The Epis Are Here, The Epis Are Here!! 2005 PART THREE

Thought for quick access it was time to start a continuation of the Epi saga.

Links to the prior threads for Epi Lovers!

The Epis Are Here, The Epis Are Here!! 2005 PART TWO
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/504384/

The Epis Are Here, The Epis Are Here!! 2005
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/500483/

The Epis Are Coming, The Epis Are Coming!! 2005
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/480652/

2004 Thread:
"The Epis Are Coming, The Epis Are Coming!!"
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/426034/

I don't have any new or different colors to share, but the Pinks are coming on strong and we'll soon need to wear sunglasses when sitting on the patio.....just way over the top on the brightness scale!

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Beautiful, Candy! When you said on another thread that, after flowering, you put your epi's away somewhere less conspicuous, what area were you referring to? In other words, do they get a shady corner or a place under a tree, or do they get somewhere in full sun or part sun? Also, is there any chance that they will flower later on in the summer? The reason that I ask is that mine are taking up an awful lot of room on my semi-covered patio where they get filtered sun all day. Some of these have buds now. If they are not going to flower again until next year, I would also like to move them out of the way somewhere after they have finished flowering. Thanks for your help!

Mine have never flowered more than once a year, so since they are not really very attractive without flowers they get moved to somewhere out of the way. They take up so much room and are tough to move around. I have to move them with a hand truck and it's always tricky to keep from breaking them. I usually go for a half day sun/shade doesn't seem to matter whether it's morning or afternoon sun, you just don't want them to get etiolated from lack of sun. I continue to feed them through October and bait them for snails......when you aren't watching for flowers it's easy to forget that the snails will eat them any season of the year.

This year I don't know yet where they will go.....I need an open space about 6' x 8' to stand the three pots.....the only space that big is behind the back fence (where the gound squirrels and gophers hang out) or on the walkway on the side-yard, which would make the walkway unusable. Gonna have to think on that a bit. :-)

Spelling!

This message was edited May 14, 2005 5:47 AM

Thanks so much for your help, Candy! I learned a new word today: etoliated. I didn't realize that would happen to epi's if kept in full shade. And thanks for the snail reminder. As it happens, I am all out of my big bag of snail bait so I won't move them until I have procured some more!

Clare, you could have posted the definition so we dummies didn't have to look it up, LOL!

Also can cause deformed leaves, plants, because they elongate or lean over to reach any light source.

Although not a nutrient deficiency, insufficient light can result in a condition known as 'etiolation', or long straggly growth as the plant searches upward for more light.

The plant is weak under these conditions and much more prone to pest and disease as a result

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If your plants are in low light or not getting a full spectrum, they will show lanky and light colored growth, called etoliation, and most of this growth will be in the search for light, not as a result of proper conditions and watering.

This message was edited May 14, 2005 5:50 AM

Sorry about that, Darius. My bad. Thanks for the further clarification, Darius and Candy:-)

These are beautiful....I am the one who is looking for these in different colors ...have none of these.
First photo is from your own garden? Excellent photos and beautiful blooms.
Kaleem

Also (sorry Candy) it's misspelled so my computer dictionaries weren't able to get a fix on it. Darius has the right spelling with "etiolated". And I learned something new too as I didn't know what this meant either. I feel smart now LOL

Enough of that.... Candy those bright hot blindingly pink blooms are just screaming out with WOW-factor! Now they've just gotta cheer ya up despite any imperfections in the weather :-).

-Julie

Sorry Julie, I am the world's worst speller...does it count that I had all the correct letters in the wrong order? LOL

Gumlla - Yes all the images are from my garden taken yesterday.

This message was edited May 14, 2005 5:52 AM

I'm the world's worst as far as typos go so we're even Candy LOL

OK, IM new to epis...what is the differents between cereus and epis?...I have been looking up both but the cuttings look like they are pretty close..seems the epi is abit stiffer then the cereus..any thoughts?...Judy

From part two.....Candy, Ursula & Clare....my Rick Rack didn't bloom until it got VERY root bound! The year before I took that "bloomfilled" pic it only had a few blooms. That plant blooms in November, and toward the end of the summer before the big bloom happened I accidentally gave it Miracle Grow water (which I was using to water other things). I decided to just wait and see what happened, and that's the year I got all those flowers! Since I have repotted it, it really hasn't bloomed much.....waiting to get root bound again I think. Or perhaps, mad that I haven't given it more Miracle Grow! LOL The flowers have a light, delicate sweet smell.

