Tropicals & Tender Perennials: What's This?, 1 by orchidman1

orchidman1 wrote:
I'm concerned about people's need to cut off the long shoots that naturally occur with Oxypetalum. These serve the same function as the more obvious leaves---they create and store energy for the plant to grow and bloom. The oxypetalum, like most of our epies and cacti, will produce roots at any point where the leaf touches decomposing plant materials. Many times, my epies have sprouted roots where a branch would grow too close to a neighboring pot. After the connection is well matured, I cut the new plant loose from the mother plant and then transplant it into a new pot or back in with the Mother plant. In any case, expect larger growth than normal from a oxypetalum and expect these rods to be part of that growth. Think of them as storage tanks for additional nutrition for your plant and you will be less likely to cut them off. (The picture is Kenneth Bivens 'Santa Barbera')