They grow so easy from a leaf, Lin......................I am going back to bed............got up waaaaaaaaay too early......................chat later
OT - September Outside Beauties
I have buds on my Epiphyllum hookeri again and have been going out with the flashlight and camera in hand to see if I can after @32 years of owning this plant, finally see a bloom opened!
One is getting close and three others are in different stages. This is a night bloomer and the huge plant is out under a tree in the corner of the backyard. I have been out twice and plan on staying up and checking every few hours! It had a bud a few days ago and I thought it was going to be a few days ... went out yesterday morning and the durned thing had bloomed and I missed it ... again! I want to see if it is fragrant. Someone told me it is but I just read somewhere else that it is not a scented Epi.
Anyway, here's the opening bud ... look at the ants on it!
How great for you. That wasn't a long wait was it??? ha. Congratulations, very special!
Woo Hoo ... I am so glad I checked again before going to bed ... I found two blooms open on that Epi Cactus!
Check this out! Not fragrant like a lot of Epi's but it sure is pretty ... such a shame it will be dead by daylight.
That is a phenomenal bloom, Lin!!!!!!!! I would take the picture, have her copied and framed............love her!
Thanks Gail ... I took about 25 pictures and I guess I was so excited to finally see blooms ... most of them were blurry my hand was shaking so bad .. couldn't hold the camera still enough. Of course it's very dark out in the corner of the backyard and I was holding the flashlight in one hand and looking around thinking I was gonna see some critter out there! LOL. If I were to see a possum, raccoon or armadillo it wouldn't bother me but snakes are another thing!
I was out watering plants about 7:15 one morning this past week and a huge Armadillo was moseying through the front yard ... I ran in and grabbed the camera but when I began walking towards him he picked up speed (those critters can move) and scurried across the street into the woods ... I clicked a couple of shots but when I came in and downloaded them they were all hazy ... lens on camera fogged up because of the humidity ... I hate when that happens when I'm trying to take pictures!
What a stunning flower, again, congratulations!!!
Thank you! I went out this morning and they are all wilted. Such a beautiful bloom that only lasts for a few hours overnight!
Sally, that’s a beautiful Desert Rose. You said they like to be fed; I have a couple I just got…..do you think it’s too late in the season to feed them?
Lin, WOW 32 years. Boy do you have patience! I probably would have composted it by now. LOL Gorgeous, gorgeous flower thou. I know the flower only lasts one night, but will there be more? Or is that it till next summer?
Rox
My Angel Trumpet is putting on a show. I brought it from Texas when I moved here about 15 years ago. Even though it is not supposed to be hardy in this zone, it has lived for years in this big pot with no protection at all. Perfumes the whole back yard.
close-up
Rox: I have a few more buds that will be opening in the next couple of nights. This is the third time so far this year this plant has bloomed. I will probably get a few more before we have any real cold weather down here. I need to feed the poor thing and maybe some day I will get a huge flush of blooms all at once! I saw a photo of a plant like mine once that must have had 50 or more blooms all opened, a beautiful sight!
Wow! That is a beautiful Brugmansia! I have one I've had for quite a few years that I bought on a whim from some catalog. It bloomed a few years ago but has never done well for me ... it's in the ground in the backyard and does not get enough sun. I got two more small ones in trade a couple of years ago ... one died and the other is just hanging on. Something has been eating a lot of the plants in my yard this summer.
I bet with all those gorgeous blooms on your Angel's Trumpet ... it must be a heavenly fragrance!
50 blooms on one plant......wow......that must have been a huge plant. Do you have other species Epiphyllum? I had several when I lived in Texas but gave them all away. I knew I wouldn't have anyplace to overwinter them up here. Had a really huge RicRac, but it never did bloom.
Brugs can be a pain. They are such heavy feeders and take a tremendous amount of watering. The ones I've got in the ground(cuttings from my original) haven't done nearly as well this year as usual. I guess cause of the drought. Because this one is by the deck it gets more care than the others. It hadn't done much of anything this year until I had a 'Duh' moment a month or so ago. Spider mites. After I sprayed it.....it went crazy and is bloomin it's head off.
I used to have a pink one(Frosty Pink), but tried to overwinter it out side and it died. Here's an old picture of it. Someday I hope to get another one. I really loved it.
