They are loaded this year. :-) Some always drop, but looks like the results could be good this year.
The Epis Are Coming, The Epis Are Coming!!
I am so green with envy. How do you get all those blooms? What do you feed them? I am really happy for you these are awesome looking and I know how many years we wait for 1 bloom, but worth the wait. LOL
Sandy
Evening Sandy -
These plants are pretty old (I'm guessing 15 years), but they have bloomed since the beginning, some years just a few flowers and some years LOTS.
I feed them diluted fish emulsion about every two weeks from March or so 'til late Oct/Nov. I bait them for snails all year round, but the snails still manage to chomp them some.
They live outside year round here in 9B, 85-110F summers and monsoon rains/wind winters.
They NEED to get cold in the winter or they won't bloom. They also need more water than is generally advised. I also move them around a lot, turning the pots often.....which kind of blows that old wives tale about "never move them or change the direction they face" out of the water.
I bought an un-named cutting at a nursery late last year and it has received the same care. It has buds on it too.
I also bought a BUNCH of named cuttings in February from a site online. No sign of buds yet, but I have great hopes for next year.
The picture below was taken in March 2004
They look great, wow, jealous here too. There are only about three buds on mine. Maybe next year.. I have to start with the fertilizer.
Mine grow some stems very long, do you cut yours off and repot the cut stems? Yours look so nice and full. I Just love them.
Afternoon Gourd -
I repotted these a couple of years ago after a soggy wet terrible winter. The snails really got to them that year, so I just took them all apart (wear gloves!!) hosed all the dirt from them, repotted them in these three tubs. When a piece gets broken off: a) [deleted] dog, b) DH or c) me with the hose, I just stick it in the top of the pot.
They do need to be redone, the pots are way heavy and over crowded. I plan to tag them this year when they are blooming (I say that every year....:-) and repot them.
They need to be in really TALL pots (I tried baskets, but they just get too dry and are too heavy when loaded with blooms) because I end up having to lift the pots onto blocks when the blooms weigh the leaves down.
That's a project for later.....
My first ones, a very old pink and a cutting from last year that was a lighter pink bloomed already. I have quite a few buds on the way.
Happ,
I saw an old victorian home in Redlands at a plant swap and the owner had four tall urns about three feet high and very wide around, anyway, her epis were trailing down the urns onto the floor and they were full of peach colored blooms. They looked like floating pond lillies. That is what got me started on Epies.
Way to go, George.. I am anxious to see somehthing happen here.. I ordered some named epies but the roof rats ate most of the them and ate the names right off..lol. I will have to wait till the bloom also to identify them.
I only have the species, the flowers are not as large as the 'HYbrids' and really not as pretty. These species were collected F/C years years ago where they are native. I hang mine on the North side of the house. and so they only get late afternoon sun. I also have one hanging on the front fence where it get filited light. It gets more light and has been in flower already, orange small flowers. I took a picture but if wasn't sharp enough to keep. I'll see if I can get a better one tomorrow. Norma
Evening Gourd -
The tall urns is the way I want to go......just have to bite the bullet and invest in them. We have so much wind here and I've lost most of my big pots in the last 5 years. Doesn't seem to matter how much they weigh.....the winds get them sooner or later.
Years ago I had a very small peach colored one that bloomed for a much longer time than the larger varieties. I keep hoping that one of them will show up again, but I think they were all lost the first year we moved here when everything was out in the open and stayed too wet for too long.
The remaining ones are a large white, and a couple of fuschia ones.
Wow those are beautiful. The colors are so vibrantant beautiful. I am going to try the fish emulshion. Mine are all in hanging pots, and have been for years. What kind of potting mix do you use? I hve gotten new colors buy trading this last year but the largest plants are queen of the night. and a medium and small white bloom.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Sandy
I has some Epis flowers blooms 2 yrs ago and I took some pics already. It's called 'Rainbow'
Again this color is 'Salmon'
I have a large red epi that somehow got planted in with large red double hibiscus. Talk about your odd couple. The epi bloomed 4 times last season. 2 major flushes of 8-10 flowers and two minor with 2-3 each. I think it was the Osmacote. The hibiscus needs more water than the epi, but it drinks it up fast so the soil doesn't stay wet. I will put a picture of this strange arrangement up for you to see tomorrow.
other one is small flowers 'Red'
Happenstance my Dad will cry when I show him your pics of all the flower buds. I can hardly wait to see what your new named varieties will look like.
