Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Epiphyllum, 0 by Happenstance

Happenstance wrote:
Here are a couple of good links to basic epi care:
http://junglecactus.com/care.htm
http://www.epies.net/cgi-bin/evoque?evoque.id 985411215

Different growing conditions can greatly affect the growth rate and determine whether or not epis bloom consistanatly. My own experience has been that the main element in getting them to flower is that they need a cold weather dormancy period.

Being root-bound has never been an element in mine blooming since they've always been repotted every 2 years whether they needed it or not. I've used a variety of planting mixes from cactus mix to straight commercial planting mix......as long as the pot has drainage holes, it doesn't seem to make much difference.

In California Zone 10a they live outside all year round. They get a good deal more direct sun than many growers recommend. They spend the winter in a sheltered corner of the patio where they get a lot of rain, protection from the wind, and are baited for snails every couple of weeks.

Starting in the early Spring I fertilize them every couple of weeks with a granular all purpose fertilizer alternated with fish emulsion. I follow this schedule until late October.

The one element that I have found which produces consistant flowering is cold weather. Over the years I have experimented with different winter situations in greenhouse, sunroom, garage, enclosed pool and leaving them outside to fend for themselves. Outside works wonders, while all the other situations provided very few flowers.

I don't always follow all the rules, but this has worked for me.
With our current heat wave, I've pulled them out of their protected corner. They receive morning shade, afternoon filtered sun, and late afternoon full sun for several hours.

Here they are in their Springtime colors, with a little snail damage, but not too bad this year.

This message was edited Jun 29, 2005 6:04 PM