Buds on my NBC

I just counted the buds on my NBC I lost count at 80+ WooHoo I know that a lot of these will fall off way before they flower. The most I have ever had open on this plant was about 24 in one night and about 12 the next night. Wouldn't it be something if even half of the buds make it. Folks will be able to smell the fragrance for miles. Looks like a "Blooming Party" is in the works for this one. LOL

Waiting with baited breath for a sniff... LOL What color is this one? pod

This is the white one that blooms at night. STRONG fragrance. This is a picture of flowers from the same plant last Fall.

Wow! that plant really does get loaded with blooms! What do you doctor it with? Beautiful!

Thank You! Nothing I can take credit for, I just sit back and watch it do its thing. LOL
I think it loved the heat this summer. It blooms several times during the summer, usually starts blooming heavily around the first of Sept and will bloom until the end of Oct.
Each bloom opens around 9:00 or 10:00 PM and stays open until daylight the next morning. Then the blooms wilt and are gone,

So pretty.

Do you find it takes excessive water when the heat is so extreme? For that many blooms, it must be huge! How do you move it to overwinter it and where?

DH Calls it the plant from .... Oh Well you know what he means. LOL
I put it on a furniture dolly and roll to the basement. Not really a problem. It is trained on a 7' trellis and will just slide in the door and sits beside the sliding glass doors all winter.
It is not a big water drinker, it is in the edge of a flower bed that even during our 108 degree days it only got water twice a week. It is in one of those Big nursery pots that trees come it. Not the prettiest container but too heavy for a clay pot like most of my plants are in.
I usually forget to fertilize but when I do I use one of the Beer formulas (I can give you the recipe if you need it), 20 20 20 is also good and I throw banana peels on all my eppies.
Long answer for a short question. LOL

Good answer though! That is a terrific way to display and move it. I would have not thought to use a trellis. I had hanging baskets and they would become such monsters that they would crash to the ground and break into pieces. A large pot and trellis, now if I only had a basement... I will remember it in the future when mine grows.

I would not have had the fortitude to whack it back but read in a cacti succulents book that would keep it manageable and hurt nothing. So far, so good.

I know you would have guessed this but I have at least 4 more NBC in big nursery pots I pinch back the long stem things that they form. The plants are a lot fuller but not nearly as tall as the big one. They don't bloom as well, but they are younger too.

They may not bloom as prolifically but the fullness gives them a pretty shape and keeps them a more manageable size.

Are your others all different colors/blooms I would guess?

picabo- do u also use the beer fert(without the fert!) in the winter?

Pod...No that is just the NBC. There are 30 or more eppies, several different types and colors. I am trying to get them all logged so I know what I do have before I start making winter plans.

Happy... I don't use anything on the plants in the winter except on the Eppie called Ric Rac. It usually starts setting buds in February so I start feeding a fish/humus formula when it starts to set buds. I can give you that recipe too. To me, the beer formula seems to promote plant growth but does not seem to encourage blooming. I can use the beer formula and see growth within a week. I do use the banana peels year round on all the eppies/orchid cactus.

This is a collage of Some of my OC blooms

Betty

Picabo, I would love to have the fish/humus formula! Are there any other plants that you use this on?

I started using the beer recipe, minus the fert, in the winter on most of my plants. Not much of a noticeable difference, except in my Schlumbergeras. Some of them bloomed a second time in the Spring.

Mix in a 2 Gal bucket
Actagro 2 ounces (1/4 cup) [A concentrated Liquid Humas}
Vita Sea 2 ounces (1/4 cup) [From Sea Weed]
2 quarts water
Sea Source Spray 2 ounces (1/4 cup) [ Derived from hydrolyzed Fish]
Carboonizer 2 ounces (1/4 cup) [Liquid Compost]
1 cup black strap Molasses
Stir well and allow to brew in a shady spot for 24 hours.

To apply mix 1 T to a gallon of water and pour over the root area.


