Ric Rac Orchid Cactus, Fishbone Cactus, St. Anthony's Rick-Rack (Selenicereus an

Ric Rac Orchid Cactus, Fishbone Cactus, St. Anthony's Rick-Rack
Selenicereus anthonyanus

New hairy buds in May on S. anthonyanus

wow fantastic pic. i've never seen buds before. I had one of these and didn't take good care of it. I regret it.

Please post another when the buds are open. Thank you for the great picture.

Hi Nery and Cindy! The first flower I missed completely because I was so busy. When I found it, it had already closed. When the second one bloomed last night, my camera's battery was dead, and by the time the battery was charged, the flower had closed in the morning. Here is a picture of the bloom as it is closing. I still have a few more buds so I will attempt to get some better pictures. I did smell the flower yesterday evening as it opened, and it is a deliciously strong fragrance.

Nery, I can send you a cutting of mine one of these days, but you'll have to be patient with me as I seem to have no free time these days and am horrible at getting things shipped out.

That is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing.

Cindy

hiya dear clare. yes I would like one. maybe in the fall? my patio is registering 100 deg. and maybe the ric-rac can take it, but I can't. If I'm home, I water as quickly as I can and get back in, lol. And to think I have about 90 more days of this, unless we have a cold front and temps go down to 92, brrrrr.

thanks for posting the pic. never knew flower could be such a beauty

Thanks, Cindy!

LOL, Nery! I'm the same way when it is too hot. When I go to Las Vegas, I don't want to leave the Casinos! LOL!

Vossner, we are as hot as you are in HOuston and my ric racs are so happy in this heat. No blooms as I just got them earlier this summer. Clare's bloom is magnificent.

A friend in Maine sent me 7 kinds of epis and I put them all in one hanging basket. I can't wait for something to happen before the summer is over!

Thanks, gessiegail. I too started my Epi hybrids in hanging baskets, but they get big and heavy before too long and need something bigger. Eventually, I put them in big urn type containers. My epi hybrids only bloom once a year around May, but my species will bloom several times a year. Don't get discouraged if you don't see blooms for a year or two with the hybrids. It seems these things need to put on some growth before they bloom well when started from cuttings. As for this Selenicereus anthonyanus, I've had it three and a half years, and this is the first time it has bloomed for me. The plant itself is huge, and the container is very heavy. This picture of it doesn't capture its true size.

I have never thought about putting my epi's in a hanging container. I just added this plant to my wish list last week. But here is my pride-and-joy. I bloomed 3 or 4 times last year and each time with abour 4-5 buds. I had more buds but some of them just fell off. Do you know why it would do that?

Lili, that's a Epiphyllum oxypetalum (species). Mine is blooming now too and blooms about three times a year. Sometimes a lack of energy or light will make buds drop. I would make sure you feed your plant and make sure that it gets plenty of filtered light. If yours in an indoor plant, it may not be getting enough light. It also might need repotting. Most of my Epiphyllum oxypetalums plants need big containers.

Clare, that was a picture from the plant blooming last year. I thought they like to be pot bound. I'll have to repot them then. Here is the epi I have that had one bloom already this year. Currently, I have 6 buds on this one. I think this one that has bud is an epi phyllantus? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

These are totally new to me, but I want to show you the one that has 7 different kind (I was told?). So glad you are telling me, Clare, that eventually they will need new homes. Yours and Lili's are so pretty.

I need to turn the basket around for some sun (LOL)

This is the only ric rac I have but she is happy under the Mesquite trees with the hoyas.

This lady here in Taft told me this one would bloom orange

This is a little 4" pot but she will bloom (when I get her potted up someday) a bright red.

I just got these babies from a friend in Maine.........The common name is Deutsche K?????

My friend here in Taft has the red one (the one she gave me is the little 4" pot)

Lili, they do need to be potted up when they get rootbound to perform best, but after they get to a certain large size, they can be left potbound for a long time without objecting too much as long as they get the proper feeding. I can't really tell whether it is a species or a hybrid without seeing the bloom. E. phyllanthus has a very long flower stem and a small flower. Here is a picture of my E. phyllanthus below. There are Disocactus Phyllanthoides, which yours may be.

Gessie, do you mean that there are 7 different epi hybrids planted in the same container or that is just one of the 7 that you got? Those leaves all look simiar to me and should all bear the same flowers unless they came from different hybrids. Your Ric Rac looks very happy to me. I'm not sure which one that is. It could be E. anguliger. There are a few different ones with subtle differences when examining the leaves, but the flowers are all different. There is a cultivar named 'Deutsche Kaiserin' that is probably what your other one is.

Clare, this is the flower for my epi phyllantus

Clare, the girl who sent the cuttings to me said there were 7 different kinds, but she might have been as confused as I get?

Can't wait to have blooms like you ladies!

gessie, that red epi is beautiful. I want one. I was given a cutting for a red epi but I don't know what it looks like yet. I do have a small one and it think they call it an Easter cactus. The Easter cactus' blooms are only 3 inches wide instead of 10-12 inches like the Epi oxypetalum above. Next year, I will buy a ric rac and an orange one.
http://davesgarden.com/tools/journal/showimage.php?eid=174988

Lili, it is up to you, but this lady has a small nursery here in Taft.........I don't know what I paid for the red one, but will be happy to call her and ask. (The reason I don't know what I paid for her is that I bought some orchids and caladiums, etc on the same day.

Also, I can ask about the orange one and I don't have any idea what color the ric rac will be. I got that from her, too.

hiya gail, what a nice collection you have

Hi, vossner! Haven't seen you around but I don't hop around the forum like I enjoy doing!

I have fallen in love with so many new plants since I joined DG! When are you coming to Rockport? I keep that 188 straight into Rockport busy all the time!

Gessie, I am going to Dmail you. Thanks.

Lili, your flower is that of E. strictum, also known as E. hookeri. Mine is blooming now too.

Gessie, I don't think you have 7 different epi hybrids there, but I could be mistaken. I guess you will find out when those cuttings bloom!

Lili and Gessie, I bought epi cuttings for $2 each at Epies by Pat if you are interested in obtaining more. Also, if you join the Epi Forum, you can get some cuttings for the price of postage. Here is the link to Epi's by Pat: http://www.epies.net/ and the forum: http://www.epiforums.com/ I am happy to share cuttings with people who come by, but I find it very difficult and time-consuming to ship things these days so I stopped doing that for the most part.

I got some more pictures of open blooms yesterday evening. I'll be posting some of these to the PlantFiles, but I'll post some here too. Four blooms were open last night at the same time. I picked one and put it in some water in my bathroom. The fragrance was very strong and lovely.

Here's another:

Last one:

I think now I know what she meant........not 7 kinds........but 7 colors she said?????? if that is possible.

Thanks for the links to order cuttings. This is going to be fun. I love seeing your different blooms.

Gessie, whatever you have, I am sure that they will have beautiful flowers no matter what the color. Thanks for the compliment:-)