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I am new to these plants & have alot to learn.
When you cut a leaf to root-is it necessary for the cutting to callus before potting up?
What about rootone-is it also necessary? Sorry,if these questions have already been asked.

This message was edited Jun 29, 2005 1:24 AM

bump

Hi CC!

I always let them callus over and never use roottone. I just set them an inch or 2 into a fast-draining light mix and water them when they start to get dry. I probably over water some, so watch them and water when you think they really need it for your climate. They root easily, have fun with them!

K :~D

Not that I am in any way an expert here...but I find that yes callousing helps prevent rot and no root hormone is not necessary.

What kind are you hoping to root? I was told once that epiphyllum would rot in water, but was highly successful in rooting epi oxypetallums in a glass of water. I am curious what the resident experts say!

we posted at almost the same time! hehe hi fellow night owls :)

Me too! Can I join the Night Owl club???? LOL

K

I'm not sure of the name-it is one my mama had-I think she called it Queen of the Night & has a wonderful fragrance. It's dying out & I'm trying to safe as much of it as I can. Thanks for everyone's information,I need all the help I can get.

Mine got old and "worked" so I cut it up and made 6 plants. Kept one and gave the others away. It will happily start for you I bet! Put 5 leaves in each pot, then you will have a decent plant going when it roots in!

K

Thanks K-I will do that.

Sounds like good advice to me! I cant keep up with that night owl group, they're too fast for me. lol nice people though!

cc I was trying to look up what might be called Queen of the Night....turns out that practically every "orchid cactus" is called that. uhoh! http://davesgarden.com/pf/search.php?sourceid=Firefox-search&search_text=queen+of+the+night
But sounds like good advice to me karen! This is a dumb question, but why is it dying out? I guess if you knew, you'd make it stop! So....too much/too little sun, water? What kind of conditions do you have it in?

Maybe from old age? It has to be no less than 30 plus years old.

I think mine just got old and had a root system that wasn't very efficient anymore. Plants, like us, have a normal lifespan, different spans for different types of plants. With all the energy it must take to bloom like Epi's do, it's no wonder they "poop out" after a while! I just hack 'em up and start over.

As for 'Queen of the Night', I assumed (and you know what THAT makes me!) it was Epiphyllum oxypetalum. Common names are so useless.....really!

K

A true family heirloom. Don't you feel desparate to save it? I inherited a 25 year old Scheflera from my grandmother and while away visiting family for Christmas break, my plant sitter left it outside during a snow storm....it still has not really made any recovery. So I feel your pain and urgency, its so frustrating!

Candy and Clare will have to answer the question about why it's doing poorly, because I dont know much else!

I'm going to make my own soil mix-just don't know which mixes & portions to use.

I can tell you what I use for my Epis.... although everyone seems to have their own favorite (probably climate related, methinks). I use 1/3 African Violet mix, 1/3 Cactus Mix, and the other 1/3 is equal parts of Vermiculite and Perlite. It's easy to mix and the ingredients are redily available. The cactus mix gets so packed I feel the AF mix helps add moisture holding properties and the V + P lightens up the whole concoction.

K(Edited....OH! and I learned this year that a dose of Fish Emulsion water in early spring helps the bloom process incredibly!)

This message was edited Jun 28, 2005 11:24 PM

K-that sounds good to me-I think that is what I'm going to try.
Thanks.

:~)