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

And a no-name pink.

And a no-name pink & white.

Hi Candy,

Good for you for not shipping or trading because of that Sudden Oak Death Syndrome. My neighbors have a cabin up in Northern California -- I forget where at the moment -- but they lost ten trees on their property. They were devastated, and it cost them a fortune to have them chopped up and hauled away. It is a terrible thing. Two very different pinks -- a beefy one and a delicate one. They are lovely. I love the color of the bud of Coral Dancer. I can't wait to see what she looks like when she opens up. 85 is so impressive! It was so hot today that it looked like some of the epi flowers were wilting. I should have misted them, but I was busy working on a project. Candy, isn't funny how gloves and pruners just get up and leave? I've lost more of them like that.

Here's an important question that I need to ask you, Ursula, or anyone reading this who knows the answer. Do you guys ever get black spots on your Epiphyllum oxypetalum? I've been getting them, and since they are ugly, I cut them off. The plant in particular gets plenty of water and filtered sun. I can provide a picture tomorrow for you to see. I just was wondering if this is a common thing or not. It's been no big deal to cut off the leaves with the black spots because their are plenty of leaves, but I am wondering if this is a virus or something similar. Thanks for your help.

Clare,
enjoying the latest posts here ( except for the praise, arghhhh, choke....) ;-)!
Specific randomly spaced black spots? No, only older leaves dying back and perhaps getting a little spotty and then drying up, starting from the tip. And those I trim off.

The spotting you mentioned occurs in a flash on leaves of the Deutsche Kaiserin.

Thanks, Ursula. I took a couple of pics this morning, and then my camera battery died. This plant is an Epi oxy and a pretty large grower. It has one shoot that is probably over six feet tall from the soil line. I thought maybe this was from water droplet remaining on the plant after I water, but now I don't think it is from that. I cut off all the leaves with black spots a while ago, and now new ones have appeared. Is the Deutsche Kaiserin a Epi hybrid cultivar? I'll look that one up. Perhaps this has the same trait/problem. Do you know why it is caused on the Deutsche Kaiserin?

Here is a wider shot of the plant. Thanks for your help.

Clare,
The Deutsche Kaiserin is a species - Nopalxochia phyllanthoides or Disocactus phyllanthoides, and people report some variation in color and form.
This one spots easily and from what I have read, most people think it is culture related. I tend to agree with that from own observation. I had repotted mine last year and hung into the cage. I think the pot didn't drain well enough and it stayed too damp. They need really good air circulation and drainage. The new growth started to spot. This year in its deck location the new growth looks a lot cleaner, so far.
Epiforum.com has a whole thread on it. I don't know if you can read it without logging on? ( it is free)
http://www.epiforums.com/showthread.php?t=312

Ursula, I was able to view the thread. Thank you so much for this information. I'm going to water less and try to avoid hitting the leaves with water. We did get quite a bit of rain this past winter, and that could explain water droplets remaining on the leaves for too long combined with the cold night air. Thanks again for your help.

you are welcome.

I moved some plants to the front of the house, knocked three buds off Epi Gitty Paetz in the process, but the rest is still pretty, I think. This is the "sitting pot".

and the Gitty Paetz flowers

Now here comes the interesting stuff. The newly identified D. x hybridus Ackermannii, formerly known as Jefferson Davis opened the first flowers today. They open almost flat and they measure about 6!! inches across, and they are actually a bit luminescent.
(In comparison, the flower which I listed above from a new small plant posted at 9 pm on May 30. measures 4 inches. While it is pretty, it is not even in the same ball park.)
Have a look at the plant with some flowers open today and more to come.
Now the plant never shows triangular growth - points to species ackermannii
flowers open up almost flat - also points to species ackermannii
stigma lobe white - points to hybrid Ackermannii

I wonder if it was a hybrid back-crossed with the species???

Any thoughts?

