Epiphyllums in Western Washington?

Yeah, I know, you guys want to be gardening outside, and what the heck am I asking about Epiphyllum here? Because you guys get to more nurseries than I ever will, and you could point me to the places I want to go.

Now, lets disregard the big players of plants in the North King and South Snohomish, cause I know what they have: Molbaks, Sky, Swainson's, Emery's, Flower World. In smaller players, we can drop the Indoor Sun Shoppe, and City Peoples. I have been bummed out recently, as back in the 80s there must have been 3 or 4 places to buy plants around Seattle and the Eastside, and 3 are no longer, and one is a shadow of its former self.

So, who has Epiphyllum, Orchid Cactus, Queen of the Night, what ever name you want to use, they are all quite ungainly plants that fill a 10-12" hanging basket when mature, but have astounding blooms. And can be amazingly scented. Attached is a picture of a mature plant in bloom from the Amatuer's Digest, and below is a link to a Google Query for pictures of Epis:

http://www.google.com/images?q=Epiphyllum&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS230US231

I would like to buy several mature plants, and would prefer to buy locally as it could cost a bundle to ship the stuff I want.

Hunter Farns has those for sale. They are located a mile or so off Hwy.101 on Hwy 106. They have around four greenhouses and sometimes some very interesting plants. I always buy my annuals there. I have a plant that finally bloomed this year. I'll go find the picture and post it.

Here's a close-up

And the plant. They are invested with mealy bugs and are outside at present. I have to wash then with acohol.

Sorry infested

This message was edited Aug 24, 2008 4:14 PM

Thank you. Good to hear you got it to bloom. Always a treat in bloom.

Epis that are infested with mealies are being kept too dry. Epis like to be kept on the moist side, with the soil being watered when it gets dry. During winter, water every week or two. They want more water than a desert cactus.

And a spray bottle of alcohol sprayed to soak the plant will kill the mealies on it. Respray at weekly intervals, soaking the plant for a month to kill all the mealies in eggs when they hatch.

This message was edited Aug 24, 2008 10:26 AM

Thanks for the information, Patricia!! That flower is great - so exotic.

Katie, sounds like you could use some Epis. And that nice big red flower is just the beginning of Epi flowers. Check out E. strictum to start, not red but white. Then try E. oxypetalum, and move on to the hybrids of your choice.

I'm not much into indoor plants these days. I'd prefer to just observe what you guys are doing. It sure was nice of Patricia to provide you will all that information, though. ;-)

Thanks for the info AD. I will do that, it is easier than using a cotton swab. I did have a white flowering one also but it died. I do water every week and a half or so. If you want I can go down to Hunter's and take pictures of what they have and post them. They are a few minutes from me.

Patricia - you are such a nice person . . . and such an enabler. :-)

Har Har!

That is so nice to offer, but if I could just get a list of the hybrids and an idea of the sizes and prices, that would rule. I found a website for them, maybe I will just email them.

Right now, with an Epi on a free or pretty free draining soil such as 50% potting soil/50% bark or pumice, water about every 2-3 days with the plant outside in bright shade to part sun. Hanging an Epi in a small tree in the sun is one good place. I would fertilize with 1/2 strength houseplant fertilizer every 3-4 weeks.

During our fall winter and early spring the plant should be watered every 2-3 weeks with no fertilizer.

This message was edited Aug 26, 2008 3:05 PM

Rob - are you mixing your own soil, or do you have a recommendation for one that is ready to use?

Yes, for cactus and succulents most knowledgeable people mix their own soils. The most standard is 33% potting soil/33% sand/33% pumice or perlite. Epis and Schlumbergias don't need such a fast draining soil, and will do well on the 50%/50% mix I gave.

I don't know anyone who uses it, but at Sky nursery one can buy Fleetfoot and Fairweathers Succulent Potting Mix which is probably leaner than the 33/33/33 I gave more like 20/40/40, or slightly different.

Actually, one can use almost anything for all plants, but watering then needs to be carefully controlled. The only reason I talked about soils was to be able to qualify my watering, as talking about watering without soils is like talking about weather but not rain.

Here's mine in bloom in the greenhouse. It usually blooms in March. I had this in the house for years and it didn't bloom at all. Then the kids broke the pot roughhousing in the family room and I moved it into the greenhouse to repot. Repotted and decided to leave it there. I think it needs a spot of cold nights to bloom well because the following spring it was covered in these blooms. I was stunned and amazed.

