Who are the Epiphyllum growers?

I have just started growing Epiphyllums.

Would like to meet other growers and chat about this plant.
Greetings from beautiful Buderim!

hi Marleneann,

i'll start this off for you even though my knowledge of these plants is really very limited.
Epiphyllums i like but sad to say i do not have very many.

off the top off my head i have:

E. anguliger - small white and yellow fl.
E.ackermannii - red fl, pictured below
E. crenatum (i think) - big white fl.
E. oxygona (the best!!) - pure white, highly scented, only lasts one night, shrivelled by following morning.
E. phyllanthoides - pink fl
E. massive orange fl hybrid (pictured below)
unknown red (pictured below)
unknown white
unknown yellow

I want Epiphyllum chrysocardium.
its like a giant Epi anguliger.
and really amazing.
another cool one i've seen is cv. 'Clown'.

Epis are great plants
The flowers are just incredible
and the fruit taste good too.
Selenicereus are also well worth growing.
and try hylocereus also
and Disocactus
Rhipsalis too. flowers are small but they bear hundreds of them at once.
all these epiphytes enjoy the same sort of conditions.

Not to get this too far OT,
Epis can, despite their apparently different preferred growing conditions,
even be used as grafting stocks for small choice desert cacti species.
i remember seeing an excellent Loph graft onto an epi on the internet.
sure they are not commonly used
but i still think they have potential for this purpose.
particularly in highly humid areas
even if they are not as good as the more common Hylocereus and Selenicereus SP
also i've been thinking about Rhipsalis as stocks;
i think HN was talking about this at one point?

here are some pics i dug up from last season for your enjoyment.
(its too early here for blooms now).

unknown red:


Epiphyllum ackermannii


E. massive orange fl hybrid:

sorry i do not have hybrid names for them. they were purchased unlabelled.

Pure species Epiphyllum can be hard to get, possibly due in the extensive hybrdisation with the literally hundreds (thousands?) of hybrid cultivars.

i don't grow many because they need higher humidity, shade and more water & ferts than most of the desert cacti which i grow. plus they take up room. so i don't grow them in greenhouse. they grow well under cover in hanging baskets.
actually i think my main limiting factor is that they just aren't cactus enough ( ). almost spineless and too lush lol.
oh and the very limited flowering season and the plants are not (imo) exceptionally attractive when not in bloom.

i think gilligan here also grows a few epis, and from memory did some hybridising too(sic).

Thank you Lewis for posting the pictures.
I have just purchased a cutting of Ackermanni.

I took this picture yesterday of the first flowers of a rooted cutting I received in August. It is German Empress.

I will try posting a picture

Epiphyllum cuttings

looks fine to me (the photos you posted)

and anyone else, even if you only have a few epis; post some pics pls.

I still have.
I lost several hanging baskets of Epi's before i "vermin" proofed the yard.
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Epiphyllum strictum/hookeri
Epiphyllum "belle de noir"
Epiphyllum german empress
Epiphyllum "campfire red"
& several unamed Epi's mostly pinks & apricots.
+ i've just planted some wild collected seed, fingers crossed.
Cryptocereus anthonyanus
and a few Rhipsalis spp

I agree E chrysocardium is to die for

Hi Shortly
I have the ones you listed too.
Except "belle de noir"
Do you have a picture of it?

I also have one Rhipsalis and that is the species houlletiana.
What species Rhipsalis do you have?

I have Rhipsalis pilocarpa, R. cereuscula, R. baccifera, R. houlletiana.

Epi "belle de noir" is a large double white, 20cm + if you keep to a single bud. & is very fragrent. sorry i dont think we have any pics any more, didnt back them up did i.

if anyone can get hold of Epi chrysocardium i'd be very interested
it's awesome; Fern x cactus!

Epiphyllum anguliger and Cryptocereus anthonyanus appear to be very similar.

Rhipsalis i have only three;
R.gonacarpa
R. baccifera
R.teres.

Rhipsalis baccifera is the only cactus found outside the Americas, being native to Madagascar.
Rhipsalis houlletiana i've also seen before... doesn't even look succulent.
r. paradoxa- chain cactus also has a nice form.

i used to have Hatiora salicornioides also, but it sadly passed on.
shame, it has nice yellowish orange flowers and is uncommon.
edit: actually now i look at it its now immortalised because you can sort of make it out in the background of the
'E. massive orange fl hybrid:' photo i posted.

