Buds on my Ric Rac Cactus! Can Spring be far away?

While watering this afternoon I noticed that my Ric Rac is covered with buds. It usually takes about a month to bloom. I know they are tiny buds, but at least a small sign of Spring in Nashville.

YIPPE for you! Keep us posted with pictures.
Such a GOOD SIGN......hopefully my RicRac here in Central Illinois will follow suit.
Betsy

Congrats, Betty! I've got buds forming on my epi's too! Spring is a comin'!

Do the buds show up on this years growth or last years growth? I have some that I bought last year, they've been hanging out in my greenhouse and now have a ton of new growth, but I don't see any little buds. I have Ric Rac like the one above and another that is similar but more angular. Can't recall the name. I also have some new growth on my dragon fruit and Saw tooth Epi.

Should I be watching for little buds like Picabo's?
Thanks gang for any help.

This is how my Ric Rac always starts out, just a tiny bud in the corner of the leaf. My Ric Rac is hanging high in the green house. The buds are on the sections that are hanging on the lower parts where they get no direct sun. The parts that get more sun aren't setting buds yet.

Start looking for buds on the older growth, at least last years growth. My Epies haven't started setting buds yet. Remember these buds are very tiny the photo above is actual size before it is enlarged.

Begonia, I think the buds appear on last year's growth as I don't think that I have any new growth yet this year. They put on a growth spurt after flowering last year so I guess that is where the buds are on mine. These are on my epi hybrids. I have checked my species yet for buds. My species do bloom at different times of the year.

Here is another shot of buds forming:

Beautiful Clare !. My Eppies are starting to grow but no buds yet.

Thanks Clare! I'll keep my eyes open. All I'm seeing at the moment is lots of new green growth.

Got some cuttings from ebay they have rooted and are starting to grow. But no blooms this year right? Would be nice if they did though. Do need to get them into real pots still in the little nursery pots that I put them in last fall.

Hi Redhotfm, congrats on your new epi's! You got them last fall? You may have to wait until a year from now for blooms, but you should get some nice growth in the meantime. If your cutting was taken from a flowering plant, you could get a bloom or two. I had a cutting bloom once right away. Here it is after it had rooted in a hanging basket:

Clare...Beautiful flower and picture. Can't wait for buds on the Epi's.

Guess with all the winter weather moving in again just cant wait for spring. Not sure if the epi's came from flowering plants or not but will find out this summer. Is there anything else I need to do for them to keep the going good. Thanks for any help. Your pic was beautiful guess thats why all of us grow them they are so beautiful. Wish they bloomed all year.

If you get buds or blooms on cuttings-should they be removed?
Will it take away from the growth of the cutting?
Thanks for any help.

Thanks, Betty!

Redhotfm, I would just make sure to get them going with a regular fertilizer program in the spring, summer, and fall. I had blooms on my Epi hybrids last year from April until the end of July, and then some surprise ones in November. The species seem to bloom several times a year all throughout the year.

CC, if the cuttings are not rooted, it is probably not a bad idea to remove any buds so that energy is directed toward rooting and not toward flowering.

Thanks.

This message was edited Feb 25, 2006 12:52 PM

It has been about two weeks since I first noticed the buds on the Ric Rac They are now about twice the size. At least 20 buds growing. Hope they will all open. Here is another picture from this week.

Picabo:

Just checking into site. Chantell told me of this site. I have had a ric rac for yrs. and it has only bloomed one time. I live 4 hrs. from Nashville in Hardeman Co. so we are in same zone. Am so jealous. They are so beautiful when in bloom. It bloomed several yrs. ago but only with one blossom. I was so surprised. Got it from my brother who lived in FL, but he died in late 80's.

I guess I have just been lucky with my Ric Rac. No skill on my part. I keep it it a hanging container, it's a pretty large plant, maybe 3 or 4 feet across and it is Very root bound. I will pot up this summer.

In the summer it hangs in a tree in the yard and gets No special care. I have a small GH/Potting shed and I hang it near the roof with a sunscreen over it during the winter. It usually starts forming buds around the middle of February and will start blooming in early April. I feed it with a light spray of MG or whatever I am spraying with. I put banana peels under the stems on the dirt and let them rot. I usually put on another one as soon as the first has dried up. An old man in a garden center told me to do this years ago. I don't know if the bananas have anything to do with the blooms, but it blooms well for me and I am not going to change anything that seems to work. LOL

Hope some of this will help you to get yours to bloom. I haven't posted pics lately but it looks like there are about twenty buds, they are getting nice and fat an probably on schedule to bloom in a few weeks. It is really pretty when it blooms. If you happen to be in Nashville some time stop by for a visit. I will post more pics when it blooms.

Betty

picabo, thanks for the instructions you gave. I've had several of these for years and none have 'ever' bloomed for me. I am going to put them out in the back yard and make sure they get fertilizer. Maybe some day one of them will break down and bloom for me. That surely would be special!

I probably just have a happy plant. I hope that yours will bloom for you. They are so pretty.

Betty

I wanted to post a new picture of my Ric Rac. Still a while before blooming. It bloomed on the 15th of May last year. looks like it may be the same time this year. There are at least 30 buds. It will really be pretty if all goes well.

Hard to believe that it takes 3 months from start of bud to bloom.

