Rhipsalis Species, Mistletoe Cactus

I have been growing mine outdoors for two years on a covered patio here in Stockton, Ca, Zone 9b. It receives partial afternoon sun. I ra...Read Morerely water it and treat it like my other cacti. It recently got down to 26 degrees Fahrenheit and I covered it and my other succulents with a towel and it sustained no damage. It now has budded and will soon bloom! I had no idea it was normally grown as a houseplant, or that it rots easily from over watering. I’m excited to see these flowers!

I am a gardener in Kitchener, Ontario Canada (Hardiness Zone 5a/5b) and have grown Rhipsalis ewaldiana for 18 years.

It i...Read Mores my oldest houseplant and has been an absolute pleasure to grow.

Being an epiphytic jungle cactus from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, understanding the growing conditions and replicating them as closely as possible is key to its successful cultivation.

It thrives on relatively minimal care but does appreciate being cared for attentively. Its needs are easily met with it only ever requiring thorough watering once the substrate has slightly to fully dried out in between watering depending on factors such as sun exposure, the season, whether it is indoors or outdoors, air temperature, and humidity, requiring watering more frequently in the summer, and less in the winter.

I feed it periodically once every month or so with standard houseplant fertilizer 20-20-20. It doesn't seem to mind being pot-bound and appreciates being top-dressed annually with a tropical houseplant mix that I make using indoor houseplant soil, perlite, chopped sphagnum, and sand. It's a very loose soil mix that retains moisture but assists in drainage and is ideal for epiphytic jungle cacti.

As for exposure I currently have it in a South-West facing location that is shaded by a balcony overhang. In the past when I lived where I was able to suspend the plant from a tree outdoors, I would give it a part sun/ filtered sun location and keep it outdoors from late spring to early fall and then would bring it back indoors for the winter months.

I have had instances in the past where it would shed stem segments if it got too dry but it would replace the growth it lost in a few months time. It is a relatively slow to moderate grower but when it does go through a growth spurt it can put on some pretty good growth. New growth is a colourful orangey-red. Additional humidity by misting it definitely helps it retain its new growth as it ripens.

At the time of writing this my plant is currently in bloom and has lovely little white flowers that last a few days but the plant has a succession of blooms at the moment with approximately 100 buds.

This is the most profusely it has flowered for me in the 18 years that I have had this plant for. If I were to have fed it a bloom builder fertilizer it would have flowered more but I am nonetheless very pleased with my plant.

I have shared cuttings of it with friends and loved ones. I find it relatively easy to propagate so long as the cuttings are allowed time to callus over before planting.

Rhipsalis ewaldiana is a very enduring and forgiving houseplant and I highly recommend growing it.

It will always hold a very special place in my heart amongst all of my houseplants.

I have had mine for almost a year now outdoors in a mixed hanging basket. Slow growing so far. I cant say my mix is the best for it.
...Read More/> From online photos it seems to have a juvenile mossy look and then develops the adult angular stems of many large Rhipalis sp.

Easy care..can rot easy if over watered.

2018= Its just started to morph from the dense compact cutting into a more and longer stretched stem plant.
Not a fast grower and large plants on the net are old and also greenhoused.