Wow! I went back and forth between the two flowers, and my eyes aren't trained to see the differences between the two except for the different stigma. You can't tell the different in size from the pictures unless you had some point of reference. Both look luminescent and stunning. I'm glad that you were able to get your Jefferson Davis identified. What was the species ackermannii crossed with to get the hybrid ackermannii. Could it have been crossed with another species to get the larger flowers? Disocactus ackermannii has the triangular growth and a pinkish stamen, and the flowers are not flat; right? Look at this D. ackermannii here: http://www.ecology.org/orchids/index5.html#disocactus He shows it with triangular growth and flat growth. It had to be crossed with a bigger flower, and then perhaps it was crossed back for the color. I'm just theorizing here. I really know very little about Epi hybridizing. I just know that yours is very beautiful.

Clare,
I should have asked: Is it possible that the Hybrid Ackermannii ( Nopalxochia phyllanthoides x Heliocereus speciosus) was crossed with the species ackermannii. Using the word BACK crossed would have implied that the hybrid was crossed with one of its parents.That might also be a possibility?
I had asked the question also on Epiforums.com, ( hopefully I wasn't obnoxious) regarding a back cross. Yes, it might be possible, but since we don't know if it was registered, we have no idea what exactly was done.
About Joe D.'s link?
According to this thread
http://www.epiforums.com/showthread.php?t=444

it is misidentified.

And both my plants are hybrids. Both have white stigma lobes.

edited for clarification

This message was edited Jun 2, 2006 9:13 AM

LOL, Ursula. You could never be obnoxious. I think I have to join that group if only for the information. I'm not sure that I have time to contribute to another forum as I am pressed for time these days as it is. It seems to be a good source of info though. It is possible that it was back crossed with one of its parents if it lacked a trait that it didn't get the first time around, or it could have been done for a better, darker color. Got me surrounded! It is fun to think about though. I personally would like to see more hybridization done with ackermannii and other hybrids to give them fragrance. I supposed that they would have to be crossed with certain white-flowered night-blooming species for this, and then they would have to be crossed again back with the parent for intensity of color if they bloomed white from the cross. Interesting!

Ursula, I am wondering if this one is a hybrid of ackermannii because it does have triangular stems and flat stems on the same plant, and the flowers are smaller than the others, but they are a red-orange. Perhaps one of its parents or grandparents is D. ackermannii. That is interesting what Joe and the others said.

Hi Clare & Ursula -

I have over the years gotten black "spots" on the hybrid Epis.....especially following/during extra wet/cold winters or during years when the snail/slug population explodes. Leaves that have been sunburned seem to be especially suceptible to the spotting. Generally it doesn't seem to inhibit additional growth or flowering, just looks unattractive.

My E. oxy has a few areas that have gotten the black edges, which then dry up and leave a "scoop" out of the leaf edge. The few areas seem to be all where the leaves were very thick almost at the soil line/rim of the pot. Again this doesn't seem to have inhibited new growth or spread as yet.

Gitty Paetz is just gorgeous!

Re: Triangular and flat stems on the same plant - I'm still getting both types from many of my plants and even some of the smaller cuttings. They seem to have their own agendas. (I've seen this in the past on certain Euphorbia species. Less than ideal growing conditions can alter the number of ribs on columnar Euphorbias.) I wonder if they are indeed throwbacks to prior generations on these Epis, just as you can see other plants in the garden reverting back to all green from a variegated cultivar for example.

Here is yet another of the Pink Parade....this one happens to be one of the spiny buds, although at this stage of the parade they all do begin to look a bit alike. :-)

It's been windy here the last few days, so I had to bring 'Coral Dancer' into the sunroom to get a decent picture. It's a BIG flower and hopefully I can get this cutting to growing additional leaves......it really is especially pretty. (Now I feel bad for my other Epis that have served so well......it's like saying one child is "especially pretty" while others are just average! LOL)

Candy,
the Coral Dancer is to die for!! And the pink is very pretty!!

Around here things are humming along. We had last night the very first bloom of the Epi oxy! A front runner was opening in a cool drizzle yesterday. I took a picture before we went to sleep.

Since it was still on the cool side this morning, about 58 degr F, the flower stayed open to about 8 am.

And I should make a correction:
I looked at the tag today, don't ask me why, but I seem to misspell that one all the time: it is Gitti Paetz, not Gitty. Have to watch that.
This is the hanging plant, still on the deck, flowering now from a few branches.