Another unusual epiphyte is Wittia / Disocactus amazonicus.
pink and BLUE flowering cactus! the only one.
incredible. i have not seen this one in person.

Lewis I can send you a plant of Rhipsalis houlletiana. My gift to you. Just PM me your postal address.

That Disocactus amazonicus is very unusual...I want one!

wowbeautiful

Disocactus amazonicus is an amazing thing, i've seen it in a botanic garden but wasnt in flower at the time.
I've bought 3 lots of seed from 2 different ppl now & still no joy, 4th time lucky.

For me Cryptocereus anthonyanus has the most stunning flower of all the tropical epiphytes, even if it does only last 2 nights.
Only thing is it is self sterile & I only have 1 clone so I never get fruit to set.
Has any one tried crossing it with an Epi ?

RE: Disocactus amazonicus:
check this out
(scroll down page).

Certainly a remarkable species.

lewis wrote:

RE: Disocactus amazonicus:
check this out
(scroll down page).

Certainly a remarkable species.

I want one! ...I want one!...I want one!....er....please?

I have an E. chrysocardium, and it is one of my most treasured plants. I got it last year as a 25cm cutting, and it has since produced one new shoot that is about 40cm long. Unfortunately it is showing no inclination at all to produce further shoots, probably because it is languishing indoors in a southern winter. At this rate it'll be a few years yet before I have enough material to safely take cuttings.

I also have:

E. anguliger
E. crenatum
E. oxypetalum
R. pilocarpus
Hatoria gaertneri
an unidentified selenicereus
two hylocereus, including H. undulatus
a schumbergia that flowers like this.

I'd love to find some of the rhipsalids and epi species that I don't yet have, but this part of the world is not great for collecting them. Oh well – the hunt is all a part of the fun!

quite a collection WD

i found this link:

http://www.ecology.org/orchids/index5.html
warning: page is extremely graphically intense.
i'm guessings its overseas so not good for buying plants but its very detailed and useful as a reference and for id purposes. for example, i just IDed a plant in my collection as Disocactus macranthus.

Hey Woody
If the unidentified selenicereus is fron the seed i sent you they are Selenicereus megalanthus X self courtesy of QDPI when they wound up the research projects.

Hey, all, long time off, sorry...

Yeah, i grow a couple, am currently waiting on my next lots of flowers to re-cross, as the first lot that i had created were stolen by a rat... i had the seeds laid out on paper in the shed, drying, and then went back to find everything had been munged on, whether it was the fruit still ont he seeds, or the seeds themselves, i'm not sure... WoodDragon - i still owe you some seeds, sorry...

Once i've finished my house renos, i'll be getting everything organised properly again, for now ewverything got moved out into the trees in hanging pots... Will post when i get some proper pics - people may be able to provide names for them

Here is another rooted cutting to flower...Epiphyllum Benjamin Leigh

Really nice flower Marleneann. This makes me want to start growing Epiphyllums.

KanJe wrote:

Really nice flower Marleneann. This makes me want to start growing Epiphyllums.

That would be great.... the more the better.

Cheers, Shortly, I'll note that for my labels!

The one that I was refering though to is a SAB cutting. It's been very slow to shoot, and it's only just now starting to go forward - a bit like my chrysocardium - so I reckon that I'll be waiting a while before I have the chance to see what it's flower is like.

Speaking of selenicereus, the electronic garage sale has this going: the stems are a much darker green than the one I have myself, but the flowers are FANTASTIC! The starting price is ridiculous though, IYAM... Certainly not something that I as a student could justify.

I guess that I'll have to look elsewhere for a specimen of this variety to add to my collection.

Gold Coin is a smaller but very pretty flower.
I am sure a specimen sized plant would look fantastic.

Hi Marlene, You've certainly got some beaut specimens in your collection.

I've only got two actual Epiphyllums, both were given to me as cuttings by an old lady at the Nusing Home where I work.
The blooms of course are spectacular.

(click thumbnails for larger pics)



CP