Broken off Section-How to root?

I have had this "NIght Blooming Cereus" for several years now.. It has NEVER bloomed!

I have posted for advice before. I keep it in the house for the Winter and keep it outside in filtered light all Summer. It has grown and grown! Mostly, these long stems (now about 4' high) that have all kinds of leaves coming out of them. BUT---this is NOT about it blooming......

In the Spring--as I was moving all my plants outside--a section of the "leaves" broke off. I trimmed it and potted it up in a 4" clay pot and have had it inside by a window all summer. I KNOW it has rooted.....as I tug on it.....These things root so easily!

Today--I was tying it up the tall stems to some 4' bamboo stakes to hold the thing together, as I will have to bring it in again--soon--and another section broke off. Same as in the Spring.

My question is this:

HOW should this broken-off section be trimmed, and where, so I can have as many sections to root as possible???? Should I just plant the WHOLE thing? Kind of big for that......
Those side-leaves.....with the "veins" connecting it to the bigger leaf---can they be separated and rooted individually? I realize--it would be smaller rootings than if I did the WHOLE thing---but I also know that each one of them WILL root.

If I wanted to cut them up in separate pieces to root----WHERE would I cut them??? Need advice!

Here is the broken off section as of today:

Here is the same kind of section that broke off this Spring. I potted it up in a 4" clay pot. I believe it has rooted----

Anywhere. That is what is nice about the epis. You could cut off each of the leaf/stems and cut the large piece into one or two pieces. I broken of even small pieces and they root.

It mainly depends on your objective for the plant. If you are after bloom, take the 4 inch potted plant and replant into a hanging basket with the addition of the new cutting you have. As it is, it will be much further along towards blooming than it would be if you pulled off the side shoots and rooted them individually., If your objective is to have plants or cuttings to give away, go ahead and pull off the side shoots and pot them up individually.

Not sure what my "objective" is....I am just a compulsive propagator of any pieces of any plants that break off....I suppose it would be to have plants to share....

Your recommendation is a bit late....:o( I have already cut up the broken off section in pieces....Will stick 2 of them together in the same pot.

Haven't seen any blooms on the original plant yet in all the years I have had it! Must not be doing something right???? Kind of giving up on it.....I am a pretty good gardener and quite knowledgeable--so it IS frustrating! But also---this is NOT CA or Texas or any of the other more tropical places....

Here's the original plant---I really do not like the tall, stick-like stems it has grown. Too tall and too hard to keep inside....Maybe I should just whack the whole plant back and let it re-grow? ...more pieces to root......I am hopeless.....

Gita

another angle......those thin bamboo stakes really do not work too well holding it up!

how are you feeding

i was told to feed 1 monthly with 10-10-10 except Dec, Jan, Fed when you should feed 0-10-10.

sorry for tying to day doing it one handed
sandy

Not too great about feeding......this goes for all my Garden! It is hard to maintain everything! I give them all a good planting start and then--alas--kind of neglect them--except for watering.

I do feed my container, flowering plants now and then--and then i feed the Epis too. Maybe 2-3 times a Season. I usually use Fish emulsion. On the Brugs--I use something a bit stronger....

Of course--all my plants have to come inside pretty soon, as we are likely to get a cold snap any old random time. Then it is panic time! I try to do what has to be done ahead of time--like I just applies Systemic Granules (Bonide) yesterday to every single pot that will be coming inside. Glad that is done!

Wanna see what my LR-DR look like in the Winter?????
This is the LR windows....


Gita

And--here is the DR end....The 2 rooms are really ONE room.....

Besides--all through the house, wherever there is a window--there are TV tables full of plants as well as in my guest Bedroom.....It is a sickness----I tell you!

I think the problem is the winter feeding. From what I understand they need the winter "rest" and a slightly cooler temp(Or not I am still learning) The one I had a bloom on this year was out side all winter with out protection and it get down into the 30's and I have not feed it in ages. I forget it was back there.

Do you mist them? I have read that that might help

Sandy

Our humidity here is so high--misting is not needed.

The feeding I was talking about was while they are outside in the garden for the Summer season. I let them get pretty dry inside....

Gita

Don't let them get dry. they are jungle cactus they like more water that other cactus. Not wet but moist.

wren--

You are contradicting yourself.......
You say, they need a winter "rest" and then you say they do not like to get too dry.
To me "Winter rest" means "slight" dormancy---not too much watering---no feeding. etc.....
MANY plants need that "rest"......I KNOW that!

You say you are still learning------are you sure the advice you are giving is then correct?

I believe that--before one gives advice to others on any given plant--one should be very well acquainted with that particular plant's needs, as if one is seeking advice---one is looking for experienced guidance.