My E. hookeri is very large ... need a hand truck to move the pot! But, I've had it for a long time. I also have a RicRac that I bought probably 15 or so years ago. I had no idea what it was or that it even bloomed until this past spring when I found a bud that looked terrible, I thought maybe the plant was dying or that some bugs or critters were eating it. LOL, I posted a photo asking if anyone had any idea what was going on with it ... and found out that was a spent bloom that it was a night bloomer! ^_^ No buds again since then but I'm hoping some day to see blooms on this one.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, maybe I will put up with my brugs in hopes that someday I will have a big one like you, Roxanne. This is the first year I have tried them and they are the biggest pain in the bu**. They always want more water, more food, etc.
I have one big pot of all kinds of epis..........that Kim sent to me about 5 months ago......can't wait for them to bloom as she said they were all colors mixed in together...
I also have a little pot of a red epi that I love so much. She need to be put in a basket.....one more job I haven't done, but here is a picture with the lady where I bought my little pot.
Helen lives here in Taft and has some greenhouses. She loves hoyas, epis and cactus. (and orchids)
Man, Gail ... that is so Beautiful! I have a few Epi's that I received as cuttings in trades a couple of years ago. I am so hoping some will be day bloomers and red or pink or yellow blooms!
Here's another Ric Rac that I received as a cutting in a trade when I first joined DG two years ago. It has not bloomed yet. It is different than the one I posted above ... branches are smaller and a little different shaped. Don't know what the name.
What a cutie Helen is ... Love her Epi and really love her hat!
The Ric Rac in the first photo I posted will bloom red. This is what the bud looked like when I first noticed it ... was so excited to finally get to see a bloom.
and this is what it looked like the next morning when I thought bugs were maybe eating it! LOL. Had no clue that it was a night bloomer and I had missed it! You better believe when I see any signs of buds I'm going to be out on the deck at night watching and waiting to see the blooms! I hear this one is fragrant too!
Rox:
I do have a few others ... all received as cuttings in trades.
And, these. The one on the right is getting big so maybe by next year I will get a bloom or two on her.
Here's the big guy that bloomed last night.
This is an E. Oxypetalum I found at Wal-Mart last month, one of the Exotic Angel plants.
This one I grew from a cutting I got in a trade. No clue which one it is. I first thought it was E. oxypetalum but the branches look a bit different, a little stiffer. Haven't had blooms on any of them yet except my real large plant out in the backyard and the bloom I missed on the Ric Rac.
Rox, about feeding the Desert Rose, depends where you live. It is usually pretty warm here all winter. I would lightly feed it. But if you have cold winter, I would wait. There is a forum here at Dave's for them! Look for Caudiciforms.
This message was edited Sep 14, 2008 1:57 PM
Gail, that is one gorgeous Epi. When she blooms you’ll be doing the happy dance for sure.
I love Epis. And Aporophyllums (cross between Epiphyllum and Aporocactus) I have several Aporophyllums, but none of them have bloomed yet. They’re getting pretty big so maybe next year.
I have lots of Epis too, but most are cuttings from a trade this spring.
Boy that Helen is really ‘stylin’…….I like the hat, but I really love that shirt!
Lin is that air roots in that first picture of the ric rac? You guys are so lucky to live where you do Fla./Tx. I can’t even think about what I’m going to do with everything in another month without getting an anxiety attack. LOL My DH has fits every fall, and I just say ‘Well, if you would ever get my greenhouse built……’
Lin you’ve got quite a collection there. Do you know what color they will be?
Here is my Epi ‘Freuhlingsgold' It makes a nice basket....the blooms are only about 4-5 inches, but it is very fragrant and a day bloomer. You guys want a cutting? I can throw one in an envelope and send to both of you.
Rox
Thanks Sally, Maybe I'll give it a little watered down fert. It will be coming in off the porch in another month. I guess I should have waited till the spring to get them, but I couldn't resist. You know how it is. LOL
Here's a picture of one of my Aporophyllum baskets. They're just getting long enough to start tipping over and hanging down. Can't wait till they bloom.