Outrageous. Yes, epis like a cool rest in the 50s is nice, but I am learning they can handle 40s pretty well.

Yep, they can definitely handle in the 40's. My greenhouse is 'cool' in the winter and will get down into the high 30's, but never low enough to do damage. The epi weathers this very well. I have it planted in a fast draining mixture that is actually an orchid mix. Found a photo of the whole plant. Wish the setting were more picturesque. Don't blame you one bit for wanting to get mature specimens. They do take a while to get big.

That is one beautiful plant. I love how big it is, and its very nice seeing it in a fiber basket. Cool. Do you have a hybrid name, as I would love to copy it down for when I am looking.

Thanks. I love the plant and am actually happy my kids broke the pot I had it in for years because I would not have considered repotting otherwise. Wish I did have a cultivar name for you. I got a start of this plant from a friend about 15 years ago. The original plant was her father's. My friend is in her 60's, so this plant has been around for awhile.

Here's a photo I thought you'd enjoy. It was taken at Huntington Gardens in California about 2 years ago. I just love the way this plant grows in the crotch of this tree. It was simply huge.

Now that is a neat plant placement.

I think I saw that down there this spring. It was beautiful in person.

Yes, it was completely awesome! Wish I had seen it all covered in blooms.

Here's my shot of the same tree and epi.

Well now I have to share mine. :^)
I've got it now where I can get it to bloom twice a year if I follow the plan. They want not only a cool period, but dry as well. Those two things can force it into bloom any time of the year you want.
I can bring cuttings to Gordon's swap if anyone wants them.

Here's a close up. :^)

Beautiful!! Didn't I get cuttings from you last spring? I think those may be your cuttings rooting in the greenhouse. They have new growth on them.
So share more details about your 'bloom twice a year' plan, please! When do you water, fertilize, and then let dry?

Yep, those are the ones. Glad to hear they are growing. :^)

I leave it outdoors hanging under the tall deck until first frost in late October. Before that, I let it go the last 4-6 weeks with no water. Hopefully they had been previously plump & healthy so they can easily withstand the dry spell. The ribs will pop out prominently, but if many of the leaves start to get wrinkly you've gone too dry for what the plant can take.
Once it's back indoors in the greenhouse, and it has been outside and bone-dry to the core for a couple weeks, then I start watering again while it's warmer. Boom... blooms start in a few weeks.
Fertilizing during the end of the active growth phase seems to help, but be very careful not to overdo it, since it's about to get so dry.
Then in the spring I put it out around May 1st, under the deck again. I dry it out a couple weeks before I put it out and couple weeks after. Those cold nights in May will be the trigger for another flush of blooms in the early summer if it's dry.
For both seasons, I only put it into the bloom cycle if I have done a good job growing it and it is plump, healthy, and ready to withstand a dry cycle. Lately I've been doing a poor job at that, since it should have been repotted years ago. It's so root-bound that there's not a drop of soil left in the pot I'm sure. I think I may try that big coir basket idea you ladies are using.
- Tom

My brown thumbed DIL brought me a four inch pot with about a dozen cuttings in it, that one of her customers had brought her. I really had no idea about them at all. But they continued to grow and grow and bloom and bloom. Now I have several. They overwinter nicely in the greenhouse. I splash a bit of water on them every couple of days and when I spray with fish fertilizer they get it too. I throw a small amount of ozmocote in the pot a couple of times a year too if I think of it. I have white, hot pink, and brilliant orange flowers. Another pot has sweet baby pink flowers and is a smaller variety.

Thanks for the info on the dry/cold treatments. I hope it works for me too.

Thanks, Tom. That makes sense.
Thistle, those are going to be beautiful! I hope you post a photo when they open.

Oh, man! All nice plants, and I can't wait to see the flowers! Thanks for the post on how to trigger the blooms, it makes a good bit of sense.

Interesting you keep Epis out until October. I was just bringing in my Stapeliads, Hoyas and Adeniums today and thinking about the Epis. I figured I would see how the weather was later this week, then bring them in after that cooled off to a normal September temperature. Maybe I will keep them out longer.

Tom, yours must be Diff. from mine She blooms 3 per year, and not so long. and my flowers are Diff. Down loaded all most all my pic. due to a viris I had, will find it, not the same. ^_^

Now I need to see yours, Tills!

Orange Bloom

Smaller plant, soft pink bloom.

Ooooooh. Ahhhhhhhh. I especially love that salmon color.