Thank you for your input. I DO appreciate it!
Mind you--we ARE in totally different climates.....I am in 7a----We have Winters here.....and Falls and Springs and Summers......So--ALL 4 seasons. This does present a challenge to gardening.....AND---many time-frames.....

Thanks---Gita

I am repeating what I have learned. By winter rest I mean a little cooler and less feeding. On the watering all I have read (6different books and articles) say that they should be kept moist not wet.

We are always learning. Epiphyllums are not a popular plant as are roses and other plants so it is harder to find info on them.

Now don't ask me about bugs and diseases as that is an area that I still have a lot to work on.

Try growing things in our weird weather. We can be in the 30's in the morning and the 80's in the evenings. Or hotter than h_____, or wetter than a swamp. My poor plants either roast or drown. I have gone swimming in the middle of Dec.
We do have four seasons thought if you take a nap you might miss spring or fall.
Sandy

Oh I have over a 100 epis. I have a very bad case of episities.

I just found a epis nursery in South Africa, does any one know how to get a import cert.??????

Some of my seedlings
Sandy

I also have 2 other Red Epis--one of them has bloomed for me the last 2 Summers. The other one has not bloomed yet.

I got the original cuttings from someone in CA. Many years ago....so, needless to say...I am impatient.

How root-bound do Epis like to be? The 2 red Epis badly need re-potting.....I will do that next Spring. The Night Blooming Cereus I re-potted this past Spring.

I still feel like chopping the whole thing down to "nubs" and see what grows back. Can't deal with it as it is now---TOO tall.....

Gita

I agree about the epiphyllum oxypetalum it is a pain. I have 5 pots of them.

All but one thing I have read say they like to be rootbond. I think it is some where inbetween. They may like to feel the walls of the pots.

Most say to use plastic but I like clay better. As it does not hold as much water. I have to water more often but they do not stay "wet"

I get my first epis from a place called I think Rainbow jungle cactus but they do not ship any more. Most of the ones I have now are from www.gotepis.com/cart.

I know what you mean about being impatience. The seedlings take 7 or more years to get to blooming size. The ones in my picture are 1 year old. I was told by the owner of Got Epis that if I feed the seedling every watering that they might bloom by 4 years.

Sandy

10 - 10 -10...........Mercy that is way overkill and may be the reason it grew so fast it could not hold its own growth. In nature they have very little and need no fertilizer what so ever. If your medium has ten percent organic content that is about nine percent more than the wild ones thrive in. Of course no man made fertilizers find their way into the wild.

I just go by what Jim from Got Epis told me and as he has grown epis for a long time, I figure he know what he is talking about. What he uses in a dry fert. it probable a slow release.

Add to the above. Only some of my epis grow fast. I think it is more the breeding that the feeding. I have some seedlings. I have one that before the squirrels broke off a number of pieces was quite large but another that came up at the same time that is a 1/3 of the large one's size. I like to buy the mystery seeds so I have know idea what the parents where.

If you just pinch off the tips of the leaves when they reach a desired length, they will branch out from where ever they are cut or pinched. When replanting to root, let them dry or heal at least 24 hrs or more before planting, otherwise they may rot.

They will bloom on he older leaves.

This message was edited Sep 30, 2008 10:51 PM

wren, here is a link to instructions about the plant importing permit: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP043

Here is the link to the APHIS permit: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/permits/plantproducts.shtml

The easiest way to import is to have the plants shipped though the Express Consgnment carriers like FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc because all the work is done for you, plus they clear on their own bond so you don't have to worry about giving out your IRS number, as long as the goods are are worth $200 or less. Any amount over that and you get into the informal and formal entry hassle.
Terri

I am not sure I am up to all that right now. LOL

I only have 3 Epis' and only one is named, plus white and fuschia Christmas Cacuts and one red Easter Cactus.
I just placed order for about 6 EPI's though, and am anxiously awaiting them. I would really like to have gotten some Schlumbergera too but didn't see any that weren't horrendously expensive.

The only ones that bloom for me so far have been the Schlumbergera; all the EPI's are young cuttings but one of these days, the care and feeding is going to pay off big time,LOL!

