(I tried to post this a few minutes ago & something went wrong anyway.........)
I got two cutting years ago - a Queen of the Night which is doing great & this that isn't - so I need some ideas - it maybe heat stressed now - but after almost 6 years it has never bloomed. Is there hope or should I just give up and get something else?
This message was edited Aug 18, 2007 7:03 PM
I'll bump this thread up so others can view, and perhaps come up with some suggestion. Good luck, I'm newbie, wish I knew more to share.
Epies lover too,
K.
I recognise this look, a lot of my Epies have looked like that from time to time, yes it is a bit heat stressed, but mostly I think it is hungry. How long has it been in that soil? It may be too porous, or possibly it has become water repellent so it is not wetting down properly when you water it. If it is drying out too quickly the plant will not be able to absorb water and nutrients adequately and it will forget about flowering and go into survival mode.
All is not lost, you have a good sized plant there. Find a slightly shadier spot for it first, then do the following -
1/ Stick your fingers in the soil before you water it -
Has the soil set hard like concrete?
can you find roots every where?
2/ water it as you normally do and wait half an hour, and feel the soil again -
It is soggy? damp? dried out already?
I suspect you will find it is pretty dry, if so do this -
find a container big enough to hold the whole pot and stand the pot inside it, then fill the container with enough water to come to about an inch below the soil level and leave the plant in it overnight. The next morning the soil should be wet right through and you can take it out, let it drain and hang it up in it's new spot. Leave it alone for a week and then commence regular watering and feeding - water thoroughly once a week, or less often, as you go into winter the plant will go dormant and need less water anyway. Over the winter, try to expose the plant to low temperatures, but NOT freezing, this will reset the plant's "biological clock" and, with luck, in the spring, you will have blooms.
Let us know how you get on, Kaelkitty.