Oooh Rox .... That is a gorgeous plant! I would LOVE to try rooting a cutting of that one! Now, what can I send you in exchange? Just ask! You want Ric Rac? How about the E. hookeri? Episcia's? I have a lot of house plants so let me know. I don't have a clue as to what color my other epi's are going to be. When I first joined DG I didn't use the Trade Tracker feature so I don't even know who my cuttings came from, just know it was a couple of different trades and two cuttings were marked with a magic marker, A & B?!% I now use TT faithfully so I can go back and see who sent me what, LOL. I do remember one cutting I got in trade is supposed to have a pink bloom but have no idea if that is one of these plants or if it even survived. Just waiting for everything to get big enough to bloom!
Yes, that is aerial roots on that Ric Rac. I don't particularly care for the looks of them but don't want to cut them off. The basket of Epi oxypetalum that I bought at Wal-Mart has begun to grow some aerial roots on her too.
Freuhling's Gold is sooo pretty!
Do Aporophyllum's have sharp thorns/spines?
I will send you the red cuttings if you will send me cuttings of that dynamite gold looking one.................I will send you 5 nice cuttings to root..........so you can start a basket...........is that ok , av-ocd-girl.........love that user name!
I have my hands full this week sending out packages..............it will be next week........ok????
Lin and Gail, I'll put a cutting in the mail tomorrow. I really can't take any more Epis right now, but I might be tempted by a few AV leaves ; ) Whatchagot? LOL
All the cuttings I started this summer are in 10 inch hanging baskets and are going to take up a lot of room this winter. I start my cuttings differently than most people. I lay the cutting on top of the soil and pin it down. Baskets are only 1/2 filled with soil and as the plant grows I'll pop it out and add more to the bottom. I just hate when you stick a cutting upright and all the growth comes from the top of the cutting, so I tried something different and it works. Just thought I'd share this trick.
This picture was taken 2 months ago and the plant is huge now. It has the 3 growing points from where the cutting rooted and put out growth.
sounds good to me..................I will find some av leaves.............for trailers in particular........have some great ones............
Rox,
You've got d-mail.
Gotta love the night bloomers!
Here are some 4 o'clocks that I grew from seed beckygardener sent early this year . . .
Syrumani: Great job! Those are lovely 4 O'clocks! They grow like weeds down here. They get to 3' tall and the tubers get so huge you can't just pull them up, you have to dig them. I've dug tubers at times the size of very large potatoes.I can't tell you how many I've put out for the trash ... and they are still growing everywhere! Most around here are either pink or white but a couple of years ago some popped up that were bicolors ... yellow & white splashed and pink & white splashed ... real pretty! They open in the late afternoon, early evening down here. Sometimes I detect a slight fragrance. I love 4 O'clocks ... just wish they wouldn't spread so much. I collected seed a few years ago, don't ask me why, I didn't plan on sowing them since didn't they go to seed and grow like crazy here in Florida.
Here's the bi color pink
edited to say: I love yellow, wish I could have some yellow ones, pink ones and white ones all confined to one area ... problem is they don't stay put.
This message was edited Sep 15, 2008 7:51 AM
ooo Dahlias..love them Brenda..I especially love the dinner plates.. I have a few to take pics of later..
Lin..cool epi..what a special moment that must have been for you to finally see that bloom! I would have loved that!!
Roxy..awesome Brugs..never seen that many blooms before..your yard must smell absolutely wonderful!
Gail love that red epi bloom...
Sally your Desert Rose is Lovely..
hope I didn't miss anyone..Wonderful Pics everyone!!
Syrumani, Great 4 o’clocks. I have always loved them and haven’t had any in years.
Lin, yes Aporophyllums have spines. They inherit them from the aporocactus. Some varieties have more than others. They are easy to tolerate when you think about getting the flowers of an Epiphyllum (smaller of course) in a small sized manageable plant. Some Epis get so huge there’s just no way I have room for more than a few.
Gail, don’t go overboard on the leaves. I can only send 1- 6inch piece of Fruehlingsgold. It’s been a good trader for the last few years and needs time to grow back. But, it grows fast and you’ll have a full basket in no time. I took the cutting this morning and am letting it dry. I’ll send it off tomorrow.
Rox
Sally: That Desert Rose of yours is really beautiful. I love the looks of that plant. Gail sent me one a year ago and then I was gone for a couple of weeks to my sisters and we had tons of rain while I was away ... the plant rotted. :( I will try another one some day ... maybe plant it in terra cotta next time since it dries out so much faster than plastic.
Check out this Desert Rose Photo that made Bloom of the Day, this is one huge, beautiful plant!
http://www.bloom.com/