This message was edited Nov 5, 2008 8:32 AM

I agree.The wait is worth it. I am going to try Bob Smoley's for the Schlumbergeras they are only cuttings but the price is good and he has a lot to choose from

Gita, Love your red Epi! And, my winter windows look a lot like yours:

Here is a recipe to get epi's to bloom any time of the year you want, multiple times per year, even when slightly younger and not yet rootbound: 4-6 weeks of bone dry conditions until the center ribs start to become prominent, but but no crispy-leaf-edge damage yet, plus cold-but-not-freezing temps. When you wake them up with water & warmer temps... kaboom, lots of blooms!
Your z7 climate is similar to mine, so here's how I do it: I keep them outdoors during the summer, under the tall deck so they don't get too much direct sunlight. In the late fall, about 6 weeks or more before I bring them in, I stop watering completely and move them to where they can't get rained on. They stay out as long as they can, and only come in on the last day before we get frost (cold is good for blooms). I then bring them in, maybe wait another week or two to water if I think they can take it, and in a short time they're covered with buds after you start them back up.
In the spring it's similar. Keep them bone dry and put them out as early as possible; on your last frost date. You'll have more blooms by early summer.
To cheat and have blooms twice or more in one year, you have to really grow the plant well in between these times so it can withstand the dry period safely. So it should always be healthy & plump before you start the rest cycle.
This also works for Easter cactus, but not Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus.
- Tom

This message was edited Nov 9, 2008 9:33 AM

Thanks Tom! I love your Epi, what's it called?

It is beautiful.

I do not think I could be that mean.
Sandy the epi nut

DF it is an unnamed one from my grandmother. She had it for many, many years, but it never bloomed for her. Once we started giving it the cycles it wanted, it is now a reliable bloomer.

Sandy you can do it, lol! Think of it as giving it the rest it wants instead of torture it needs. ;^) Ferilizing lightly & frequently in the growth period before you take it dormant is helpful too (more blooms).
- Tom

I do something like that in the winter rest period but not twice a year. But most of my plants are young so we will see when they get older. I have had a lot of nice growth sense they went into the shade house. I have a couple that I get this year that may even be large enough to bloom next spring. I am cutting out the fertilizing on the older ones next month.

Sandy the epi nut.

You may find that this method works with some of your young ones too. Here is one that was in a 5" pot. Sorry I didn't get the whole thing in there, but those leaves you see on the side are all there are to this one, about a year from cutting, less than foot-long leaves.
- Tom

ok, definitely getting myself to Target for more rods to hang my plants from so I can put them in the small, cold guest bedroom (never make guests too comfortable or they will NEVER leave. LOL!)
My Christmas cactuses go in there to for bud setting but they are on racks and sometimes that doesns't work! The yellow one in my picture above is a pain because it blooms now instead of later in December....

All but two of my Christmas cactus are developing blooms. Really this is their normal time to bloom. It's just a trick of light and dark that makes them bloom around Christmas. I just moved mine out of half a day of sunlight to a very shady area. And bang buds formed. The only ones that are slow is my orange and a very old type that I just get in trade. I even have a 2 inch cutting that is budding.

What is the name of that red bloom?

wren, I've never seen an orange, want to trade a piece for a yellow piece? Not right now as I'm sure you want it to be full for the blooming season but how about January?

I would be glad to. Just remind me. I also have red, red-orange,white, pink , salmon, Purplish-pink(I can not spell that f word) ,and another hot pink with white center but I will know know if I still have that one untill it blooms.Darn squirrels. At least I wrote on some of the pots.

A visit to several X-Mas Cactus growers web sites indicates that there are different flowering times between Thanksgiving and Easter for the many different members of this family of plants. Each comes into bloom due to the length of daylight and the strength of that light. They are all different plants with similar genetics. There are literally dozens of different colors and flower shapes. If you are not aware of these differences give Google your interest subject and begin a learning experience on these relatively fool proof plants.

As someone else has mentioned there are two totally different plants called X-Mas Cactus.

Tom - regarding your recipe to encourage blooming in the epis, if you do that to young plants, do you sacrifice plant/root development for flowers?

Sarah - very new to epis but learning lots!

WOW! Those red ones are beautiful!

I only have the white one and they were 2 or 3 year old before they bloomed for me. I dont' do much for them in the in winter, water once a month. In the summer, once a week or if it's really hot, every 3-4 days if soil is dry. They are OK if you forget to water though. I have mine in full sun in the summer time. Young plants (new cuttings) will burn in full afternoon sun though, so if you have young cuttings, I would keep it in partial shade.

They do like to be pot bound.

Sarah in any plant with such a massive flower to leaf-mass ratio you will definately sacrifice some green growth potential in order to enjoy those big blooms, but so what, lol? ;^) With these plants it's worth it IMHO!

Docgipe, I'm not sure I would really agree that easter cactus have similar bloom triggers as christmas & thanksgiving cactus. They are a markedly different category, and many people who can reliably bloom christmas cactus can have a really hard time with the easter cactus. These need the cold & dry period that christmas cactus does not. Sometimes keeping them next to a cool window in late winter and watering sparsely is enough. :^)