Epis have never bloomed

I have several epis that are 3 years old plus some brand new cuttings. My plants have never bloomed. I live in the midwest, zone 5b. I put the plants outside during the summer. They get some early morning light and the rest of the day is bright indirect light. In winter they are in an east window in my garage which stays in the upper 40's and low 50's. Winters here tend to be overcast so they don't get much light even though they are in a window. I barely water them in winter. I use Osmocote in the soil to feed them. What can I do to get them to bloom? What time of year do they bloom in my climate? Help! I am so anxious to see them bloom.

NoH20, I'd like to see what Candy says about this. My advice would be to put them outdoors as early as you possibly can after the chance of frost has passed. You said you put them outside during the summer, but they bloom in the spring, and I think they probably get the signal to bloom from an increased light situation. The days become longer in the spring after winter, and plants can sense this and often receive it as a signal to bloom. Also, I would start fertilizing with a Bloombuilder or Bloombooster solution such as 10-52-10 in the spring and supplement the fertilizer with fish emulsion, Superthrive, or any other supplement which works for you. The Osmocote is okay, but it is slow-release fertilizer and not enough to help with blooms. In your climate they should bloom in the spring like ours do.

I can get frost here as late as May 21. The entire month of May was unseasonably cold; many days had highs that were 20 degrees below normal. I do get them out as soon as possible after the last chance of frost so I don't think that is the problem.

It does sound like I am not giving them enough fertilizer. Where do you find fertilizer with 10-52-10?

Right now people in warmer areas like California are posting pictures of new blooms on their epis which makes me wonder if they bloom later here in the midwest.

By the way, my name is Candy too so I got kind of confused when you said you would like to see what Candy says about this. LOL

Candy, LOL! Candy (Happenstance) is our resident epi expert! You might get blooms a little later than we do because of your longer winter. You can find any Bloombuilder/Bloombooster fertilizer at Home Depot or Lowe's or Target, etc. Miracle Gro makes it, and Schultz makes it too.

Oh this is gonna be fun. :-)

Hi NoH2O......what's the real name. Mine's Candace with an "a" not an "i" like Candice Bergen.

I would like to see Ursula (RUK) come in and join this conversation, because her climate would be a lot closer to yours I'm thinking than any of us here in California. I do know what those May frosts are like, having lived in Chicago for many years.

I'm guessing that you would probably need to recreate the dark/chill requirements artificially in a greenhouse or sun room or garage and then move into a warmer location to get the light requirements needed and then move outside as soon as the frost danger is past. Hopefully Ursula will come in here with some hands on advice for the way she handles her flowering plants.

Welcome Candy!

Hi Candy!

I am a Candace too. Maybe I should refer to you as Uber Candy and myself as.....as.....what's the opposite of Uber? LOL

I grew up in Ohio but lived on the West coast for many years, first in Berkeley and then in Seattle. I loved the climate in Berkeley; it seemed just about perfect to me. I haven't been back to the Bay area in 30 years. I am sure I would be shocked at the changes.

I am really excited at the idea of seeing my epis bloom. Who knows what colors they will be? There are so many beautiful ones. Oh dear, the last thing I need is another addiction.

Well I could be Candy The Older and you could be Candy The Younger or visa versa if you were born more than 15 months prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor!! (Some of the youngsters in the crowd are now jumping over to Google to look up when Pearl Harbor was!!! LOL)

If you are here, you are already infected. There is no hope for a cure.

I guess this is one of the rare times that I will get to be Candy the Younger since I was born 7 years after the Day That Will Live In Infamy.

Like any true addict, I am not looking for a cure. LOL

I just discovered our new forum!! Nice work getting it going!! This is terrific!!

No H2O,
I am having the same problem this year because of the very chilly Spring we had.
Until last year I always overwintered my Epis ( except the species oxypetalum, pumilum and phyllanthus) in an unheated and very sunny room. ( Temp about down to 40 F) I let them go just about dormant, bring them out in April somewhat protected and don't worry if the temp falls to 35 F as long as there is no frost. ( Just take them in for a night if there is.) At this point there are usually starting to grow and bud.
Last Winter for the first time I overwintered them in the garage with little light, minimum temp about 40 F. As always, I gave them just enough water at that time not to shrivel totally. They looked excellent this Spring, started new growth, ( outside since the middle of April) I fertilized as before, but due to cool temps the buds are still small. They are NOW taking off, finally - yesterday we were talking about 1 inch buds, although they are not as numerous as normally. In a few days we will have some red Epi flowers. In previous years they had started flowering around Memorial Day!!

Ursula

Ursula, I have seen no buds so far. I am wondering if I give them too much water in winter. I let them get dry before watering (in garage = out of sight/out of mind) but I have never let them shrivel.

What do you use for fertilizer? How often do you give it to them? What kind of soil do you use?

What kind of light exposure do yours have outside? Do they get any special care after flowering?

Thanks so much for all your help. Since our climates are so similar your techniques should work well for me. My epis are beautiful plants even without flowers but I want to see them bloom!!!! LOL

noH2O,
my plants hang in Summer outside in FULL SUN after initial acclimatizing and they get fertilized with Peters 20 20 20 alternating with 20 50 10 or something similar with a high middle # about once a week, as long as they are actively growing. The high middle number Peters is especially important when they are budding in the Spring.
On hot days in Summer I flood them daily. During the dormant stage they get watered perhaps twice or 3 times and that just a little. (They don't look too great then.)
I use regular potting soil with a little sand adding to them for better drainage.
About the plants which flower Memorial Day and following, I was talking about my red Epis.
This link might help, I give some cultural notes on that page as well. I should add, they will NOT look like that this year.
http://www.kammlott.net/EpiphyllumJD.html
I also have some varieties which simply flower later, they are also late this year and the buds are even slower to take off.
http://www.kammlott.net/EpiHaage.html
this link also includes another source, which some here might find of interest? Any European Epi afficionados?

Ursula

I should add, as my second link says, Epis grow and flower easier/better if the pots are really crowded. ( For me) A single cutting in a pot is a very unhappy plant. As soon as possible, if one starts with too few pieces, take cuttings from those and really fill out the pot. That might help too.

Good Morning Ursula -

Thanks for jumping in with your expertise, we all appreciate it. Followed your links and revisited your flowers.....so lovely! Also visited the Kakteen Haage page......how appropriate that it is located at 68 "Flower Street." :-)

Blumenstrasse.
Yes, they are located in the flower- district of the city. Violet ( Veilchen) street is nearby too.... ( DH grew up there.)
The site is somewhat bilingual, but it helps if one can decipher the descriptions of the many Epicactus - hybrids/ Epiphyllums etc etc. Fun to browse!

Sounds like my epis need more sun and more fertilizer! One of my pots is really packed, one could use some more cuttings and the new ones are in small pots so they are crowded. Okay, they are going out in the sun this afternoon and I will pick up some Peters 20-20-20 and 20-50-10. I hate to think I have to wait until next spring for blooms :^{ but next spring is better than never. LOL

Morning!

If you are going to move them into the sun.....do it little by little. :-) If they've been in quite a bit of shade or dappled shade there is a chance you could sunburn them if moved directly into full sun. I received some ric -ric cuttings recently and burned a couple of the pieces (not to death!) by moving them too quickly into full sun.

Yes, I am doing it in stages. Neglecting them was bad enough but I don't think they will tolerate outright abuse. ;^)

Those pictures on that link are gorgeous
I can only hope for a few blooms next year
I never imagined they would look like that

Yeah, Fun isn't it! Have no fear... feed yours and they, too, will bloom. : )

i have had many of my eppis for a while....there are a couple that have bloomed recently....i just put them outside a week ago....some are under the shade cloth in the greenhouse, others are not under the shade cloth...im in zone 5 also.....i sure wish i knew what i did to get these blooms...lol..this one still has more than a few left to bloom

cindy

What's the name of the big bloom starting to open?

i wish i knew....i bought it as a mix.....something pinwheel....i have had it at least 2 years..i just figured it was a few different cuttings but all the buds look like they will look just like that one....most of my cuttings had the name written on the leafs but over time it has washed off....sorry

cindy

Well, Cindy, join the ranks with the many of us who have un-named epies, LOL.

Lovely plant Cindy and flowers too...what more could a girl ask for??? More plants??? LOL

Great plants you've got there, Cindy. That's a lovely epi flower also.

Also posted elsewhere:

I noticed in one of the threads of mine Terry notified me she had moved shows both my mature epies blooming last June. I noted they had been in a dark cool basement for 3-4 months, kept rather dry, and then brought out to the deck and started feeding in May.

What's going on this year is like so many other years when I had them in Asheville. Kept in the warm and dry house for the winter, marginal daylight, and brought outside in May. Under those conditions they bloomed in late summer to early fall.

NoHo2- Hi, I'm interested to find out how your epis are coming along now. Did you stick with the alternating fert. regimen? Do tell! I'm becoming very intrigued with these plants. I'll be buying one or two soon, I can feel it!

Thanks,
GH

I stuck to the program last summer except for the month I was out of town. I don't know if that had an effect or not but they didn't bloom. They spent the winter in the garage, cool and dry. I brought them out at the end of March and started feeding them again. No sign of buds.

Next step: fish emulsion. LOL

Have you tried Alaskan Morbloom? I haven't myself but its supposed to give them a boost. or any fertilizer program??
I have some buds after keeping epis on a 50 degree porch all winter then starting fertilizer in March.
Good luck with them.
Peggy

I have an epi that I was given last year; it is very potbound (which I was told is GOOD). It is making buds but they dry up and don't open. They are in a bright but not sunny place. What am I doing wrong? I am dying to find out what these blooms look like!!
(picture is from last year when I adopted it - it looks a lot healthier now with plenty of new growth)

Dutchlady, Pretty plant, I can't wait for the experts to jump in, But I would move it to a larger pot. It MAY be a little too pot bound. That being said, I potted all of mine in larger pots last year and got about half the blooms from the year before. They look better this year but no buds yet.

A couple of thoughts on your Epi Dutchlady....perhaps the water is not saturating the root-mass.

I'd soak the whole pot in a tub of water and give it a dose of diluted fish emulsion to try jogging it into retaining the buds. (Soaking it is something that I'd continue to do until the soil can be refreshed when repotting it.) A certain number of buds naturally will not develop to their full potential.....since we are still in prime bloom season, I'd try to jog it with water and food and hold off on repotting it until it is clear that it won't bloom this season.