Well I did good, I forgot to post the picture. LOL

OH NO...I have had a ricrac or whatever it is for 5 years, growing up a palm tree, happy as a clam...and never once a flower. What do I need to do?
Carol
Picture tomorrow.

Hi Carol, Wish I could tell you. (I told above on March 21 everything that I do to mine.) I would think that yours would just be in heaven. This one is so pretty, even if it is mine. it is about 5 foot across, the buds are getting quite large and shouldn't be long until it starts showing off. Mine is really pot bound and has a couple of rust spots, I have to do some major work on it after it blooms this time. It may never bloom again. LOL

Betty

Carol, try the banana peel method of fertilizing that Betty recommends. I'm trying it too.

The buds are really growing, won't be much longer, I hope.

Picabo,
I have been following your Ric Rac- success stories and pictures with great interest.
I have a large plant which refuses to flower and I have been reading around, many other people can't get those to bloom. You are the exception as far as I can tell. You certainly have a special gift in handling this plant just right.
Can you tell me the temperature in your GH/ potting shed ? How chilly does it get, or is it warm in there during the winter?

No Skill here. Just a happy plant.

The Ric Rac is hanging at the top of the GH where it gets plenty of diffused light. It can get pretty warm in there even in the winter I have seen it hit the 90s. I try to not let the temp drop below 50. I know that it has been in the mid 40s in the GH. The heater is near the center of the GH and the Ric Rac hangs not far from the center so I would think that it stays above 50.

Wish there was a secret I could share. Do keep it root bound. Mine is in a very small pot. Hey, that may be the secret... I make a lot of my pots, maybe they like pottery. LOL

Betty

Thank you so much Betty!
This is very good information. I need to duplicate your conditions.

Ursula

A friend gave me some Epi cuttings in January and I have been researching to see how to care for them. She called them (1) ric rac (2) clown and (3) nite. They all seem to have rooted since 'things are happening' to all of them.

It has been quite a while since this thread was active and I was wondering if anyone has had success with the banana peels that Betty suggested above in post #2127396.

Tea-

So funny, this is the first winter that I haven't followed my advice on the banana peels and I don't have a single bud on the Rid Racs, Bummer.
Must admit that my big old faithful bloomer is soooo root bound. I have got to drag it out of the GH and repot it. I promise I will start back with my old faithful banana peels soon.

Betty

It's very interesting that you have not had blooms this year without the peels. I'd like to learn more. Do you just cut them up and lay them on the soil? About how many do you put per plant. My pots are about 8" wide. How long do you leave them there? Thanks in advance.

Tea-

Hi Betty! How are you? Your pink plumie has buds on it and will bloom soon;-) I'll post pics over at the plumie forum when it does bloom. Last year, I did put banana peels on my Ric Rac, but I can see no buds yet. Hopefully, I will have them soon. I do have many buds on my Epiphyllum crentum though.

Tea, I just laid a banana peel on the top of the soil and let it decompose and removed it after a while when it was dried and black.

Hi Clare...What do you think about the Ric Rac being so root bound? Could that cause it to not bloom? Maybe it just wants to take a year off. LOL It has always bloomed so well for me.
It also got a little sunburn last summer, but is putting out new growth.

I am coming out your way this week. Grand daughter is going to be in a horse show in Pasadena Saturday and Grandmom has GOT to be there. LOL

I am so ready to move my plants outside. Maybe another month. I would love to see pictures of your Plumie blooms

Betty

Hi Betty, the weather in Pasadena should be beautiful for your trip. I can't answer your question about what makes a Ric Rac bloom or not bloom, I'm afraid. I wouldn't think being rootbound would discourage blooming though as long as water and nutrients are available to the plant. Sunburn is stress and might affect blooming. It seems to me that plumerias that get a sunburned stem don't bloom well in general. This is just speculation on my part though.

Thank you Clare. I probably need to cut out all the damaged leaves and see if there is enough healthy plant to root for someone.
Dil said that it was beautiful in Pasadena yesterday. Then it always is. LOL

Thanks for the details Clare. I'm going to try it. My plants are new and I'm sure they won't bloom this year anyway. I figure I don't have anything to loose.

Here's hoping we all get blooms this year:-)

Betty,

I have had my Ric-Rac ( Cryptocereus anthonianus) for at least 13 years and last year was the first time it bloomed. They NEED to be root bound before they will bloom. Many plants like the same conditions. Before you cut out any dead sections, just look at the fronds you are cutting out. Any small piece will root readily. Just treat it as a succulent. By that I mean let the cutting scab over a couple of days before sticking it into new soil.
My Ric-Rac is huge, unruly and sprawled in every direction. It is quite a chore to find a spot for it indoors for the winter. Usually it hanhs in front of my LR window. In the summer, I just take it outside and hang it in full sun on a pole in my back yard. I have read that it likes regular watering and fertilizing.

Every fall, I cut off a couple of the most sprawly fronds, cut them up in about 4" sections and stick a bunch of these sections in a small pot. By about this time of year--or in the next couple of months--they will all be rooted and I will have a new batch to share. I have done this for the last 2-3 years. I will have about 10-12 cuttings.

If you really want a rooted cutting, you need to send me a D-mail with your address and I will be glad to send one off to you just for postage--usually $2-$3. About half of the cuttings are already well under way and showing good new growth.

Gita

Here's a picture of "Mama Ric-rac" last summer.