The beer Formula that I use
12 oz beer
1 cup Epsom salts
1/2 cup ammonia
2 c water
1 cup molasses Black Strap
4 tablespoons Bloom Booster
Vit B12 250-500 mg.

use 1 Tablespoon to a gal of water

I don't know where either recipe originated

I alternate using them both on Hoyas, OC and brugs. I use the humas mix on everything.

Betty

Thanks for those recipes Betty. I am going to try it , if I can track down the ingredients. LOL!!

I have only one epi but I hope to get some more somehow. Where did you get yours from? I need a good source to buy them from. I have absolutely fallen in love with these this year, especially after seeing pics of yours. I do have 1 Rhipsalis and several Zygocactus, though.

Sharon

When will you be in Nashville next? I would love to share. Do you have an NBC Got one I can put you name on.
My tags faded out so I am in the process of waiting for blooms on lots of them to see what they are.

Betty

Oh , Wow!! you are so sweet!!

Yes , I do have one NBC plus, Darius is going to send me one of her large ones here in a few weeks. I would LOVE to have starts of some more, if possible. I have no idea though, when I would be coming to Nashville again- it probably would not be until next spring at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show. ; - (

Could I send you some $ for postage, maybe or will you be coming to Tupelo for the R/U?

Thank you, Sharon

If I can work out a sitter for Mother I will try to come to Tupelo.

I am wondering about a RU in Nashville.
There is a great retreat area just a few miles from me. Several bedrooms with bunk beds (bring your own linens), a big central area, and a huge equipped kitchen. Lots of room for campers by a river several restaurants near by.

I'll check on the fee, I think it's about $125 a day. I know there is a lot to offer for the price.

Nashville would be a great location for a RU. It is so central to the whole state and easy to get to for others.
That place sounds nice, sounds like we could have a whole RU weekend!! I am sure everyone would like to come to it. I am wanting to start venturing out more and more and meeting some DG'ers from other parts of the country.

I was even thinking about going to the Texas R/U until I found out it was so soon, Semp. 22-23, I do not think I will be able to make it. I really hate that I missed the LA R/U this past weekend . It looks like they had a great time .

Sharon

Picabo,

Thanks for sharing your "recipes" for the 2 concoctions you use. I have NO idea where i would ever get "Liquid Humus" or "Liquid Compost"??
I copied both out just FYI.

I have a question re my NBC.
I have had it now for about 5 years. It was started from a leaf cutting I got from CA. It has never bloomed for me yet--but then i do not really ever fertilize it. I also keep it fairly dry. It is in a 6" pot and probably root-bound, but i understood that Epis like these kind of conditions.

My question is about the tall stalks it makes. Mine has about 3 of them. They are about 21/2' tall and have leaves on top.
Now I am reading how the growing ends of the stalks could have been pinched off to make a bushier plant. Could i still, maybe, do it?????
What damage would be done if i do--if any?
It is still outside, as we are having VERY mild weather-still, but any day now, it will have to come inside. Not sure I will find a decent way to handle all those stalks--other than staking them.

At the same time I got the leaf cutting of the NBC, I also got 2 different red Epis. One of them bloomed last summer for the first time. The other one has yet to do so.

Thanks for shedding some light on all this for me,

Gita

Here's a picture of the red Epi that bloomed.

Gita...You are correct... I have found that my Eppies do better when they are root bound and dry most of the year. They seem to be one of those plants that grab their throat and say "I am going to starve to death, I have got to Bloom" when neglect is at it's worst they will start to set buds, I slowly start to water and feed until they bloom. Then back on a diet. This works for me, but it may not be the recommended way.

The size is a problem when we have to bring our epies inside for the winter. My old NBC is staked on a copper Trellis that I can add to over summer and then remove the top and let it droop back over winter. I only have 7' ceilings in the basement where it Winters.
I am sure no expert on NBCs but I think that if you cut back on the Big leaves you would lose a years start on blooms. I would allow the ones you have NOW to grow and stake them then pinch back the new growth until the plant is full. I have some that I have started pinching back into a bush form and did get several blooms on them this Summer. The tall one has just been growing longer and has more old growth to bloom on.

