My Epiphyllum oxypetalum is blooming again tonight. I had my first bloom at the end of June. Is it common for them to bloom more that once a year? I didn't think I'd see another bloom until next year, but it's a nice surprise.
Sandy
Epiphyllum oxypetalum blooming again
I just have to post a couple more.
Another one.
It's pretty nice from the side too.
Wow Sandy, you were up late for that bloom!..its beautiful....
Yes, I was afraid it would be limp by this morning like the last one, so I was madly taking pictures into the wee hours, but this is how it looks now.
Its still going strong this morning.....how big is it across?....its really pretty....
Gorgeous!!!
That's beautiful!
Having this plant bloom last year, unexpectedly after having it for 5 years, was probably the best “surprise thrill” of my gardening career. It was truly unbelievable!! They are so beautiful. I have had many blooms since but the foliage isn’t lush and green. It turns red and parts of it dry up and die. What should I do for this?
Sandy- is it a fragrant bloom?
GH
GH.....yes, it is fragrant. It's very nice.
They are fabulous blooms. I was lucky....mine bloomed after only a year and a half. I asked my friend who gave me the cuttings why it bloomed so quickly and she said it was because they were tip cuttings. I'm looking forward to the day when I get more than one bloom at a time.
Delmossie the foliage on my plant is very light green because it gets a lot of sun in the solarium. I only use shade cloth from about April through September. I hang this plant in the porch during the summer. It gets afternoon sun there. One of my red epiphyllums got red foliage and parts of it dried up and died off because it got too much sun and I was keeping it too dry. I switched it from a clay pot to a plastic pot and hung it in the tinted end of the solarium and it's a lot better. I would say just put it where it gets a bit more shade. Is it in a clay pot?
Sandy
Awesome blooms! Both of my plants are covered in blooms for another show in September. Mine bloomed in July too. They can bloom several times a year. I just took this picture so you can see all the buds.
Here is my other one. The buds are hard to see in this picture, but they are all over.
Clare, your going to have quite the show once they are both in bloom.....hope you take some pics!....
Sandy
Your plants are awesome Clare. They will be gorgeous when all those buds open.
Your plants look so orderly. Do you prune them to keep them from getting too wild? The mother plant my cuttings came from is a huge monster of a plant and I don't have space to let mine get like it but I don't want to sacrifice future blooms.
Sandy
Thanks, Sandy and Sandy! LOL! I will definitely take pics when they open. I agree that it will be quite a show! I recently moved them from the back to the front because it was hard to enjoy the flowers where they were in back. They were moved from filtered sun to full sun so I hope they can take the strong sun. I think they can.
Yes, I do prune but just the ugly leaves with spots and the ones that get torn or broken by accident. The last picture is actually a plant that belonged to my neighbor. I was out walking my dog, and there it was at the curb with a cardboard sign that said "free." It was too heavy to carry back home so I had to go back for my car. Some leaves got broken in transit, and you could tell the the plant had been neglected some so I repotted it and did some pruning. I probably won't prune again though for awhile. It's okay if it grows big there because I probably won't have to move it again. I did actually root some cuttings when I pruned my plant a while ago, and now those rooted cuttings have buds on them too, but some of them will undoubtedly fall off.
we are the Sandy's from BC!!! hehe...I have to agree with Sandy though, your plant looks well pruned and not out of hand.....mine hasnt bloomed yet..i was taking cues from Sandy's blooms......I assume you keep them outside all winter long?
Hi Sandy's from BC! Yes, I do. Up until now, they've been under a semi-covered patio, but now they are too big and had to be moved to the front, where it is colder and exposed. They might look a little more tattered in the future because of it, but that's okay. I did stick a tomato cage in there early on one of them, the one that I grew from a small plant, and I use plastic ties to keep it all tied up for the most part. I would like that second one to fill out some more with healthy leaves. It looks kind of gangley at this point.
Thank you Sandy, Sandy, Clare and others for your information and inspiration. Based on what you have said, I feel I need to move mine to shadier spots and repot. Is repotting something I should do during a specific time? Of course I will wait for it to stop blooming…does it stop blooming or is this an ongoing thing? I have 5 new buds in varying sizes and it has been going since early May. When I repot should I use orchid bark?
Hi Delmossie,
I would definitely wait to repot until yours stops blooming. Whenever I try to move or repot when there are buds, I inevitably break some off and have to kick myself. Yes, the red that you have could be from full sun exposure, or it could be from cold exposure. If you leave yours out all year, it will inevitably experience a weathered look if it is out in the elements.
Spring is really the best time to repot, but since it doesn't get cold in our area until late October/early November, you could repot now. Just be sure that you don't over-pot. Blooming is not an on-going thing. If you are lucky, you will have two or three flushes of blooms a year. My blooms usually happen in July and September.
Orchid bark and Perlite are great mixed with potting soil for increased drainage.
I'll do it...and when I do, I'll post the outcome.
Thanks for your advise.
D.
Cool pic, De!