To come back to the hybridization. Clare, about your post from June 2. at 12:33, it could be, but it is probably tough to tell exactly?

Did anybody here try to do some pollen transfer, since you have several different Epi flowers open at the same time?

Candy, thanks so much for the info. on the black spots. That's interesting that sunburned leaves seem especially susceptible. I too have had dried up edges on one of my species. The new growth doesn't seem to have it thankfully. Theses plants are so interesting with their different stems on the same plant. I love it! That Coral Dancer is an amazing color!

Ursula, did you get a new camera? Those pictures are so stunning! And that Epi oxy flower is simply stunning. Thanks so much for getting a picture of it at the two different times. Gitti is fabulous. I have not tried any pollen transfer even though I have different flowers open at the same time. I'd have to figure out where the sex organs are! I'll have some free time at the end of the week and may try to do so pollinating!

I just went outside, and a fragrance hit me. A new yellow opened up that I did not know that I had, and it is fragrant! My apricot is fragrant too, but it smells like my grandmother for some reason! LOL!

This picture is blurry, but I wanted to post it because I like its effect. It reminds me of Monet.

Edited to fix spelling:-)


This message was edited Jun 5, 2006 8:58 PM

Here is a clear picture of the new yellow fragrant flower that opened tonight.

Here is the Apricot:

I think this one is Padre, but the flowers look a little smaller to me than they've been:

Here is Paradise:

My Paradise leaves are starting to look a little beat up, like flowering is draining them of their youth!

Here is my other yellow/white that is not fragrant, but this one is a much larger flower:

Last one, I have some more unknown buds about to open, which will be fun to see what they are.

Ohhhhh, pretty!! A feast for the eyes!!
Clare aka eagle eye - yes, I had bought a Nikon SLR D50 for our Libya trip in March. I really like the camera for its ease of use. As an additional bonus, the battery really lasts a long time. I took about 550 pictures in Libya on that same battery and it still looked full.
Just in case you asked.....if you have a couple of hours to spare, it was awesome.
http://www.kammlott.net/Libyatrip.html

Todd Boland identified the wildflowers!!

LOL, Ursula. 550 pictures on one battery is impressive. It seems like I have to recharge my batteries every 20 pictures or so. I would have asked so thanks so much for the link! What a great thing you did by writing it down and including pictures. I can't wait to live vicariously through you and experience Libya too. I'll have some leisurely time coming up and will check it out! Thanks so much!

Hope you enjoy them.
I finally caught again one of the Epi phyllanthus flowers open. This little brat of a plant seems to produce every so often a batch of cleistogamous buds. They simply don't open, but they do produce a seed pod.
The flowers look sometimes a bit wrinkled, but they are cute and they are scented.

Wow, Ursula. That picture is beyond words. That is one for the photo contest next year. Magnificent! The flowers are very cute. I learned a new word today: cleistogamous! Thanks for that!

Thanks Clare!!
Are we having fun or what?

Gitti Paetz is blooming her heart out here, dripping in the rain. I do hope the weather improves and becomes summery.

Hi Ursula, we are so having fun! I do hope the weather improves for you also. It is June Gloom here, and I too wish it would be summer already.

I am finally able to match up the names that I was given with some of the flowers. I do believe that this is Francis C./Frances C. It is fragrant!

This one opened for the first time last night. It is a white hybrid, but I do not think it is fragrant, but I could not get close enough to be sure.

I don't know if this is Padre still or a different salmon. It looks different than the form of Padre, and it is possible that it is a different hybrid. I'm supposed to have another salmon somewhere. The big yellow/white one is 'Calisto,' I believe.

This message was edited Jun 7, 2006 11:23 PM

This one, I call Apricot:

I am lurking here everyday as this thread is on my watch list, just enjoying the show as mine was quickly over. (one and only plant blooming this year) I really love the big yellow ones! Especially the one Clare posted on the 5th and the one back on May 20th! Well, I like them all really.

Hi Sue and thanks! Both of those flowers are 'Calisto.' I have a list of my cultivars, but I didn't know which was which, and I'm still trying to figure them out. 'Tel Star' just opened today, and I'll post a picture of that shortly.

Here's a picture of Tel Star: