Candy, I can't wait to see a pic of that opened flower! I hope the rain doesn't weigh it down too much!
BL, Epis really like to be root-bound and often don't bloom if they have too much room in a pot. They may have just simply finally gotten "comfy" in the pot and now are ready to bloom :-). Congratulations! Please post more pics as the blooms open up :-)
-Julie
The Epis Are Here, The Epis Are Here!! 2005 PART TWO
Cold and very windy this morning and a flower that is almost inaccessible for pictures. Maybe that's why it opened first.....hidden down between the three big pots.
Not the best image I've ever posted, but I'll be gone all day and didn't want to miss a chance at catching this one. Although it is so cold it will probably freeze dry and stay on the plant for months! :-)
Candy it's really lovely! That color is sooooooo pretty! :-)
-Julie
Gorgeous!
Here's the same bloom this evening still looking like she pushed to the front of the line, while all the other buds are still closed up tight.
Ha! Finally! My first bloom was open this morning.....will send pics in the next few days as more are coming! Yay!
Karen
Good deal Karen!
We need more flowers!
You folks are hurting me with these pictures, but I can't stop looking! I had a friend over on Saturday (her DH helped put up the shade structure for our porch) and showed her this thread. You never heard so many exclamations! WOW - Oh my! -- what IS that? LOL!
I found out there is a grower very near here (junglecactus.com) so I will order a cutting from there and/or we are going to try to make it to Epie Acres (Epi's by Pat) next month for the annual sale.
Now who's hurting who??????
Waaahhhhhhhh....you get to go to Pat's?!! You lucky lucky girl! Be sure to check in with us and tell us all how wonderful it was please.
Well, I HOPE I get to Epie Acres. It is a long drive for me -- I have wimpy wrists -- but I have the directions and a friend is going to try to take the day off, which will make it more fun. There's another garden up that way I've been wanting to visit for CA natives, too.
mmm...this is sounding like a must-do. I'll take the camera.
Where is the epi acres located in Calif? We visit our granddaughter in Citrus Heights ever so often.
Thanks for the info.
Maxine
Placentia. Here's a link. (WHO came up with the name for THAT city???)
http://www.epies.net/
Figuring it had to be Spanish in origin, here's what I found:
Quoting:
History
In 1837, the Mexican Governor in charge of what is now Southern California granted a huge swath of land to Juan Ontiveros called El Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana, comprising the modern cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda.
In 1865, Daniel Kramer was the first Anglo pioneer to come to the area. He purchased 3,900 acres (16 km²). In 1868, William McFadden and Sarah Ann McFadden bought 100 acres (400,000 m²). The town was named "Placentia" by Sarah Ann McFadden in 1876. The word comes from a Spanish word meaning "a pleasant place to live."
I haven't ordered from him yet, but Jim's Universe is having a sale. You might want to check it out.
http://www.epiuniverse.com/
:) Donna
Candy, I need your help. I am having trouble rooting some cuttings that were sent to me by a kind and generous trader. They are supposed to be Epiphyllum oxypetalum cuttings and have 12-inch flowers. They looked a little yellow and wrinkled when they arrived, and I thought that they might have been old cuttings, but the trader said that they were cut the day before they were mailed. They are now starting to turn brown at the top and yellowing even more in the middle. If they root at the bottom and send up new shoots, it won't be a problem at all. Have you seen this before? Thanks in advance.
What part of the country did they come from? That's what first came to mind......perhaps they got too cold on the way.
But, the most obivious (to me) is that they look like they are too wet. I'd get them out of that soil and start over with some really fast draining mix. Is it my imagination of is there some "green" on the surface of the pumice in the soil mix. Perhaps it's just the image. I wouldn't worry so much about the yellowing part, it will either recover or dry up and can be cut off later. (Remember how we talk about these being the ugliest plants in the world with the most beautiful flowers? :-)
Another thought would be to put them in a hanging basket (you don't have to hang it up) that has the fiber lining....then you can be assured that it will drain well and not retain water.
Not scientific observations by any means, just some ideas I'd employ if they were my cuttings. Let us know if they have improved in a couple of weeks. Remember it could take a long time to get the cuttings going, especially is they were stressed upon arrival. Good luck and perhaps Ursula will stop in and give you another opinion.
Candy, thanks so much for your reply. The cuttings came from Texas, and I don't think they were subjected to freezing weather, but maybe they did get too cold on the way. They weren't insulated in a box; they were sent by envelope.
The mix that they are in is actually a fast draining mix, but I just watered so it looks wet. It is Sunshine Mix No. 4, and I've rooted other cuttings in it without any problem. I've never had one rot on me before, and this appears to be dying from the top down rather than rotting from the bottom up. I've even rooted cuttings in winter without any problem.
Thanks for your suggestion about the hanging basket. I actually do have several in hanging baskets, and they do drain really well.
I'll keep you updated on how they are doing. As always, thanks for your help.
Well the dam is open, no stopping them now! Each of these two pots has about 6 open and more to come with temps in the 80's predicted for the weekend. Woooohooo!
The flowers do look smaller than in past years, but I'm just happy they didn't all drop dead and fall off. :-) The third large pot has mostly white ones and it is always a week or two later than the pinkies.
