What is the lowest temp that epis can handle? Or when should I bring them in?
Lowest temps
I don't think Epiphyllum's will survive for long periods of temp's below @ 45 degrees. I found this info: http://www.graydavisepies.com/cultivation.html
I have one very large old Epiphyllum hookeri that sits in a pot under a tree in my backyard. It is too large to move inside so when we have frost predicted or temps below @42-45 I just throw an old blanket over it. We do occasionally have a rare hard freeze here in my area but thank goodness they are few and far between. The past ten years we have had a few cold nights where temp's get to freezing but it warms up pretty quickly once the sun rises. I also have smaller potted epi's that stay out on my deck year round with the same care, old blankets get thrown over them when temp's drop.
I keep all my plants in a greenhouse with a heater in it all winter. I have seen temps in the greenhouse drop to the high 30s in extreme conditions. My epis do just fine with this..amazingly, along with all my other tropicals. Some of the tropicals (not epis) loose all their leaves and look completely dead, but, come summer I cut it all off, and they come back 10 times bigger then the previous year. The epis all stay green, and even seem to continue major growth durring these conditions. My rhipsalis bloom like crazy come spring, and I have heard that the lower winter temps help to promote this. None of my orchid cactus are over a year old, and I havent seen any of them bloom, but I think it is because how young they are. I did have a queen of the night that bloomed this year, but, I accidentally knocked the bloom off. My christmas cactus and easter cactus all do well in these conditons also. I have a few aporophyllum, and they sometimes get orange spots from the cold, and a few soggy looking ends. I have had luck with just cutting this off, and they also got 10 times bigger durring the summer. It wasnt the entire plant though...just the tips of some of the limbs.
I have had the epi oxy that bloomed earlier this year out side with no protection and it get to the low 30's, lucky it does not stay there long. There was no damage. I did have problems with water dripping of the top of the little green house I used last winter.
Sandy