I still like Orchid Cactus best : )
Orchid Cactus Forum
To borrow from the most active forum here at DG.......what about Orchid Cactus & Friends. :-)
Edit:
Or I guess it should really be Orchid Cacti & Friends.
This message was edited Jun 2, 2005 12:36 PM
Hey that works for me!
Me too!
Here is a quote from an old Cox's Epiphyllum Nursery Catelog that Norma sent me. It is dated 1976 and has cultivar names and descriptions:
"Epiphyllums were first found growing in the jungles of Latin and South America where they grew as epiphytes in the forks of tree branches with very little soil. While it rains often in the jungles, the epiphyllums did not remain wet because of the small amount of soil and high temperatures. The species had white blooms which opened at night. With a few exceptions, the blooms are open only the one night. These specie plants were taken to Europe and the United States where hybridizing was done with various cacti to bring about long-lasting colored blooms."
I would like to participate too! I grow a few and am thrilled when I actually get a bloom. From what I hear Zone 9 is not the prefered zone to grow epi's.
Susan
If Clare (zone 10b) and Happenstance (also zone 10b) can grow them, you should be able to do so too.
Here is a neat site I just ran across. It is entitled THE EPIPHYTIC CACTUS GALLERY :
http://www.teesside.bcss.org.uk/BCSS/GALLERY/epic_gal.htm#Epip_004 I like it!
Susan, many people in colder zones grow these wonderful plants. In Zone 10, we can leave them outside all year, but in colder zone, you have to protect them from frost and freezing temperatures by bringing them inside the house or greenhouse.
Just a hair shy of 13 inches from tip to tip. I think this flower needs a new forum to call home.
Wow! Amazing, Candy!
Do you have friends who are always late?????
Well this friend has never been late before, but instead of Easter this year.......she showed up for Memorial Day. :-)
Beautiful, Candy. I just noticed it looks a lot like this: http://www.teesside.bcss.org.uk/BCSS/GALLERY/PICTURES/EPIPHYTE/epip_007.htm Do you think it is Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri?
Well Clare, I hope so because I have it in the PlantFiles under that name. :-) It is a lot redder than it has been in the past. I remember something about temperature and the color of Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus......how temps that were colder produced less color, while warmer temps brought out more pigment in the flowers. (Now if I have that reversed, my theory wouldn't make sense.) This is blooming much later than normal and it is a lot warmer now than it would have been around Easter. Warmer = deeper color.....I'll have to go back and see if I can find where I posted that info before. I found it on a site for greenhouse growers with info about the color to expect based on how warm or cool they kept the growing houses.
I know just enough to be dangerous, but this is what I know about Easter Cactus:
Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri & Rhipsalidopsis rosea
Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri is widely known as the Easter cactus and is the larger of the two species, having large red/orange flowers which only fully open in full sunlight. Rhipsalidopsis rosea is smaller having masses of pink flowers which can completely cover the plant.
See this thread from George about how to tell the difference between the different "holiday cacti" : http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/471314/
I actually have two of these plants.....one of them tried to commit suicide this winter.....as a matter of fact twice. :( It kept moving itself around in the line of fire and was struck broadside twice by the same heavy stone column that blew over in the wind with a large asparagus fern landing in the middle of the Easter Cactus. I'll have to go drag him out of banishment.....he is truly only half the plant he was last fall.
I
Here come da Queen!
I'll apologize first since I know cross-posting is poor form.....but ya gotta see the nightime shot of these Epis.
Take a very deep breath........did the fragrance knock you over????? If not, you need to have your nose fixed. LOL
Sorry I am so late here, but I vote "YES" for an Orchid Cactus forum..
Antoinette
I have a few epis, but I don't grow them very well. I am rewarded on occasion with a bloom from "Above and Beyond" but I think it's just humoring me. I have killed every Rhipsalidopsis I have ever owned.
I do, however, grow MANY Schlumbergeras, which are epiphytic cacti. I would certainly participate in a forum for epiphytic cactuses.
Candy, even my stuffy node got that!
BTW, I think we're due for a Part Five on the epi thread. :-) It's getting sooooo long! So many messages. So many people watching it. :-)
Ooops, I see you've done that already.
I'm all for it...Epiphytic cacti are my new obsession!
My favorites are Rhipsalis.
Epiphytic Cacti or 'Jungle Cacti' would be the most appropriate names.
Simply 'Epiphytes' covers waaaayyyyy to many plants, IMHO.
That's true. I remember "air plants" in south FL as a kid.
