African Violets and Gesneriads: June Flowers OT, 1 by jmp24

jmp24 wrote:
Great pics, Plantlady. Wish my oxy would bloom, its over 3 yrs old. I have several epis, inc. ric rac, but they are all younger, growing from cuttings. The only one that blooms is a big red one I bought as a full siize plant. It blooms maybe 3 flowers a year, all around the same time (May) and it seems to me kind of not worth having to look at what basically amounts to a pretty ugly plant the rest of the year.

Here is a pic of the opuntia. The cutting actually bloomed. Fuzzy pic but its too hot outside, I don't feel like going out to take another one. I also had a very painful teeny little sticker in my thumb for two days, man, that thing HURT!!!

Know what you mean about the prayer plants, I have killed more that a few. I think the main issue is overwatering so I tried growing one in hydroculture. It did good for a while, then it too died.
I think the secret is to really let them dry out before watering. I had one at work that I did that with, and it was still alive after a few years and at the time that I left. A record for me with them, usually they live a year if I am lucky. The thing is, you can't leave them dry for too long, maybe just a day or so. If you let them go any longer, they get yellow. They also do well in low light, even bloom. This one needs some fresh soil, but I am not going to repot till I buy some orchid bark. I was thinking maybe a hoya-like soil mix will help with any root rot problems

I love them, and will keep trying. I'd love to get my hands on some of the other varieties, but this is the only one I ever see for sale.