Tropicals & Tender Perennials: I've become an instant epi collector., 0 by 77sunset

77sunset wrote:
hello boojum. Isn't it great to talk with fellow enthusiasts so far away ?

My epi house is full now and the overflow lives in various places around the garden. Most of the overflow live out the front under a large cypress tree where they get lots of morning sun The pic above in my first post shows them in the background. I fell in love with epis after my original in above pic, flowered. I looked on a lot of American sites and was just amazed at the variety. After trying in vain to buy any here , I finally found some cuttings in West Australia and then not long after was lucky enough to sgore the big collection. They were and still are not in the best condition but I hesitated to cut them back too much as yet until I see the flowers. I will give them a very hard cutback later .I think the right time is after flowering as it is with most plants. It says a lot about their hardiness that they did survive where they were at all. I will put up a few pics so you can see the rest of them also some of the aporos, rhipsalis and zygos that were with them. I have been collecting zygos for a while now and have about 40 or so. some are the same but I did but some a few years ago with names. they are more upright than the usual pink ones, with bigger flowers.There were also some other types of plants similar to the aporo and rhipsalis.
I also have orchids. About 15 that don't flower. i have even bought some in flower and they never flowered again. I have tried everything but now I just leave them in their house . I have them potted in scoria which seems to suit their drainage requirements. One day I will go out and see a flower and faint.
I have been planting more bearded iris as they are one of my favorites. I now have around 50 colors and am going out next week to an iris farm to get a few more.
I have about 2 acres divided into sections for roses, herbs, daylilies, iris and otheres. I have a native section also and a cottage garden area. There is not much room left but I always find a space.
I wish i could grow more varieties but the weather here gets so cold in winter then really hot in summer and the way the weather has been lately it is all this in a day. we need a lot of rain but Australia is the driest continent and we have to learn to live with it. My plants do not get pampered and we live on top of a windy hill so they have to be hardy.
I must go as I have been rambling on long enough.
Happy gardening.

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