I would like to know how all of you got started with epiphyllums and what type of plant is your primary interest (I see several of you in various forums).
You may have already seen this from my other thread, but I'll recap: When the plant my sis-in-law gave me survived several years on the window sill, I got curious about it and asked Dave's Gardeners in April what it might be. Soon after you told me it was an epiphyllum, it bloomed for the first time. Now I am hooked. I just love the look of the flower! I haven't seen any other people growing epiphyllums, so it was just serendipity and the fact that I have a nice sister-in-law that I ended up with the plant.
I have gardened for years, primarily making perennial borders, but also landscaping around the house, growing indoor plants, and vegetable gardening when time permits. It's a full range addiction. My main focus for several years has been to try to make a hot color perennial bed whose focus season is late summer through fall. I am not succeeding too well.
Oddly enough, the corn plant (Dracaena) I have had for YEARS also bloomed right around the time of the epiphyllum, and now my one orchid I have had for several years is blooming as we speak. All these plants bloomed for the first time this year! Now if I could just figure out what I did... :)
What got you started with epis?
Ha, ha! You had patience. Growing tropicals especially in the north, requires lots of patience. I started with a purloined cutting of Epi. oxypetalum, and once I saw it in bloom, I was hooked. How can anyone resist those spectacular flowers?
Nobody could resist the flowers! Are Epis your main interest? How long did it take your cutting to bloom?
You and my sis-in-law!! She comes home from nurseries and garden centers with little scraps in her pocket - stuff that was on the ground or little pieces of things that somehow ;-) broke off. She starts them up and they all turn into beautiful plants.
I also grow orchids, but they require a lot more effort. I only have a dozen Epis because I don't have room for more. As to how long before they bloom, it depends on the individual, and the type of cutting. Most of the ones I started from mature stem cuttings, including a bit of the woody base, have bloomed the first year after rooting. Most of the smaller leaf cuttings have taken several years. I'm still waiting on 'color splash' after three years. They do seem to like crowded roots to bloom, and some increase faster than others. They are totally care free once rooted, as long as they get a fast draining mix, good light, and a bit of feeding. I give mine bloom food when I see buds starting to form in spring, then slow release balanced food when finished blooming, and nothing after Oct. so they can go dormant for winter. All that being said, mine live outside, under the trees year round. I don't recommend them as houseplants unless you have a sunroom, or lots of windows. They can be overwintered indoors, but returned to the great outdoors as soon as frost allows if they are to bloom.
I had a night blooming cereus given to me once and I was a "goner". LOL I shared it with a friend and she love it too. That was before the internet. I had such a hard time finding out anything about them then. Then someone sent me a "fiesta de Flores" in a trade and I saw it bloom! Then I knew, I loved these plants.
As for what got me into plants, I truly couldn't tell you. It is something I have always done. Maybe it was the time I spent in the garden with my Grandmother as a child. I thought my great aunt's greenhouse was a magical place. ( I was so mesmerized, it was my babysitter)
As for my absolute all time favorite flower..... it has to be whatever makes me smile when I walk up and see it blooming. I keep telling my self to not grow so many different things, but I rarely listen to myself anyway.
I am growing orchids for the 1st time this year,I also grow passionflowers, brugmansia, Jasmines, Succulents, Clematis, Daylily, Azalea, Camellia, hydrangeas, Plumeria, Adenium ,lantanas and hardy hibiscus.
My orchids won't be able to stay out all year.
It's wonderful that you could share that with your Grandmother. Yes, I'll bet that watching your GM and great aunt be able to create beauty had a LOT to do with triggering your love of gardening. Isn't it interesting that we all discovered epis by getting just one and having it bloom. We had to be patient, too, since they (ahem) don't look like much when not in bloom.
Just as an aside, I have gotten into succulents, too, and bought 2 Adeniums recently. Alas, I killed one. I looked over one day and it was fatally drooped. I think it was actually too thirsty, if you can believe that! But, kill one, get room for something new, I always say!!
Momlady, they are super easy to grow from seed. I have bought seed on ebay and grown some. Plumeria too are incredibly easy from seed.
I have always been attracted to "growing things" and feel that I must have been a farmer in some past life. As a child, my grandmother had an oxy in her Dining Room window and I remember us having a family party on the night that it was to bloom. I was amazed at how beautiful it was and as a young man, I obtained a plant and started growing my own. I became an orchid (cattleya) hobbyist and this continued until I had to obtain a greenhouse during middle age. Six years ago, my heating system malfunctioned during a particularly cold Feb. and I lost approx. 500 orchids. I was able to salvage around twenty plants. About five years ago I found out about epies and began collecting them. They are a little more hardy and their blooms are more beautiful than orchids (my opinion). I became hooked and enlarged my present greenhouse to a total size of 12"X 44".
I presently have 106 orchids and 305 epies. Lord help me!
Wow, orchidman1! Losing 500 orchids would take the spark right out for awhile. I am really sorry that happened to you.
How cool that you would have a family party for a plant's bloom. Sounds like you grew up in a great family.
Isn't it funny that we all kind of happen upon these epis and think they're great? It's not like orchids, where everybody's heard of them and knows (sort of) what they look like. I admit to favoring the blooms also. :)
Wow, Bob....I'm so sorry to hear this.....does sound like you are replacing them slowly......your pictures are like nectar to us who love these plants.....Thank you for sharing.....Deb