May we call this an indoor plant???

A friend grows these....she called it a 'Space Rocket'......i think she called it an orchid cactus...the bloom is bigger than her hand....pretty anyway????

Wow! I gotta get myself one of those!

she has this little nursery in town....I asked her if she would sell cuttings to hoyas and these kind of plants and she said yes for a nominal fee....plus postage of course....

edited to say Ecrane....I posted pics of blooming hoyas on their forum...makes me want to start growing hoyas but I wouldn't know where to put them!!!!

This message was edited May 24, 2007 9:57 PM

Wow! What a nice Epi .... I need to go out back and check on mine - before we left for vacation last Saturday I had a bud on one! I would love a cutting of that one ... it is a Beauty!

May we call this an indoor plant???

Yes, if you want to, but technically, there is no such thing as an indoor plant - only outdoor plants that tolerate indoor conditions to varying degrees. ;o)

Al

Good point, Al.

They're indoors at my house - for part of the year, anyway.

That one is, indeed, a beauty!

glad to have you back, Lin......good, Al.....that means I don't have to worry so much about posting pics (LOL)

I grew mine from seed (T&M) and for the six years or more that I've had it, it has only bloomed once. I wonder if it was because it was growing in a cool greenhouse at the time or that it got a lot more sunshine.

It could be because Helen doesn't have any cooling in her greenhouse....mighty warm in there right now and they are blooming beautifully...........we are in zone 9.....temps have been in the mid to high 80's for a month....

Your friend's Greenhouse must be in a shaded location. If it were in the hot Texas sun, the heat buildup in there would probably fry most plants. That is one Gorgeous Epiphyllum! I have some cuttings I got in trades from other DG'ers, but don't know if any of them are red flowers! Hope to see some blooms before long! The one plant that had a bud when I left last week for vacation, the bud dropped .... it probably was too dry. Everything was pretty parched when I got home but I watered everything today and we got a little bit of much needed rain earlier!

Lin, the secret to a greenhouse in south texas is excellent air circulation....she does have that.....

Here my epi in bloom today.

rose, that is one fine plant and blooms!!!!!! Do you know the cultivar that it is...............sooooo glad you shared the pic....

I was told it's name is Heaven sent. I have also Queen of the night that is 4'by 5'.

Oh My ... Your Epi's are Gorgeous! What do you feed those huge plants? I have a Queen of the Night that a friend gave me back in the mid 70's and it bloomed in February/March but none since. I think one of the cuttings I got in trade from another DG'er was called Heaven Scent, but I'm not sure, I might be thinking of some other plant with the same name. Need to check the labels in my Epi's tomorrow! Oh how happy I will be if mine is like that photo of yours above! Love it!

Lin. I sent you the Heaven sent. LOL I just feed mine miracle grow. I am now trying out the beer recipe. I also leave mine outside all year long. It also likes to get a slight chill in the so -call winter here.
Patti

That is so funny that Patti sent you the plant, Lin!!!!!

hee hee .... I am getting old! Yep, it was one Patti sent me! Just went back and looked at my trade list!

We are so happy to see you around again....missed you.....
Yep.....i am having more and more senior moments....
How did you plants fare while you were gone? I ask for selfish reasons....I am trying to get everything self wicking in the house as I need to go see my youngest daughter and her family in the next month...........

PS. I ordered those grids from the violet showcase and used my perma-nest trays..............I love them that way!!!!!!

I Missed everyone here on DG too! And, it's good to be home! I will be going for a few days sometime in June to visit my sister in South Florida and for a week again in July to North Georgia to visit my youngest sister. Hubby gave finals the end of April so he is now off until the end of June when he will be teaching Summer B Term at the University. So, I have a looooong Honey Do List for him, to keep him busy! (And out of my hair) :)

I have most of my Gessie plants wicked, but only have one of those @ 16 oz Resevoir Containers. And I have two AV's sitting down in those ceramic self watering two piece containers I got at Wal-Mart. For some I use the plastic Zip Lok Containers as Reservoir's and I also have some of those little plastic margarine tubs used as reservoirs. I watered everything well before leaving .... we were gone for 6 full days and everything did real well. There were some a bit wilted when we got home, but looks like everything survived. The ones that seemed to do best are the one AV with the Reservoir Pot and the two in the Ceramic Self Watering Pots! I have some Reservoir Pots on order through my local AV Club ... can't wait for them to arrive. I think wicking is the way to go .... so easy! I do have three or four that need to be repotted that aren't wicked, but will certainly wick them when I get around to repotting them!