This message was edited May 12, 2005 8:29 AM
Candy, the more I think about it, the more I think the cuttings did get too cold in transit. They did look pretty yellow and wrinkled when they arrived, but they looked good before they were sent according to the sender. I always send in a box with insulation by Priority Mail, but this time we agreed to just send our cuttings in an envelope by regular mail to save money on postage. I think the lack of insulation probably caused them to get too cold.
The cuttings are not rotting from the bottom, which is what you would expect if they were kept too wet. They are actually dying from the top down. The greenest part is in the soil. I don't expect them to root at this point, but I'll let you know if they do.
Your pinkies are lovely!
Clare -
Don't give up on them! As long as they are green at the bottom, there is always hope. I have my fingers crossed for you. :-)
This message was edited May 11, 2005 11:56 PM
Clare,
if you give me your address, I can send you some rooted Epi oxypetalum. I would pack it up on Sunday and ship it to you on Monday.
Clare,
You may want to cut off the dying portion of the leaf, leaving the healthy part. That may help keep the rest from dying and encourage it to root quickly.
Just a thought, what do you think Candy?
Karen
At this point I don't think it matters very much, but I would leave the yellowing part alone for now. It can stay on there and either begin to recover or brown and dry at which point it could be cut off. My reasoning is that it is sick and it doesn't need any open surface area to catch dirt, bugs or whatever to lessen its chances for survival.
Good point, I thought it was rotting back on her. I sure hope it makes it!
K
Well folks, here's the first volunteer! The others are still working up to it!
K
Oh oh oh oh oh ......such lovely flowers everyone! Candy, my GOODNESS those are big bunchy densely packed plants! I thought yours were in hanging baskets at first and I was wondering what type of heavy construction equipment you have set up in your garden to hoist those things up LOL. I'm thinking of getting a pot stand like yours that holds 3 plants (vertically) to hold my ever growing 'beauties' ;-). I'm a bit wary of doing it just yet as there is still exposed dirt in each pot and the kitties might like that more than I would like them to ;-)
Keep those pics coming everyone! Assuming I don't break my camera again between now and then LOL, I should have a pic to share in a few days :-)
-Julie
Thanks so much for your help, Candy and Kachina. I won't give up on them.
Ursula, that is so thoughtful of you. I'll send you a PM.
Kachinagirl, that is an amazing pink! Congrats!
Ah nutz....that one is actually pale peach....comes across pink, tho'...oh well. Thanks Clare!
Kachina, LOL! Peach...I meant Peach...I can definitely see some peach! Hugs,
OMGosh that's a beauty.....tell me again what your address is and when you WON'T be home. :-)
It really is special!
Ha! Candy you crack me up! They DO live on the front porch.....so I suppose anyone could make off with them! They've lived there for 10 years now, so watch....when DH gets the Greenhouse done someone (oh, I don't know.....maybe SATAN!) will steal them before I get them set up in their new home! LOL Isn't that the way things usually work? Murphy's Law? LOL
Karen
Oh but Karen.....dont you know? Unless someone saw them in bloom and/or knew about Epis, these would be the LAST plants (not yours in particular....anyone's Epis) to get stolen off of someone's front porch LOL. Poor Epis. They get such a bum wrap and still keep blessing us with such gorgeous flowers.
-Julie
So true Julie! Here's today's blessing! The Red-Orange one popped.
K
Kachina, that is a beautiful color. I like your Ric Rac one in the background. Is that Epiphyllum anguliger or Selenicereus anthonyanus, if you know?
Don't know for sure but here's a pic of it in flower a year ago or so, maybe you can tell me! What I do know is that this last year it's had too much sun, frost and snails.....not a happy camper.
k
Karen, that is one yummy color -- my first thought was of fruit sorbet!
Wow, that is a stunning plant and look at all those flowers and buds! Well, it must have been happy as a clam to bloom like that. I've heard that Ric Rac type cactus can be stubborn about blooming. I don't know enough to say for sure which one you have, but maybe Ursula will know. I am leaning toward Epi anguliger. Check this out: http://www.ecology.org/orchids/index5.html#selenicereus and http://www.ecology.org/orchids/index5.html#Epis
Kachinagirl,
that Ric Rac of yours is beautiful!! That must have been a show! Very nice.
As I mentioned before, I bought one about 2 years ago, but it hasn't flowered yet, although it is a good size plant/basket. Perhaps it will do it this year.
I have trouble keeping these Ric Racs apart. Comparing mine to the pics at ecology.org, I probably have the Epi anthonyanus. Loking at Kachinagirl's Ric Rac, it is hard to tell, but her plant has more the "rib cage" straight out angles like the anthonyanus. The flowers might be also a clue, and since yours flowered....
How about e-mailing your pic to the address at the ecology.org site? Joe will surely identify your plant?
Hi Ursula! Joe's pictures of the S. anthonyanus flowers seem to have a lot of red in it. Also, the leaves have a more narrow appearance, I think. Here is one of mine that I think is S. anthonyanus. I did email Joe once, but he never responded. I guess I won't know for sure until it flowers. I hope yours flowers for you this season!
You know, come to think of it, maybe the one above is Epiphyllum anguliger. I'm confused. Oh well, that's nothing new. Here's another one that I got from Home Depot and looks a little more like Kachinagirl's plant:
