It's 8PM - Do you know where your buds are?

Going, going, soon to be gone.

I've already repotted and split up the last 5 years of growth in the other two tubs of Epis......what a job and I've got pickers in every finger and up and down my arms, even with wearing a long sleeved shirt in the 90F heat!

I was able to get most of them out as intact plants with very few broken leaves. As I worked my way through the pots unwinding the twisted and turned pieces, I found a number of buds that were trapped in the bowels of the pots. Hopefully a few of them will mature and actually bloom. I had marked the different types with tape, but there were pieces that didn't bloom, so I imagine I'll have some to seperate out next year. (Notice my optimism about them blooming next year......they've been brutally removed from their homes of 5 years, so I can only hope that they will bloom again next year.)

My patio now looks like a chaotic nursery for Epis.....don't know how long I can stand it....we all know these are not pretty plants during the 10 months of the year that they just sit and think about blooming. I still have the third tub to do.....hmmmmm, what to do what to do. You can probably see in the image that I used a couple of "grow thru" plant supports in two of the pots. My intent is to try and give them some height and fill in the "lower" layer around the rim of the pot, allowing air to circulate better and hopefully I can get to the snails more easily.

Because the soil level had settled over the last 5 years, there was no way I could even see the soil or the snails....but once I tore them apart it was like a massive snail graveyard. I wonder what the nutritive value of snail shells is? Perhaps that and the fish emulsion was all my Epis needed to be so beautiful. :-)

And because I got so busy with the big guys, I failed to get an image of the 3 flowers on my Aporophyllum 'Caroline', so you'll just have to take my word for it that it looked just like last year's. (This bloomed in March last year, which says something about the very cool Spring we've had this year.)

Aporophyllums are hybrids between Aporocactus and Epiphyllums. They can take various forms, but the most usual have the trailing habit of the Aporocactus, albeit with stronger stems, and the larger flowers in a range of colours which they derive from the Epiphyllums.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/63864/index.html

Cool new pots Candy. I was laughing when I saw the bigger pic of them ... even separated out into 'thinner' groups, yours are still far more massive than mine is LOL

Thanks Julie!

I ended up with 7 pots from the original two tubs:
1 triangular prickly - Pink/Fuschia
1 Fuschia w/Red back petals
1 White
4 pots of variations of the Pink w/white markings
The third tub has 3 kinds in it (white, prickly triangular, red back petals) which will be split into two additional pots + the original tub.

"Storing" them for the off-season is going to be an issue. :-)

Yeah, storing will be a problem for me too, since I potted all the bits in individual containers (at least until I know what colors they are)! I now have 21 pots 6" plus 2 huge 16" pots and 1 16" hanging basket, all just Orchid Cactus. Never mind all the other plants that must be brought inside, LOL.

Julie -

Very nice job, Candy. That was a lot of work. I like your wide pots that you put them in on the plant stands. That is a lovely look. I also like those support racks. I think it will give your plants a more tiered look when they flower next year. I bet the stress of being replanted, along with the new room to grow in, will make your plants flower better than ever next year.

That is a lovely, lovely pink flower on your Aporophyllum 'Caroline.'

I'm waiting on a Epi oxy bloom. The cutting came from Glasshouse Works last year, and it looks like it will be a smaller flower than some of my other Epi oxy buds, but I am very excited about it.

Candy,
the color on those 3:23 am flowers is just gorgeous, ditto for the Aporophyllum.

Clare, I do wonder if that Glasshouse Works plant is something else? The bud looks so smooth, no scales? Are the pads smaller than what is normal for oxypetalum? Interesting.

I justed posted in the red bud thread...
For the first time I actually had kept these 2 pots with my red Epis in the garage over the winter. The temps go down to about 40 degr F in the garage, with minimal light coming through some small windows.

Thanks Clare! I was really pleased with how well it went once I cut out just a few leaves to gain access to the interior of the first tub. I bought two other "flat" bowls with stands and I think these will work well also.

Thanks Ursula......I figured I better get some pictures with so few buds left it will soon be over. Now we have a storm front coming in with rain predicted. This is the most bizarre season.......raining AGAIN in June, just about unheard of here in the summer months.

Candy, if they hadn't grown it would have to be blamed on the plant, the source or the weather....as we all know you have a magic touch with anything botanical :-)

-Julie

LOOK AT ALL THOSE PLANTS!!!!!!
Look at the blooms
you guys are as bad as the brug heads!!!!
WOW!!!!!

Ursula, you may be right that it is really not an Epi oxy even though it was labeled as such. It is much smaller than other Epi oxy flowers that I've seen, and the new buds are spineless and look purple. My other two epi buds start out looking red and have spines. This flower is going to open any time now. We're supposed to go to the movies, the late show, tonight so I'll take pictures before I leave and when I get back. Also, the leaves, as you said, are much smaller and much more narrow and spineless than my other Epi oxy leaves. Any guesses as to a species?

Oh, Candy. I really like those pots too. Those are going to be perfect for the epi's. Did you find that your epi's in the old pot were very rootbound? Was it super crowded in the roots area down to the bottom of the pot?

LOL at CC

I'm usually a 'brug head' but have an epi as well, and tonight it's having it's first ever bloom. Here it is at almost 8 PM

It looks like it is starting to open now. It's almost 8 p.m. here. I'm not detecting any fragrance.

LOL, MG! We posted almost the exact same thing at the exact same time!

LOL, I saw that, cool eh? mine isn't smelling either yet.

Ursula, here is a picture of the whole plant. There is Epiphyllum crenatum in the same pot in the back, but you can't see those leaves really. There are Epi oxy plants on both sides for leaf comparison purposes. You can see how much narrower the leaves are than those on each side.

Your flowers are all gorgeous! The two oxy blooms look like they are courting each other!
*****
Clare - Each of the plants had a good healthy root system, but I would say only half of the large tub was filled with roots. I did resuse both of the tubs in addition to the new pots, but completely replaced all the planting mix.

****

Julie - you know I do lose plants sometimes....usually to gophers, but I have killed a plant or two in my time. You just won't ever see me posting pictures of DEAD plants.....how depressing would that be???? LOL

Well
did they open???
Did the fragrance knock you out?????
you guys are soooo cute with the 2 blooms opening in 2 different areas at the same time......

Here's mine, taken at 10 PM, it's sure a stunning flower.

and to be frank, I can't say as I like the smell of this. Maybe my sniffer is off tonight. I have heard so many people tell me how wonderful they are, but.... I guess I"m still a 'brug head' at heart.

This message was edited Jun 15, 2005 9:17 PM

Thanks, Candy. That is good to know. I wondered how deep the roots would reach and if they would keep expanding with time. I wonder if the Epi oxy plants have more extensive roots since they seem to be bigger plants.

Well, it's 1:25 a.m. here, and we just got home from the movies and found my flower fully open. It has a lovely clean lemony fragrance, but I think it is pretty small for a Epi oxy flower. From white tip to white tip, it is only about 3 and a half inches across. It is lovely though so I'm not disappointed. I have a feeling my other buds will be bigger flowers. This one is interesting. Here are some pics.

MC, your flower is lovely! I love brugs too, but plumerias and epiphyllums are right up there too. Who says you can't have more than one obsession? LOL!

Another angle:

A close-up:

One more:

Last one:

ROTFL! Well, I suppose you have a point Candy LOL :-D

MG99 and Clare.... both of your flowers are gorgeous!

Here's my row of "starts"... maybe next year I'll have a bunch of blooms! I have seperated all the unmarked epies and cc's until they bloom so I will know the color(s). Then some may get potted together.

MG99 and Clare,
what beautiful pictures from both of you! Wonderful flowers!! I echo darius!
I don't know enough about these plants, but those two look different. Time to hit the books/google for comparisons on yours, Clare? Also, I would never describe the scent of oxypetalum as lemony.
MG99, not everybody likes that scent.

Did I mention I love this Forum?

Ursula

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!series of beautiful blooms.......thank you for sharing with us.
Kaleem

Beautiful!!!!!!!

how big are the flowers normally?

WOW WOW WOW !!!

Those pictures are the reason we wanted this forum so much. Just awesome!

I agree Ursula, the more members that contribute, the more I realize I don't know about these plants.

Clare, your pic #2 is .... well....it's .... WOW! :-)

Hi Everyone and thanks for the compliments!

We are having a very gray June Gloom day, and my flower was still open at noon when I got out of bed! Ha! But it does look like it is closing.

Here's a close-up:

Clare, mine was sagging when I got up.

It looks a bit different from yours

Mine still looks the same at 6:00 p.m. here tonight as it did at noon. It is only partially open, and I wonder if it will open again tonight or maybe it will close for good. Mg, I think you have the real Epi oxy. I'm not sure what mine is, but it is probably related.

Clare,
You got a really beautiful flower here. For the fun of it I did a bit of googling but I couldn't really match it up with anything for sure. ( Somebody else might?)
I am wondering, is it possible that GlassHouse Works gave you one of their listed hybrids by mistake? They are selling a white one called Bridal Veil. Unfortunately they don't show any leaves of that one at their website. I am thinking hybrid since you report that it is still somewhat open?
In any case, lucky you!!

OK
so there are different varieties of these????