Epi from 86 yr. old man

Hi there! After getting the epiphylum I.D. I waited until we got home to post. I picked her up from a manon the very southern tip of Texas who could no longer care for his plants. He parted with it , and others, regretfully, as he had many fond memories of working in his yard. He had no idea how old it was. Many of the branches were woody and dead, but it continues to bloom. It was potted so poorly, I added some garden soil cut with perlite to the top soil it already lived in. Since, it has shot out several "morphed out" blooms. Some blackened at the tips, died and fell off. Others grew very long, turned yellow and hung there. After 10 hours of travel in a mini van, tightly packed with other herbaceous specimens, it retains some of these strange blooms. Can anyone give me some insight here? I have never had an orchid cactus before and really don't want to kill this one. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Sorry about the misspelling. I looked at one of the weird blooms. The old epi is a Strictum. I think. I would really like to take it out of its original pot. It looks like the drainage holes are covered with a plastic bag. I got another plant, a crassula, shrimperi, from the same gentleman and it was potted lined with a plastic bag. Both plants are very old and, clearly, have not been repotted in years. Any suggestions?

Anybody out there? :)

There are those in this forum with greater knowledge by far than I, but I have discovered epiphyllums recently and think they're great, so I'll chime in.

I would repot it in soil with good drainage. Others on this forum have good recipes. Then I'd keep it in a nice light spot with some morning sun, or dappled shade all day. (Or, if it was happy for the gentleman you got it from - do you know the light conditions it was being kept in? If you do, then try to replicate that.) Then I'd give it moderate water while it's still active. And, last, I'd give it small to moderate amounts of 10-10-10 fertilizer until the winter.

I don't have a E. strictum, but aren't they night blooming? If you see buds looking ready to open and then the next day they're done, check during the night!

I know where the epi lived and have tried to mimic the conditions. Dappled light facing West. Thanks for the heads up on the incognito blooming! Very cool! I had no idea. I just recently acquired a night blooming Cereus that has a really move bloom growing on it. I have never seen it bloom, but the previous owner swears it blooms prolifically. How exciting! Some of my new friends produce big blooms! Thank you for the help. Soil change tomorrow!

Good advice from Momlady. The picture attached is of Strictum.

No bloom last night. The potential bloom looked like it might do something yesterday. A few of the outer green leaves around the bloom had peeled back and looked ready to frame a bloom. Not so. This morning it was wilted.

Should I remove the wilted bloom before it dies completely? I have removed the larger "morphed out" wilted, unbloomed blooms. I let the other little nubs die first before I removed them. What is recommended.

I was planning on repotting in my standard cactus stuff. Potting mix cut with perlite and a bit of our sand around here. Any other suggestions?

Thanks so much for responding! I have lugged this ancient thing almost 700 miles. It deserves a nice new home!

Your potting material sounds good. Strictum has a habit of blooming itself to death and taking a few seasons to renew strength. It is one of my favorites and the parent to many many hybrids. Keep it shaded (1/2) and feed it 10/10/ 10 March-October. Let it idle Nov-Feb. I'm including a picture. bob