I do pinch back all new growth on the BIG NBCs.

Hope this answers your question, I tend to ramble. LOL

The flowers on your red are beautiful.

Betty

This is my NBC blooming a couple of week ago. The weather was cool and the blooms were still open at 9:00 in the morning. It bloomed like this for 4 nights in a row. Edited to add.... This plant is about 8' tall.

This message was edited Oct 22, 2007 9:29 AM

Thanks, Betty!

Soooo.............
I can leave this in the 6" ceramic pot for now? For how long?
I should not water it much over the winter? Do I feed them anything?
When does the new growth usually begin?

Went out and took a couple of pictures for you.

Here's the NBC as it looks now. There are 3 bamboo stakes holding up the stems.

Here's the red Epi that has not bloomed yet. Sure is sprawly!

It got set back a bit this summer, as I had the 6" pot in a ceramic pit for stability. Well, the ceramic pot had NO drainage, and the water kept collecting until one day i was wondering WHY the leaves on the Epi were starting to look shriveled up???
So I dumped out all the water and never watered it again. I sure hope it is recovering. I still see some of the shriveled look here and there....

Gita;
I'm a newbie at raising these precious. But, I would highly recommend that you get a pot with good drainage holes to transplant your epi. into....
Also, get a good fresh cactus growing medium to use. For larger quantity. I mix half/half pottings media and sand to promote drainage on all my cactus/succulences.
Betty's NBC's collection is awesome, and wow, look at all those blooms.

Hi Kim...
That picture is from the NBC by the little patio in front of the deck. I was telling you how much it bloomed.

Gita... Kim gave good advise on the soil. I also mix in Orchid bark mix.

I would leave both plants as is until spring growth starts. If you can lift out of the pot without disturbing check to see how root bound it is getting. They are both beautiful healthy plants. You should be getting blooms next year.
My NBC plants that go in the basement have no growth over winter. The Eppies in the GH will start setting buds about Feb. They don't usually bloom until spring. The basement ones often wait until Sept.

I am sure no expert on Eppie care. I have had good luck with just doing what I think seems right at the time. I am sharing what has worked for me, not necessarily the correct way to grow them. LOL
Betty

Hi Betty! I don't post or read on this forum much anymore due to lack of time, but I wanted to tell you that my Ric Rac is covered in buds right now for the very first time. I think your banana peel suggestion might have worked! Thanks so much for that;-)

My Epiphyllum oxypetalum has bloomed nearly every month since June. It has really been amazing. The tough part is staying up that late to see them! LOL! I've even had some stay open until 9:00 a.m. or so. It's weird being able to take pictures of blooms in the day time.

Here is another daytime shot. I think this was around 9:00 a.m.

One more pic. I'll post the Epiphyllum anguliger blooms when they open.

Hi Clare, I have been thinking about you. Hope the fires are leaving you alone. Son and Dil live in Pasadena and say the air is so bad there. I think he said the fires are at least 20 miles away.

Your Epiphyllum oxypetalum is beautiful. The flowers just don't seem real they are so perfect. It is always a treat when they stay open in the morning.

Good news on your Ric Rac. I don't know why the banana peels would help them to bloom but when I forget to put them on they don't bloom as well. I often wish I could find the little man that told me to do that and thank him again.

Betty

All right ~ I have followed the banana peel but want to know ~ do you just leave it to rot or stir it in or shred it or? Please share...

I tear them in pieces and drop in the pots on top of the soil, just leave them to rot. I have mixed chopped, overripe bananas into the soil when potting hoyas and Eppies. Seems to work, so I keep doing it. LOL

The peels from one banana will feed two or three pots.

Thanks much Picabo ~ that is a tip that will stick in my mind. Most unusual. I wonder if it would work on other bloomers.

Picabo,

On using the banana peels on your Epis, do you just keep adding pieces of the peels on top of the old peels still in the pot?
Does it make any difference how big/small pieces of the peels you use? Do you punch them down a bit or just toss them on top?
WHAT, in your opinion, is there in the peels that benefits these plants so much? I know there is a lot of Potassium. Anything else???

