoors, from a friend in Texas for about 5 years now and not a single bud nor bloom. One is finally growing nicely now but still no bud. What could I be doing for them to encourage them to flower here in zone 6?

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #6 on:** May 16, 2013, 08:52:36 AM »

They sure are, Sue. The heat a couple of days ago made the blooms last about 2 days or less. Yesterday it cooled off quite a bit and our coastal fog is back in the mornings and evenings making new blooms much happier. Yay!

I wish I had a secret recipe, Lynne. In truth these epi beauties would leave my garden if they knew how much I abuse them. They do stay in light shade in a slightly more humid conditions and breezy location. I don't water in winter when they are dormant....only source in winter is rain and we all know how much rain we get here in the winter (close to nada). I fertilize with vegetable fertilizer, stuff I feed my veges and tomatoes, in early spring. At this time they're watered just enough to keep soil moist (depends on the heat). They're planted in cactus soil mix.

I do have one red epi that gets the most abuse. It sits under an apple tree (most of my epi's are in hanging baskets). When the tree drops its leaves for the winter this basket of epi fries in the sun- leaves turn red, plus only rain water. Once the apple tree leafs out and the sprinklers are turned on the epi returns back to green and it still flowers like crazy. I'll see if I have a photo of the poor abused epi. I should be ashamed $:-\$

Kittyzee · « **Reply #7 on:** May 16, 2013, 12:12:23 PM »

The ones you sent me are still alive (yea!) but have never bloomed either! I just put them outside, since it's finally warm enough and there has been a little humidity the last couple of days. Hoping they come around for me and bloom. It's so hard for them in the house in the winter here, so dry. On the bigger, wider leaves, there are little skinnier leaves coming off of them. I don't see those on yours, can you tell me if that's normal or am I doing something wrong?

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #8 on:** May 16, 2013, 02:14:05 PM »

Hey LuAnn, that's great Yours are still growing. Have you fertilized (vege/tomato fertilizer, lightly) your epi yet? Sounds like it's branching out....more epi! Be patient, you may get blooms this year! Good luck!

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #9 on:** May 16, 2013, 02:23:13 PM »

LuAnn....Do your new leaves look like the ones in my basket? The ones on the right are new with a hint of "take me out of the sun!"

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #10 on:** May 16, 2013, 02:24:58 PM »

New leaves in the center basket here...

LynneNY · « **Reply #11 on:** May 16, 2013, 07:11:28 PM »

My new leaves are also very skinny on 2 plants, LuAnn! I got a cutting last summer from a friend here in NY who says his very large plant flowers all the time, and everyone he's given cuttings to also flower. I had it outside all summer and it formed a bud, but it fell off after a few days of rain. That plant has been inside my kitchen all winter by a western facing window. It has a very long but skinny leaf. I wonder if it has to do with both of us living in zone 6? I am going to put it back outside now that the overnight temps are starting to warm up again. We had 32 for 2 nights this week - record breaking lows for May!

Kittyzee · « **Reply #12 on:** May 17, 2013, 10:10:40 AM »

My new leaves are flat when they come out. And YES, those long skinny ones are like what mine have going on!! Mine are outside now, probably for the summer. They are on my porch in the shade, but lots of light. I may move them later towards the patio under some trees. I don't feel so bad now, reading both your posts. Maybe I haven't abused mine enough yet Annette!

I have a couple of baskets like yours in the garage Annette, I may try a few leaves in there!

Kittyzee · « **Reply #13 on:** May 17, 2013, 10:15:11 AM »

And I need to fertilie, in fact, I'm going to do it as soon as I type this.

I forgot to add, your blooms are SPECTACULAR!! I especially love that yellow!

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #14 on:** May 17, 2013, 02:47:12 PM »

I hope both Lunne and LuAnne, that your epi bloom. The buds appear out of nowhere and bloom within a few weeks. Plus plant abuse is best for mine, heheheh!

If my yellow bloomer produces enough leaves I can share with you.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #15 on:** May 18, 2013, 11:24:32 AM »

They are soooo much happier outside today! They have been outside for a couple of days, with a light misty rain, and fog yesterday morning. They seem to breathing a sigh of relief...thinking I've tried to kill them all winter long, hahhaa! I fertilized too!!

That would be wonderful Annette, but don't stress over it. Do these epi's like to be root bound before they bloom, or does it matter?

Most of the plants I had inside are now outside for the summer. They are ALL much happier. The house looks so BARE!

My orchids were looking awful, I'm thinking I need to trim roots and repot. I love looking at the results of your incredible green thumb. Wish you lived next door so I could come sit in your garden!!

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #16 on:** May 18, 2013, 02:52:45 PM »

Wouldn't that be lovely if I could live next door to you LuAnn!?! It would be my little farm and your big farm.

I bet your plants are glad to be outdoors. I sure am! I love to putter in my garden.

The last few medium sized baskets I started were with 3 single leaf blades of different flowering colors spaced out evenly. You see the results of them in the photos above after 2 years. My older epi pots have stayed in their pots for probably 10 years or so.

While I was clearing out some of the fried blades I managed to break a few buds off. Man it hurts to see such destruction.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #17 on:** May 18, 2013, 07:35:21 PM »

Oh yes I would love it if you were next door!! Indiana Karen on one side and YOU on the other~oh the plants and gardens we could make!! Yes, I am sooo glad to be outdoors! I am a putterer (is that spelled right?) and I start on one thing, get distracted by something else that needs done and see that I've left something over there that I started but forgot to finish....well, there's so much to do!

I hung my hummy feeders up yesterday because I heard my first hummingbird. I haven't seen anyone at them yet, but put one on front porch and one by patio in back. That way they won't have to fight over territory and I can watch from two places. My new patio has been a dream come true. The trees overhead have finally leafed out and created a canopy to sit under. In the tree on one side, starlings have put a nest in a hole in the tree and are constantly (I do mean constantly) feeding their brood. They take off for the wheat field and bring back assorted worms and other insects to land outside that hole to feed the babies. They make the most awful, annoying squawking sound...Hubby said when the birds are gone, he's filling up the hole!

I may try to fill it with some trailing blooming thing or a vine of some type.

Thanks for the pic of the epi bloom, at least I'll know what one looks like if I'm lucky enough to get mine to bloom. I don't think I'll repot mine, I did it last spring so they should be good for now, I hope.

Jerry · « **Reply #18 on:** June 01, 2013, 12:19:18 PM »

Looks great. They take all kinds of abuse. Only full sun hurts them. I rarely feed.seems not to matter.

Sean · « **Reply #19 on:** June 25, 2013, 05:02:55 PM »

If they would winter over outside here I would have them. They just get too large for indoors and we do get frost and freeze in the winter.
Beautiful however!

Cheers,
Sean

magoo · « **Reply #20 on:** June 30, 2013, 11:12:48 PM »

The white one is E. strictum, a species epie. The red you sent me has bloomed like crazy but it was finished six weeks ago here in Louisiana. The other you sent appear to be forming buds for the first time. It usually takes 3-4 years for an epie to grow from a cutting to flowering. Any one want to trade?

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #21 on:** July 01, 2013, 04:43:01 PM »

Thank you Magoo for the E.strictum!!! It's still putting out blooms now! But the heat we are experiencing is slowing it down.

I'm glad you came across this post...I haven't seen you here for a while.

magoo · « **Reply #22 on:** July 05, 2013, 12:08:58 PM »

Your epi's sure look grand to me. What ever you are doing you are doing it correctly.My Selenicereus coniflorus (the round spiky one in with the wide leafed epi had about a dozen blooms this year. I would like to trade for some of you epi cuttings if your are interested. Trading is much more fun than buying. Show the photo's as you epi's bloom please.

frogman3 · « **Reply #23 on:** July 08, 2013, 06:29:02 PM »

I started with four cutting two years ago of four different varities. Two developed a desese in the first year and were tossed. This spring I repotted to a larger pot and for the first time moved them outside. The growth exploded on this one started as two leaves this spring and this is the first bloom 7 inches across.

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #24 on:** July 29, 2013, 05:56:06 PM »

Aren't epi flowers fantastic!?! When I see so many blooming I get all dreamy eye staring at the amazing details of this delicate flowers.

Frogman, my favorite epi color! Beautiful!

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #25 on:** July 29, 2013, 05:58:13 PM »

Magoo, sorry for such a late response....been too busy

working and life! I think all the epi colors I have are the ones I have in the photos above. If you like any of them let me know...I'd like to trade too!

Kittyzee · « **Reply #26 on:** July 30, 2013, 06:53:03 AM »

Mine have been outside all summer, and I've been feeding them and WOW!! The growth is spectacular and I'm still hoping for blooms this year!

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #27 on:** July 30, 2013, 09:33:03 AM »

That's great LuAnn! Be careful of over fertilizing though...lots of leafy greens growth may equal no flowers. This is what happens on many other plants. I'm great at neglecting my plants

Only 'cause I'm soooo busy with life!

Kittyzee · « **Reply #28 on:** July 30, 2013, 04:35:40 PM »

Thanks for the heads up on the fertilizer Annette, I've only fed them twice all summer which equals to about once every month and a half--I get busy and forget and maybe that's a good thing!

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #29 on:** September 08, 2013, 09:00:15 PM »

Wow!!!

My first time experiencing multiple periods of blooming epi! This is the E. strictum Magoo traded to me a couple of years ago. Total surprise for me since the past 2 weeks has been extremely HOT and HUMID....maybe it was the humidity.

I don't know but I do know it was a beautiful sight. There were more blooms this time than the first blooms ever this past Spring.

Thanks again Magoo!!