How long do you think before my little Night Blooming Cerus blooms?
Do they have to be really big?

They can take up to 2 years before blooming, is what I been told. I have sent cuttings that has bloomed in a couple of months.

I have a "curly" epi. Can't remember the full name it was listed under on ebay, (Montrose something) but the stems curl . So cute. I've had it at least two years and no sign of blooms. Its about 8-10" long now. Boy, what gorgeous blooms you guys are posting!

Randi

Thanks Randi. Don't give up. It sometimes takes a while ,but the pay off is worth it.
Good luck .
Patti

I have several that haven't bloomed yet, either...if they don't by next spring....they're OUTTA HERE!! LOL!
They're just getting so big and gangly and cumbersome....it's hard to find a place to overwinter them. I might just put them all in the basement this year and see if they make it through the winter.
Can you tell they're frustrating me;) ?

I have that curly one too, Randi....I like that one enough to keep it, though...bloom or not!

I have one very large Queen of the Night with white flowers that I've had since the mid 1970's that blooms every year. I have some cuttings of different Epi's from trades with other DG'ers and haven't seen any blooms yet ... they are too young. Before going on vacation earlier this month though, one had a bud forming ... got home and the bud was dried up and fell off! Oh well .... eventually I hope to see some blooms. I think I need to move mine to a brighter location though, they are stuck on a plant stand in a dark corner of my deck. I am thinking of moving them all out under a tree where it's shady but very bright. That's where my large Night Blooming Cereus is sitting and it seems to love it out there, even in the winter!

I could see myself really getting "into" these plants ... they are gorgeouis when in bloom! I would love to have red, pink, & yellow ones to go along with the white!

I kept one as a houseplant for many years, and it grew just fine as long as I took it out occasionally for a good shower on the porch. But it never bloomed until I learned they need both a cool and dry rest period. Now I can get it to bloom twice a year if I'm careful.
In the summer it's under a tall porch with very bright light but no direct midday sun. I stop watering about a month before our first fall frost, and leave it out as long as I possibly can to get it a nice chill. When I bring it inside it starts blooming like crazy. I get more blooms if I fertilized during the previous growing season when it was being watered.
Then again in the spring I stop watering about a month before our last spring frost and put it out as early as I can. I put it a spot where it won't get rained on for a few more weeks and it will bloom again.
Cool and dry. :)
- Tom

Tom... great info on the NBC! I will definitely remember that with mine! Thanks!

I love this plant. I have some dumb questions, first is this a type of christmas cactus? I don't think I have ever seen one of these before but maybe I thought they were Christmas cactus, does the leaves looks simular? What is the name of these so I can look them up. Many thanks
Linda

Hi jltbaw/Linda: These are Orchid Cactus or Epiphyllum. Here's the link to Plant Files .... some really gorgeous plants! http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=orchid+cactus&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

These are very easy to root from cuttings. eBay always seems to have these on sale in lots of different colors. You could also try growing them from seed (T&M may still sell seeds).

I bought a Dragon Fruit at the grocery store a few weeks ago, let it ripen to mushy-soft, cut it open and laid the wedges on soil amendment for the flies and other insects to clean up, and now I have dozens of seedlings coming up. Dragon Fruit is the seedpod of the hylocereus cactus which is another epiphytic cactus.

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/dragon_fruit.htm

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/dragon_fruit_pictures.htm

hcmcdole: Thank you so much for those links! I am loving that Dragon Fruit ... never heard of it!!
That yellow flower is Gorgeous! I am going to definitely look for this fruit at my grocery store and farmers market!

That is amazing! Thanks again for posting this info and link!