Hello everyone. What a gloomy time of year. Since I cant really do any gardening right now, I thought I would get on here and try to find out more info on my plants. I just got into orchid cactus and rhipsalis is the past year. I have a LOT of them now, but I have not had any of them over a year or two. They are all growing great, and looking good. Even now that its winter they are still putting out new growth. I have them in a greenhouse, as I dont have enough room in my house. Come summer I hang them all from a tree by my front porch. Being that I have not had any of them very long, I have never seen any of them bloom. Im wondering what I can do to encourage blooms....or what the best conditions for blooming are. I think I have read that they are more apt to bloom if they are rootbound. Is this true? I think I have also read that they like cool temps in the winter. At night, my greenhouse sometimes gets down to about 45/50 degrees F. All my plants seem to be doing fine.(Im actually kind of surprised how well some of my tropical plants are doing at these temps). Will these temps help to promote blooms? What time of year do epis usually bloom? Or does it vary from plant to plant? Is there anything at all any of you can think of that will help me to get my plants to bloom this year? Will they even bloom this year...or will they have to be older? Any info will be great. Thanks
need to know more about flowering
lismil: I have one large Epiphyllum hookeri that I've had for 30 years and it blooms in summer to fall time frame. I also have a few smaller Epi's and a couple have bloomed in spring. I think some bloom @ February or March and there are some that bloom in summer. Mine stay out on my deck year round except the large one is in the yard.
I found this to be interesting reading regarding Epi's. http://www.theamateursdigest.com/epis.htm
lismil, I just bumped up a lot of threads by Happenstance that are worth reading. She gives instructions and advice about care and fertilizing. The epi hybrids are starting to form buds here now, but they may take a little longer in cooler areas. The usual time for blooming is during the spring for hybrids, but species can bloom several times a year at different times of the year.