Karen :~D

I tooo gave mine miracle grow because I had no clue what it was and was tired of "waiting" for it to bloom. Next thing i knew I had three big red blooms and salvi I.D. for me. Now my other epi is huge so am gonna feed it to and see what I have. Hang in there we learn by trial and error. Marilynne. I do have a lot of new growth on both.

Judy -

Here's an excellent site to get some basic information on the different epiphytic cacti......it should keep you busy for awhile!
http://www.ecology.org/orchids/index5.html#Epis

I just found a new site that is a great one too: http://www.angelfire.com/ct3/epiphyllum/index.html

Candy, when yours are not in bloom and get put aside after blooming, how much water do they get?

I water, feed, and bait for snails as usual until late October. When the rains start I just ignore them, don't feed them, but I do continue to bait for snails. The liquid snail stuff like Deadline works better during the rainy season, than the Sluggo (pet safe!) that I use from April - October.

Thanks, Candy. These are the ones that I am waiting on. I think it is supposed to be a cream/gold:

And this one:

Here are some of my big pots:

My several pots of epi's aren't showing any sign of buds yet but my christmas cactus are. Some are even blooming!

Wonderful pots, Clare!

Thanks, Darius! Don't give up hope. Maybe you will get some a bit later due to the wacky weather.

Oh your pots are lovely Clare .......great way to display them with the rocks and all.....you are giving me ideas that I need to tear out some of the weedy grasses on the shady side of the pond to put my big pots.

I sure hope your bud is goldy......I've been trying for a yellow Epi for several years with no luck yet.

Thanks, Candy. The pots are actually sitting in an empty fish pond and next to two Koi ponds. The rocks are there to hold the liner in place, but I like the way it looks too. The containers are sitting on porcelain containers which are turned over. When we had some heavy rains this past fall and winter, that empty pond nearly filled up with water. If it rains like that again, those pots will have to come out of there. They were so heavy to move; I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to move them again. Watering might be a bit of a problem too. I will need to water sparingly without any over spray because I don't want water to build up at the bottom and attrack mosquitoes. I'll have to be careful not to overwater as well because there is probably unused soil at the bottom of those large urns.

Candy, do you mean that you haven't been able to find a yellow or grow a yellow? I was sent a cutting of Clarence Wright not too long ago. That is supposed to be a yellow also. You can see a picture of it here: http://www.angelfire.com/ct3/epiphyllum/index.html If you want a cutting of the cream/gold or of the Clarence Wright, I'll earmark one for you. There is not much to cut from at this point, but when there is some growth, they are yours.

Oh I have a couple of yellows that I got from Epis by Pat........I'm just being impatient because they haven't bloomed yet. (drumming fingers on table.......drmmmm....drmmmmm.......drmmmmm)

Ah, I see. I wonder if some colors are more eager to bloom than others, or do you think it is strictly the age of the cuttings?

It's like waiting for water to boil!

Oh sheesh, look at the color of that bud!!! I can't wait to see how it looks blooming!

I have three little epis, all about 2 years old now, no blooms yet. I can't even remember what color the blooms will be. I'm waiting to be surprised....some day! :)

But, I am enjoying the fruits of your labor!

Wow, NICE BUD!

Thanks MaryEv and Darius! I'm waiting on a few different colors to open. This is a first time for me so I have no idea what they will look like. Some of these cuttings were sent to me by Antoinette (Gourd) if she happens to see this thread. She had roof rats knawing on her epi's and had a lot of cuttings broken off and sent them to me just last June. I am amazed that I have flowers at all! Hopefully, this one will open later today, and we can see what color it is. It has cream/gold labeled on it.

I got a bunch of different colored spi's from her last summer, too. All seem to have rooted but none look anywhere close to a size that might bloom this year.

Darius, mine aren't that big either. You can see in the picture that some of these buds are on the original cutting, and some are on new growth, I think.

Here is another one that I'm waiting on:

And this one too way in the back:

Does anyone recognize this one? It is very small and has been this way for three years or more.

I must not be feeding mine enough! (Plus, I'm in 6b)

Darius, perhaps you will get some buds a little later than those of us here on the West Coast. Come to think of it, I think I did give a Miracle Grow Bloom Booster fertilizer to them last summer. That must have helped.

Here is my epi with a few blooms.