WoW! You even use them on the Ric Rac???? You KNOW I have a Ric Rac! Actually had 2, but I finally found a home for my HUGE, sprawling one. Talked the people at the local Conservatory to "adopt it". I have a second one--already a nice, full HB. It started out from the big one a few years ago, when the wind blew down the Mama pot and a big chunk broke off. I am so happy to have found a good home for it! I just did not have room any more to house it in my LR for the winter.
It now resides on the side of a rocky ledge around the big pond in the Mediterranean House of the Botanical gardens. YES!!!!!
Since I am a registered volunteer there, I will keep an eye on it for some blooms next summer.

Thanks for your advice, Gita

No system here, I usually just toss them in random pots as I walk around the yard. I don't add a new one until the ones in the pot have rotted. DH and I both eat Bananas and the peels always go to the plants instead of in the trash. I also put the peels on my Hoyas and Rabbit Foot Fern. I have never though about how often I put them on each plant I doubt that any plant gets peels much more than once a month. Not a clue why it seems to help some plants bloom better.

Gita. Good Idea on allowing the Conservatory to "adopt" your big RicRac. I have a few plants that are getting too big for me to move around and have thought of donating them so they could be enjoyed by more people. My big NBC should be somewhere where it can be enjoyed more than just sitting in my yard. I moved my Plumerias inside today. They are too big to stand up in the basement or GH. So next summer is decision time. Prune or they have got to go. :~((

Betty

This is My old Ric Rac starting to bloom last Spring.

Hi Betty,

I thought of you many times this summer as well as I watched your beautiful pink plumeria bloom. You should definitely prune your plumeria so that it is easier to handle and so that the blooms are low enough for you to smell them. You could start over with cuttings and give your big one away (or sell it to a local nursery), or you could keep your big one and just prune it way back. I too have gotten rid of things that become "monsters." My back can't take it!

Your Ric Rac is so pretty with those nearly purple back petals. It will be interesting to see if mine looks like yours.

All is well here. Thanks for thinking of me. We had fairly bad smoke and ash in the air for about three full days, and we had some terrible wind gusts that were stronger than I've ever experienced before. It's amazing some trees didn't break in two. I did have some damage to a few plumerias though. I was about 10 miles from the Santa Rosa Fire and about 20 miles from the Malibu Fire. The freeways were a mess too and hard to travel -- all around, a terrible thing. I'm glad to hear that your son and DIL were out of harms way.

I too didn't have a system and just laid the peel down across the top of the soil and removed it when it dried up and turned black some time later.

Banana peels are rich in organically chelated Potassium. This is the same mineral which you get in most kinds of "Bloom Booster" plant foods. They work well if you can bury them a little bit so the nutrients go into the soil and don't just wash away when you water the plants. What you get from the banana peel it is just like a slow release capsule of fertiliser, so it works particularly well for plants like cacti, orchids and ferns which can react badly to strong fertilisers, but still need the extra Potassium to encourage flower beds to set. I split my peels between the Epis, the Cymbidiums, and the staghorn ferns. TTFN, KK.

Kaelkitty, Thank You.
That explains why it works. Now when people ask me Why I use the peels I can refer them to your post.

Betty

KK, you are so right that Potassium is extremely beneficial in setting blooms, but most "Bloom Booster" fertilizers here in the United States have a high middle number and are high in Phosphorus. I don't know if it is different there in Australia where you are. The best fertilizers for blooming a lot of things seem to be the ones with the highest Potassium number, the last number, like 5-10-20. I'm sure you are right about the slow-release benefit.

Betty, here are some pics of mine. I am having some bud drop, but I suspect that is normal.

Here's another pic. The Selenicereus anthonyanus is in the background along with E. chrysocardium, and neither of those have blooms yet.

This pic is out of focus. Sorry about that. It shows the buds that are near the soil line. I'll post again when they bloom.