What a marvelous thread....such a treat to see so many different colored blooms!
Well I've put off moving the epis to big urns for the time being:
a) haven't seen any that I just "have to have"
b) not a good time to repot now anyway
c) this was an easy "fix"
I purchased three wrought iron stands and have raised the pots enough to solve the dragging on the ground issue and the fronds are high enough in most cases to out of the direct attack from the dog. I think this might work.
Happenstance....Please remember to post when they are in bloom! I doubt if many of us have seen any epi's with the amount of blooms yours will be having.
Just a little update on the Epis....
We're getting very close!
And the white buds.
Hap,
What about a hypertufa urn, a plastic urn could be used as a mold.. and a base made out of a simple plastic pot that they use at the florists as a stand for the top portion.. it could work.. and the look would be fantastic, I may try one this summer.
Morning Gourd -
Thanks for the hypertufa thought....had already considered that and tossed the idea because of the heavy winds we have pretty much year round. I have a pile of broken pottery/hypertufa (pots that weighed as much as 100lbs planted) that have been thrown about during storms. :(
Drumroll please!!!!
And so it starts....just hope some are left for the garden tour on Friday and Saturday this week.
And a closeup.
That is gorgeous.. I love it.. tadddah...
"Roman Holiday"
Good luck and have fun on your garden walk. I sure all will enjoy the performance of the Epi. I'm sure they will be in flower, they are very dependable this time of the year, it the temps. don't reach 100. Now I just want to take pictures like you do. Please look at the Epi? or Rhipsalis I am going to try to put on now. Perhaps you will recognize it. Norma
Happenstance I just showed Dad your Epis (and everyone else's) and Dad wondered how long are your Epis exposed to cooler temps (and how cool those temps are). Dad still talks about his shipment of Epis from Rainbow Gardens (in the 70's)....he received 10 different varieties and out of those 7 bloomed the first summer. His eyes lit up seeing all the different colors and the number of buds yours had took his breath away. :)
In case you missed these Lilypon here are some additional Epi pics to show your Dad.
http://davesgarden.com/t/429556/
http://davesgarden.com/t/429159/
http://davesgarden.com/t/429115/
Next time he's over I'll show him! :) Thank You!!
Happenstance:
How cold does it get there?
How long does it stay cold?
Our low this winter was 39F several times!! LOL Now I know that's not what you would call cold, but we were very cold. That's usually between 2AM and 5AM and then back to 45-50F during most days. That's between Nov-March usually, although this year it was unseasonably warm in Feb and March. We've had three spells of 80-90F so far each lasting about a week. It's paradise for a kid from Chicago!
Thank you!! :) We live in a old house and the third floor isn't heated so we *might* be able to duplicate your conditions...I'm sure enough heat gets up there to keep it above freezing. Though I didn't check when we were at -55F.
In my dreams we could have a winter by your definition of cold. ;) It is just a minor blip in your summer temps....we have 10" of snow forecasted for May 11. :b But the day should warm up enough that it won't be there by evening.
I can remember trying to "garden" in the suburbs of Chicago for years. Frost date was May 20th. One year I planted six flats of annuals over Memorial Day weekend and they all froze on June 10th. That was not a fun place to garden and the mosquitos were as big as roof rats. :-)
Sounds familiar ;) ... Dad planted his whole yard with geraniums one summer (he had a very good year) and June 7 we had hard frost. :b Yet some years I have planted at the beginning of May (one year at the end of April in North Battleford) and never had even the threat of frost.
That's disgusting, y'know that? I barely get ONE bloom! :)
That is gorgeous .....(I know the feeling darius) ;) I'm setting mine out in the porch now....our night are around 35 so I"m hoping this cool spring will bring on the blooms.
Sending a little aroma and beauty to NC and SK while you wait for those blooms to appear! :-)
long sighs!
One more for Lilypon and darius.......