Found this a couple of months ago:
http://epiphyticcactus.proboards3.com/index.cgi
Thanks so much, Candy, for the info about Rhipsalidopsis. I think yours is very beautiful. Your white epi flowers are amazing too.
Epiphytic Cacti Forum would be fine as a name goes. How hard would it be to move all of the long Epi threads to the new forum? Would that be a lot of work? There is so much information in them, and the pictures are beautiful. It may be asking too much, but if we do get a new forum, it would be nice if those threads could be moved to it.
IndaShade, what a fun time I had there... and I learned a lot (easy to do since I'm so new to these plants)!
I'm in zone 9 and they grow great here. Add my vote.
Blessings,
Awanda
I vote Yes, Please
I didn't know there was such a plant as Orchid Cactus. After seeing this thread and the pictures, I'm very interested. About the name--not knowing anything about the plants I'd check in to see what a forum named "Orchid Cactus" was about but would pass up "Epiphytes" or any of the other variations. The only reason I checked in on the brugmansia forum was because of the "and friends" attached to the end. I thought it was somebody and their friends--I wanted to see what they were up to. LOL! Now I have 3 plants and like to call them brugmansias but my friends don't know what I'm talking about till I call them "Angel's trumpet." :^)
yes, please :)
I'm in. I do have some epi's. The blooms just thrilled me. My climate concern is the intense heat and humidity. We don't have a big spread in day time, night time temperatures. I am better off with them in the winter when the temps vary more. I left mine outside under an overhang when the temps dipped into the mid 40's. They seemed to love it.
My first bloom a year or so ago. I don't even know the name of it as I found it along the "dead" fence at a local nursey. It was only half dead. The nursery guy just gave it to me as they were getting ready to put it in the trash. Lucky me.
NightBloomer54,
Wow! Pretty red color!
Too bad... I don't have any Epiphyllum because my local nurseries do not carry them. :-(
Connie
NightBloomer, those are really beautiful flowers that you have there. It is good to know that these can be kept outdoors under an overhang in your zone. That information opens them up to a lot of people who live in colder zones but don't have a greenhouse or can't bring them in.
Connie, there are many online reliable sources if you are interested. Here are a few:
Logee's - http://www.logees.com/products.asp?dept=63
Epi's by Pat - http://www.epies.net/
Gray Davis - http://graydavisepies.com/
You can also find them on eBay. Don't give up!
So, Dave, what do you say about a forum called "Orchid Cacti." Have we impressed you sufficiently that we are worthy of having our own forum? What say you? :-)
Oh this would be my new favorite forum. You definitely have my vote too! Candy and Clare ya'lls blooms are something else!!
Susanne
Thanks, Susanne! You have an amazing flower there yourself. Do you know if it is Epiphyllum oxypetalum? It looks slightly different than others I've seen. I love it.
Connie, you used to have an epi grower fairly close to you. Bob Smoley's Garden World was east of Pittsburgh. I visited the greenhouses two summers ago and purchased a lot of Hoya from him. He has since moved his operation to Florida. The web site is still up and he's changed his address to the Florida location. Still lots of epi's listed at very reasonable prices as he just sells cuttings.
Wish he was still in PA as I am going to visit my parents for July 4th.
www.bobsmoleys.com
Dave gave the green light for this forum today, too. I'm happy to announce the all-new Orchid Cactus forum here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/episetc/
I went to my preferences page to add the new dahlia forum to my list and orchid cactus was listed as a forum too. Can't find the announcement anywhere but I checked it anyway. Hooray!! Maybe now I can figure out how to get mine to bloom. LOL
Yay!! Thank you Terry & Dave, and also Clare for rounding up the troops.
Clare I'm not really sure what mine is. That is a picture of the bloom as it was opening. (I was so excited, I stayed up to watch it and took pictures every couple minutes until it was open) I can get a picture up of the whole plant and see if you can id it. Better yet- I'll put it in a new thread in our new forum!! :D
Yay! Thank you also, Terry and Dave!
Art_n_garden, I'll check the new thread for your picture!
Yippee! Thanks to everyone for your support on this!
Thank you....
Candy, posted a message that the Red Sails cutting you got is not Red Sails.. it is Ruth Wallace.. another one of mine with the name on it bloomed and it is labled Ruth Wallace.
here is a site that has a photo of it.. http://www.ecology.org/orchids/index5.html
Yippee!! Yippee!! Thanks, Dave & Terry. : )
(and, Thanks Clare for instigating this new forum.)