It's an "Easter Cactus"......well not really, but

This is the yellow that started to open last night:

Last night:

Today:

So pretty Clare.......I like the sequencing of the yellow with white, very nice! There must be some rhyme or reason to when the various colors bloom......and I'm truly amazed at how quickly this year's buds have developed and have caught up to yours.

Here are the first two of my whites to begin opening. I think they all loved the minor downpour we had yesterday and as we dropped about 20 degrees in just a day, the blooms are lasting longer which is a nice treat. Sue, this is the parent plant of the white cutting(s) I gave you.....the leaves(fronds) are generally more of a grass green and broader than the pink ones.....kind of "fat and flat."

This message was edited May 20, 2006 3:08 PM

That's a gorgeous white, Candy. I noticed that too -- that your buds developed really fast! Maybe our different bud development rates reflect the different weather conditions? I have lots of small buds still developing so I hope that we will have a show at least through July. I just love these silly plants!

I am just clicking through here and I am enjoying the Show!!
What a treat!!
Soon here, soon!! Puff puff!!!

Do I hear "puffin-up" from New Jersey? Waiting (im)patiently to see the East Coast show begin!

Our bizarre weather continues! Had over an inch of rain with wind and black skies here yesterday, like a summer midwestern storm blowing through, and all of this in our "dry season" ! The Epis all held up really well and seemed to actually enjoy the drenching rain, which is certainly a better source of moisture than chlorinated water from the hose.

This is one of my smaller pink old-timers with no-name, blooms are generally only 5-6 inches across.

And here is the first 'Hot Lava' of the year, kind of washed out in comparison to the very RED color it was late last summer. Perhaps with the cooler temps of the past week it didn't reach its full color potential. I know that is very true of Brugs here.....cooler temps mean very pale colors and they only reach their full color spectrum when our weather is good and hot.

Hi Candy! My Epi's are soaked, and I have some major bud drop here, but there are still plenty of them left. My E. crenatum might drop those two buds on that cutting that is rooting. Anyway, we had a good two inches of rain here also.

Your pictures are lovely as usual! It is very likely, as you said, that the lack of heat is causing lighter blooms. The same is true of plumeria flowers. I read about it once -- something about the molecules not have enough energy to excite the darker colors of the color spectrum or something like that.

Hey, where is our friend Julie, Salvia Lover, from Israel? I've been missing her here and hope she pops up soon.

I am thrilled! This one opened last night, and it is fragrant, and it is still open today. It is a white epi hybrid which is fragrant!

Here it was this morning:

Here is my white/yellow:

It's a fairly big flower:

Padre is a huge grower and fairly kill-proof:

Here is a wide epi shot:

Hi Clare -

I think Julie just got busy with her three young kids.......I remember those days when there weren't enough hours in the day to even breath! I also think of her often and miss her presence here on Dave's. Love your white/yellow....well I love them all. I never tire of looking at all these pretties!

A couple more shots of mine from this past week

I'm wondering also if we should go check on Ursula.......do you suppose she is trapped in The Cage???? LOL

Not a great shot, but one that has gone way up high in the lathe house to show off.

And another variation on my pinks:

And not an Epi, but a nice show from my one and only Hoya, which is still in the greenhouse because of the chilly temps we've had.

Hi Candy! Your blooms are amazing as usual! You really have a good eye for photography. Your pictures are always so nice and so well done. The close-ups are especially lovely. That red with the white lattice background deserves to be framed. Love the show and the hoya. I never tire of looking at these beauties either, and I love the surprises that I am getting with these flowers as they open. It's fun! Oh, no, are we missing Ursula? I think I saw her here not too long ago on another thread. Maybe her plants grabbed her while she was in the cage and closed the door so they could have the pleasure of her company! LOL! Candy, where did you buy your plants stands again? I need to get some.

Candy, sorry that this is off topic, but do you (or Ursula) recognize what this is? It is narrow like a Selenicereus, but it has no spines and is six-sided. It rooted easily from cuttings. It is probably similar to about a thousand other succulents so it is no biggie if you don't know. Thanks!

Edited to say please disregard my identification question. Plant_Madness and Penn Pete identified it as Euphorbia mammillaris. I had to laugh when I saw that Candy has one: http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/23713/

This message was edited May 29, 2006 4:08 PM

Evening Clare -

I bought most of the stands at a small local chain nursery called Navlet's with a bunch of my discounts and coupons. I have seen them other places too, like Home Depot, Yard Birds, KMart. Here's a link from last year that shows them better: http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=1548793 The taller ones are better than the shorter ones.....I have two stands where the leaves are already dragging on the ground again. :-) They aren't cheap, but I consider them an excellent investment in the long run and they certainly cut down on the snails and slugs.

Yep, I do have an E. mammillaris that's pretty huge......it's probably 20 years old or so. Actually my favorite E. mamm is the variegated one that gets lavender to fuschia highlights depending on what it is fed and how much sun it gets. Here's a shot of one of mine from a couple of years ago, just prior to blooming. (As with most succulent Euphorbias, the flowers are not anything to write home about.......unless you do macros of them and then they can look spectacular.) http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/23715/

Thanks, Candy, for the info about the stands. I remember Navlet's now. I wish we had one near us. I'll check around. Maybe some will turn up at Costco. I'm not surprised that they weren't inexpensive, but you are right that they are an investment, and they are really lovely to look at. Your variegated E. mamm is lovely. I agree with you about the flowers of Euphorbias. I tend to appreciate the big ones, like Epi's, a lot more!

My Epis with the "spiny" buds......and they are very very ouchy and difficult to remove once you impale yourself....are beginning to mature. Here are some shots I took today of the "touch me not" buds.

You asked for Ursula? How very nice, thank you!
I looked today at this thread and I really enjoyed it. I honestly can't pick a favorite flower ( as always), but I think it is really nice to see a frgrant white which stays longer open than only one night. Padre is simply gorgeous and Clare, your wide angle shot shows beautifully grown plants. Love the Hoya!! And the spiny buds are cool. (spiny bud parentage?)
No, I didn't get stuck in my cage, we were at our place in Pennsylvania over the weekend doing our usual family thing for Memorial Day and visiting the Cyp. acaule stands. A fun weekend!! I just found time yesterday to get all the pictures into my computer but ran out of time getting them posted. So today I took some pictures from the Epis on the deck.
The first open flower was on a noid plant just bought last Spring at a local plant sale.
Looking at the open flower, I am fairly sure it is Disocactus x hybridus Ackermannii.

Another look at this one, it is truly this red and the flowers are of decent size.

this is the whole plant, it is still very small.

Coming home from Pennsy I realized that the Epi oxy was not that happy in the scorching 95 degr F full sun, so I moved it back into its old spot against the house wall. It has tons of buds. Here is one a couple of days away and a few of the next baby bud crop.

Edna Stoddard, looking good! Puff puff, some buds here!

Epi Gitty Paetz, I have two plants of that - piece breaks off, one starts a new plant. This hanging pots gets the most sun, the plant has a lot of color.
Soon!!

A bud from the plant which got me hooked. This pot is now a couple of days from flowering, it is right on schedule for our area.
It is D. x hybridus Ackermannii, not the species. I finally got it identified, perhaps you would like to take a peek here:
http://www.kammlott.net/DxhAckermannii.html

I repotted the Deutsche Kaiserin this Spring, I thought it needed better drainage. It responded with some nice budding and it is also putting on new growth.

little buds on the DK -

The next time I can hopefully post flowers, not buds.

Ursula

Awesome pictures, Candy and Ursula! Looks like both of you have ones with spines. I think one or two of mine do too. The ones with the square-ish stems have spines, I think. Love your Disocactus x hybridus Ackermannii, Ursula. Those are really gorgeous red flowers. I must say that I really admire you both, Candy and Ursula, for your outstanding care and knowledge of epi's. I have learned a lot from both of you and owe you my gratitude. Wow, look at all those epi oxy buds that Ursula has! I am sorely lacking in species buds right now, but maybe they will come later. I agree with you, Ursula, that I was thrilled to see that my fragrant white lasted for two or three days. I smelled it often. Thanks for the compliment about the healthy plants, and I'm glad that you didn't get locked in your cage! LOL! Candy, you need to get yourself some leather gloves! My Selenicereus testudo is the same way -- very painful to touch!

Here are a couple more shots from today:

Last one:

Evening All -

Ursula, I'm so glad you were just away and not trapped by plants in The Cage! Lovely plants you have there my dear, and so very healthy looking. You do have some that are pretty close for sure. That RED is a stunner!

Clare - I have leather gloves, and synthetic gloves, and cotton gloves........I think they must all be hiding out with the four sets of pruners that are lost in the garden. :( I was reduced to using a pair of scissors to trim the wilted buds today......I counted them as I cut them off (now I really am becoming obsessive!).....I counted 85 wilted blooms.

Pretty blooms Clare and Ursula, keep 'em coming!

Hokay All, Hi from dry, no durn rain Lakeland, Fla. I am into epis and would love the website Pats? I have the vanilla white and of course the red. They are very hardy, mine rode out hurricanes under a crepe myrtle tree and the few leaves i lost I rooted and gave to friends. Happy are u the one that gave me the Crassula? Thanks, Me

Hi Corky -

Pat's wonderful website is http://www.epies.net/

I don't think it was me that sent you the Crassula, because our county is under quaratine for Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death. I no longer ship/trade any plants because of that.

Some images from today......I should be working in the garden or paying the bills......looking at the blooms is much more appealing. :-)

This is 'Coral Dancer' which should open in a couple of days, looks like it will be a good sized bloom.